The Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History

Harvard's research center for U.S. History and Culture

Research and teaching in the broad range of American historical inquiry
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Director's Welcome

Welcome to the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.  The Warren Center is a place for the exploration of American history and for the application of historical knowledge to real world challenges. We believe that critical engagement with key issues of the American past is foundational to understanding and making meaning of our contemporary world. Our activities center around the nurturance of innovative historical thinking, research, and writing. Through our guest speakers, visiting fellows, Harvard faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and engagement with the wider public, we seek to foster illuminating discussions about the American past and push historical knowledge in new directions. As the core component of the Center’s mission dating back to the vision of the Warren family’s original gift, our fellowship programs bring together scholars working on US history projects in a spirit of creativity and collaboration... Read More

Upcoming Events

Kristin Hass (University of Michigan)
October 1, 2026
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12:45PM - 2:45PM EDT
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Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Room 230
In Person
Title: “Emerging Modes of Cultural Infrastructure and How They Engage, Unsettle, and Compete with the Durable Frameworks of Earlier Commemorative Practices.”

Kim Gallon (Brown University)
February 11, 2027
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12:45PM - 2:45PM EST
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Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Room 230
In Person
Title: “The Freedom to Create: Digital Commemoration, Performance, and The Black Press at 200.”

Elijah Gaddis (Auburn University)
February 18, 2027
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12:45PM - 2:45PM EST
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Barker Center, 12 Quincy St, Room 230
In Person
Title: “Understanding Black Communal Commemorative Practices.”
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Publications

Charisse Burden-Stelly (New Book) Black Scare / Red Scare
Title: "Black Scare / Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States." A radical explication of the ways anti-Black racial oppression has infused the US government’s anti-communist repression. In the early twentieth century, two panics...
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Director and Staff

Lisa McGirr
Director of the Charles Warren Center (On Leave 2026-2027)
Charles Warren Professor of American History
Lisa McGirr specializes in the history of the 20th century United States. Her research and teaching interests bridge the fields of social and political history and focus, in particular, on collective action, state building, reform movements, and politics...
Lisa McGirr

Monnikue Marie McCall
Executive Director of the Charles Warren Center
Monnikue "Monique" Marie McCall is the Executive Director at Harvard's Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. She is a Napa California native. Monnikue Marie is a Higher Education Executive with over 20 years of administrative experience...
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Marian Wilson
Charles Warren Center Coordinator
At Harvard’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Marian works closely with the Executive Director as part of a two-person team managing day-to-day operations, academic programming, and financial administration. She administers the...
Marian Wilson Grand Canyon