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Hopkins Retrospective

@hopkinsretro.bsky.social
185 followers 38 following 160 posts

A dynamic public history initiative to research, reexamine, and share the history of Johns Hopkins University with the community in meaningful ways! retrospective.jhu.edu

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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We're participating again this year! Let us know if you have any questions and we'll have our archivists answer them next week.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Heads up to researchers!
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We have a particular bias for archive inspired events 👀 Check out this event and others being hosted by the libraries in this thread!
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Another Bmore Historic for the books! 🙌 Last Friday, we met up to have conversations, make connections, and learn from each other. The unconference format allowed everyone to take the opportunity to take the stage and share their experiences.
A group of about two dozen people sits in a circle on blue plastic chairs, conversing with each other.A man speak sits and speaks into a microphone while others sitting next to him listen to him closely.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We are just getting started at Bmore Historic! The proposed session already has us looking forward to the day ahead.
Three people stand in front of papers taped to glass.A small crowd of people standing in front windows with papers taped to them.A crowd of people sit at about a dozen round tables conversing and intermingling within an exhibit space.A woman stands at the front of a room and slideshow speaking into a microphone.
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Martha S. Jones @marthasjones.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Grateful to be part of this team and its commitment to telling the hard stories with courage and compassion. #francesellenwatkinsharper #hopkinsorphanasylum #hardhistories www.afro.com/archives/re-...
afro.com
Re-Reading the News: Examining the legacy of Frances Ellen W...
Afro Charities hosts “Re-Reading the News” legacy series with Johns Hopkins University during its 150 year anniversary to honor the life and legacy of Frances E...
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Thank you to everyone who came to Re-Reading the News yesterday night! It was great to hear the panelists speak about exploring F.E.W. Harper, how her life intertwines with the stories of the girls who were raised at the Colored Orphan Asylum, and how it will all come together in their documentary.
Five people sit on a stage conversing with microphones in their hands. Behind them on a projected screen is a black and white photo of an older medium dark skin woman wearing a scarf and long white sleeve blouse. An audience on risers watches the panel below.
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Martha S. Jones @marthasjones.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Baltimore! We’ll be live on the eve of September 15 talking about how we’re going from the archives to the big screen to tell the story of Frances Harper and the girls of the Hopkins Orphan Asylum. Join us. hardhistories.substack.com/p/welcome-ba...
hardhistories.substack.com
Frances Harper and the Hopkins Orphan Asylum; Join Us on September 15
“Rereading the News: The Baltimore Orphan Girl Who Changed a Nation”
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If you haven't registered for Re-Reading the News: The Baltimore Orphan Girl Who Changed a Nation, now's your chance! Learn how Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and the story of the Johns Hopkins Colored Orphan Asylum intertwine. Students get in for free. hub.jhu.edu/events/2026/...
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"It's the subbasement where diurnal rhythms go to die, operating as it does in the perpetual timelessness of a casino floor—only the patrons here are gambling they'll be able to absorb all the facts and figures they need for a looming exam." hub.jhu.edu/2026/09/02/e...
hub.jhu.edu
With recent renovations, library's lowest level is a dungeon no more
The renovation of Eisenhower Library has brought sunlight where you least expect it—to the once-dim, subterranean depths of D-level
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Douglass Day @douglassday.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
🎂 SAVE THE DATE for Feb 11, 2027! 🎂 Douglass Day will feature Transcribe the Early Black Press! 💻 New Crowdsourcing Project 📽️ Live Broadcast 🍰 Great Douglass Day Bake Off 📣 Special guests! Host an event or join us online! Help us spread the word? Register now: DougalssDay.org
Postcard graphic with large text saying "Save the Date for Douglass Day" Below that, text reads "Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Black Press" and the date "2.11.2027" followed by the web address DouglassDay.org.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
We’re looking forward to getting this on our bookshelf!
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
A day in the life of a JHU library book 📚 Requested books travel from off-site storage in Laurel, MD, to the Library Annex at Homewood.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Introducing our newest Hugh Hawkins Fellows! Hugh Hawkins Research Fellowships are awarded annually to JHU undergraduate or graduate students who wish to research the university’s history. Four fellows were selected to be provided support on their research. retrospective.jhu.edu/hawkins-fell...
Black and white photograph of a student pulling out a catalog card from an extended drawer in the library. The student wears large round glasses and a flower patterned dress.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The Universities Studying Slavery 2026 Conference (October 22-25) registration is now open! The conference will be hosted at University of Maryland, College Park this year. 1856project.umd.edu/uss-conferen...
app.certain.com
Register | Universities Studying Slavery Conference 2026
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Special Collections First-Year Fellow Nandini Rastogi, who’s majoring in public health and minoring in business and environmental studies, explores the impact of a disastrous fire on the university’s early @jhulibraries.bsky.social. www.library.jhu.edu/news/2026/07...
library.jhu.edu
The fire that transformed Johns Hopkins' libraries, part two
Special Collections First-Year Fellow Nandini Rastogi continues her exploration of the impact of a disastrous fire on the university’s early libraries.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The University Archives team is on it. ✨ #ThisIsWho
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
297 is looking good on you, Baltimore. ✨ Even though half the age of the city it resides in, Johns Hopkins University has deep roots in it. Its original campus was seated in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.
A black and white photograph of Mount Vernon neighborhood in Baltimore as an aerial view. Two red circles circle specific spots on the map. Sepia toned photograph of a 19th century science lab. Students stand in 
front of test tubes and shelves wearing aprons in a high ceiling room with partially 
peeling walls and a Corinthian column in the middle of the room.
A hand drawn black and white image of people walking around on the 19th century cobblestoned street. In the foreground two men holding books walk towards the central stone building of the image which is three stories tall and has many more people milling about in front of it. On the far right, a man on a bicycle pedals next to a dog running alongside him. A colored drawing of an aerial view of mid-nineteenth century Baltimore’s Washington Monument looking south. In the distance you can see Baltimore’s harbor. The view includes many of Baltimore’s row homes and other landmark buildings.
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Dorothy Berry @dorothyjberry.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
i love to be an archivist working in public history, i love to share a neat source I found and a new thing i've learned, i love to talk to college students about how they are smarter than i am, i love to read lots of magazines from the 1900s on @archive.org and send screenshots to my friends, i love
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Johns Hopkins archives highlight nearly two centuries of LGBTQ+ history hub.jhu.edu/2026/06/30/l...
hub.jhu.edu
Johns Hopkins archives highlight nearly two centuries of LGBTQ+ history
Curator Gabrielle Dean and librarian Siân Evans share the university's collection of LGBTQ+ books, photos, zines, and more—a testament to the queer community's struggles and joy
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Box Friend went on a trip to the @jhmedarchives.bsky.social! They assisted a researcher who wanted to take a look at Vivien Thomas’ papers. Chesney Medical Archives acts as the official archival repository for Johns Hopkins Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health.
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Martha S. Jones @marthasjones.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Happy to share my contribution - an essay on Elizabeth Freeman - and the entire NYTimes Magazine Visions of America project, in print July 4. Freeman’s bequest to us was the struggle for liberty, and that started with family. Read and please comment. We’re reading! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The Enslaved Woman Who Sued for Freedom and Emancipated Herself (Gift Article)
For the 250th anniversary, The Times Magazine asked leading historians to profile founding-era Americans whose roles in the drama have been often overlooked.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Here’s a little backstory on our favorite bird, Jay, for National Mascot Day (last week). 💙
Title slide of a blue jay mascot with their arms folded and beak open, simulating a smile. Text on the slide says “How Jay Got His Wings”. A black and white photo of ten men standing and sitting for a group photo. Most of them wear a stripped long sleeve shirt and white shorts and hold lacrosse sticks relaxed next to their sides. One man wears a dark long sleeve shirt with an H on it. Another standing wearing a suit and hat. The text below the photo explains that these are Hopkins athletes wearing sports uniforms and they referred to themselves as the black and blue. A scan of the cover of a magazine titled The Black and Blue. An illustration of a battered blue jay stares closely a drawing of Gilman Hall, a brick clock tower academic building on the university’s campus. The text above and below the image explains that the humor magazine was first  published in 1920 and the first time students are referred to as blue jays in the yearbook occurs in 1925. Timeline showing evolution of Hopkins Blue Jay mascots from 1959 to 2004 with various costume styles. The text below explains that the mascot first appears in the 1950s and became an integral part of building community at Hopkins.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Looking for a bit of LGBTQ history for Pride Month? We’ve been listening to Walker Magrath, M.D. (SOM, '24) who dove into archival research at the @jhmedarchives.bsky.social for his article “The Fall of the Nation’s First Gender-Affirming Surgery Clinic”. open.spotify.com/episode/2ZbU...
open.spotify.com
S1 Ep6: Walker Magrath - on the nation's first gender-affirming surgery clinic
For the Medical Record · Episode
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
From the 50th to the 150th, congratulations Class of 2026! In the pages of the 1926 Hullabaloo, a student reflected on their time at Hopkins and the many changes that occurred. The student laments, “But what did we do as a class in those four long and variegated periods of time?”.
A black and white photo of a large group of men standing on the stairs of Gilman Hall. They all wear formal jackets and hats.The class of 2026 stands on a green lawn between rows of trees on campus spelling out JHU 26.The page of a yearbook with the title The Class of 1926. A stylized N begins the first sentence. Two paragraphs are shown, typed out from the perspective of a Hopkins students who is reflect on his and his classes’ four years at the university.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Albert T. Su published a set of 12 demands for Asian students at JHU. Along with Black students at Hopkins, Asian students looked to improve education for students and combat the racism they experienced on campus.
Title slide, Asian Studies at JHU and how students shaped the university. An opaque newsletter sits behind the text, the headline reading Wanted: More Asian Courses. A quote from Albert T. Su and a small paragraph about the 12 Asian student demands. A clipping of a newsletter with the headline Asian Demands by Albert T. Su sits in the middle of the graphic. The clipping includes a photo of Su with the words Asian students should take the time to speak out. 

The full text on the slide reads "“If the Asian community is to ever get the administration to even listen to these demands, Asians and those with an interest in Asian affairs must be willing to voice their concerns.” 
In response to the 16 demands published by the Black Student Union in October 1992, Albert T. Su published a set of 12 demands for Asian students at JHU. Both looked to improve education for students and combat the racism they experienced on campus."Two newspaper clippings detailing the demands for a Black studies and Asian studies program sit on this graphic. The additional explained that these demands launched a student led campaign for expanded curriculum at the institution. 

The full text on the slide reads, "The BSU demanded the creation of a Black studies department and Su pushed for the creation of an Asian studies department. These two publications launched a student-led campaign for curriculum at the institution that reflected the growing diverse needs and identities of the students on campus".A collage of different news clippings show the progress and discussion of different surveys and committees centered around Asian studies at Hopkins. The text below the collage details the creations of an Asian Studies major in 1995 and a Comparative American Cultures major in 1996. 

The full text on the slide reads, "After various committees and surveys, an East Asian Studies major was created in 1995 and in 1996 a Comparative American Cultures major was created. For the latter, students could specialize in African Diaspora, Asia and Asian immigration, and Latin America and Latin American Immigration".
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Congratulations to our 2025-2026 Hugh Hawkins Fellows for presenting their research yesterday! And thank you to all of the archivist and faculty mentors, family, and friends who supported them. retrospective.jhu.edu/hawkins-fellowships
: From left to right, fellows Suzanka Belik, Yemok Jeon, Darrel “Riley” Strait, Sandy Peeples, and Hopkins Retrospective Program Manager Allison Seyler. The five people pictured are four students and a staff member standing in front of large photos of library spaces. Each person wears semi-casual to semi-formal wear and faces the camera smiling. Two people sit down at a conference table next to each other. One faces away from the camera as the talk and the other person listens enthusiastically.  Two people stand talking to each other. The person on the right gestures with her arms as the person on the left listens. A student in a suit jacket shows his phone to another student sitting at a table. Further in the background, two other people sit at the same table conversing with one another.
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
APRIL 29TH AT 4:30 PM: Join us for the 2026 Harrison Lecture, exploring how history and political science developed as academic disciplines and their deep ties to the state. Learn more and register now at bit.ly/makingandunmaking.
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
APRIL 24TH AT 10 AM - 2 PM: Leave your mark on Eisenhower Library! Stop by Keyser Quad to sign a 28‑foot steel beam that will be installed in the renovated library and pick up a commemorative sticker and other giveaways! Learn more at bit.ly/jhubeamsigning.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Thank you to the alumni who came on our historic campus tour this weekend! It was wonderful to have you share your stories about your own history here at the university with the group and also exciting to know everyone learned something new.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
A reminder, the deadline for applications is this Friday, April 17!
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Sign up now for "Facilitating Active Citizenship" with Daisy Mitchell! Daisy has been collaborating with Hopkins Retrospective and @jhulibraries.bsky.social, utilizing University Archives to highlight and reflect on JHU's civic and community engagement history. hopkinsathome.jhu.edu/facilitating...
hopkinsathome.jhu.edu
Facilitating Active Citizenship: A History of Student Engagement through the Center for Social Concern | Hopkins at Home
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Martha S. Jones @marthasjones.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
“We cannot recall the past of Johns Hopkins University — most pointedly in this year in which it is marking a 150th anniversary — without also honoring Harper and the girls of the orphan asylum who were also a part of that founding scene.” open.substack.com/pub/hardhist...
open.substack.com
Join us for "Hard History" at the Baltimore Museum of Art, April 9
Freedom Bell: Celebrating the Life of Frances Harper; Remembering the Girls of the Hopkins Colored Orphan Asylum
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Last week, students Finnigan Keane and Meenal Srivastava took part in the Richard Macksey Research Symposium, presenting their studies of our special collections materials to a national audience. We are so proud of their hard work! 🎉
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
The Edible Book Festival is waiting for your entry! 🎂⁠ ⁠ While it's always a good time to join in the fun, the deadline for entry is tomorrow, March 25th! Create a sweet (or savory) treat and be in the running for amazing prizes courtesy of our Special Collections department.⁠ bit.ly/jhuediblebooks
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
We hope you have a relaxing Spring Break, and you take the time to enjoy a bit of fresh air. Images: Photos of student life on Homewood Campus in the spring, 1991.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Are you interested in researching Hopkins history? Want to dive into archival collections? Apply for the Hugh Hawkins Research Fellowship now! Open to undergraduate or graduate students from any school at JHU who wish to conduct research into the history of the institution. bit.ly/hawkinsfellowship
A flier promoting the Hugh Hawkins Research Fellowships and detailing that the fellowship stipend is $3,500 and the application deadline is April 14, 2025. At the top of the flier is a black-and-white photo of nine nursing staff members posed in front of a hospital information desk. Johns Hopkins Hospital escort messenger in Russell A. Nelson Patient Tower, c. 1977.
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Martha S. Jones @marthasjones.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
« The granite block, which began its life as a seat for the author of the Dred Scott decision, has become a platform for Baltimoreans who regularly bring their questions and concerns, their joys and their self-expression to the site. » hardhistories.substack.com/p/from-contr...
hardhistories.substack.com
"From Controversy to Conversation"
Talking the Hard History of Baltimore's "Confederate Monuments," March 5
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
"The paper uplifted Black student voices...[they] shared their Hopkins experience....covered domestic and international events...addressed the University’s progress in promoting an inclusive on-campus community and poets expressed themselves through advocacy-driven creative writing". bit.ly/4ud4lST
jhunewsletter.com
The origins of Black Student Union's publication "Perspective"
Perspective is an annual online publication produced by the Hopkins Black Student Union (BSU). In a magazine format, Perspective seeks to commemorate the year’s Black students – their achievements, ce...
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Students get in free! Email museums@jhu.edu to register if you want to attend.
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
MARCH 12 AT 12 PM: Curious about the renovation of the Eisenhower Library? 🤔⁠ ⁠ Join us for our upcoming Lunch With the Libraries, where Dean Elisabeth Long of Sheridan Libraries & University Museums will lead a virtual tour paired with a Q&A session.⁠ ✨️🏛️✨️⁠ ⁠ Registration is required: bit.ly/4bjpseI
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
From 1936 to 1971, five presidents of JHU and other top administrators had their offices at Homewood House, as it was then known. There, they made impactful and often surprising decisions, setting JHU on a distinctive course as higher education underwent fundamental changes.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Thank you to moderator Allison Seyler and panelists Michelle Fitzgerald, Margaret Burri, Nandini Rastogi, and Ten Nazur for a wonderful curator panel tonight. They spoke on everything from collections that smell of perfume to studying difficult archival documents on enslavement and incarceration.
Five people sit at the front of a room in front of others seated as an audience. All of them smile and are engaging with one another.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Nandini Rastogi, A&S '29, explains how a disastrous fire created new opportunities for JHU's early libraries in her blog post "The fire that transformed Johns Hopkins’ libraries, part one". @jhulibraries.bsky.social www.library.jhu.edu/news/2026/02...
library.jhu.edu
The fire that transformed Johns Hopkins' libraries, part one
Special Collections First-Year Fellow Nandini Rastogi, who's majoring in public health and minoring in business and environmental studies, explores the impact of a disastrous fire on the university's ...
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
An insightful conversation on Monday from the authors and team that has researched 150-years of university history and compiled it into a book to be published later this year. The panel was moderated by Barbara Kline Pope and panelists included Andrew Jewett, Jonathan Strassfeld, and Anna Reser.
Three people sit in chairs in front of a John’s Hopkins step and repeat. One speaks into a microphone in his hand.A woman sitting in a cushioned chair holds up a book on her knee as she speaks into a microphone. The cover of the book is a black and white photo of the Gilman Hall clock tower.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
The secret history of Johns Hopkins' original 'student center' hub.jhu.edu/2026/02/16/h...
hub.jhu.edu
The secret history of Johns Hopkins' original 'student center'
Levering Hall has stories to tell after nearly a century spent serving as a Homewood campus student hangout
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Johns Hopkins University Libraries @jhulibraries.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Join us for our 3 part event series Global Ballroom: Baltimore Meets Brazil! 📽️ 🎞️ This is Ballroom (2024)⁠: 2/26 at 5:30-8 PM 🎥 🎮 Peabody Ballroom Micro-Festival⁠: 2/27 at 5:30-7 PM 💃🕺 Vogue Workshop: Baltimore Meets Brazil⁠: 2/27 at 7-9 PM Learn more & register: krieger.jhu.edu/cams/2026/01...
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
We’ve got 10 folks transcribing away for @douglassday.bsky.social!
Seven people sitting at a table typing away at their laptops.
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
We’re all set up for #DouglassDay2026!
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Hopkins Retrospective @hopkinsretro.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
It’s that time of year again! 🧁 Hopkins Retrospective and Johns Hopkins University Libraries celebrates Commemoration Day every year to mark the inauguration of our first university president on February 22, 1876. For the 150th anniversary, it’s all hands on deck to reflect on Hopkins history.
Two students wearing winter jackets holding plates with cupcakes, a warm drink, and smiling and standing near large windows. Schedule of events listing lectures, celebrations, and activities at Hopkins from Feb 18 to Feb 24, 2026. Some events require registration. Schedule of events listing lectures, workshops, trivia, and exhibitions from Feb 25-27 for Commemoration Days 2026 at Johns Hopkins Homewood campus venues. Some events require registration.
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