A Tribute to Jon Cowans

Join us for a special event honoring the incredible legacy of Professor Jon Cowans. We'll be celebrating his contributions to the Rutgers-Newark community and to the field. The event will be held at Express Newark, and feature reflections from scholars and students and a musical performance. A dinner reception will follow the presentations.

About Jon Cowans

Professor Cowans (1958 - 2024) joined the Federated Department of History at Rutgers University-Newark in 1995, and was an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Africana Studies. He was a dedicated scholar, teacher, mentor, and colleague.

During his time at Rutgers-Newark, he served as Director of the Film Studies minor and as Associate Chair and Undergraduate Director. Jon developed and taught a wide range of popular courses including Film and History, Capitalism and Socialism, Colonialism and Decolonization, and History of Democracy. He served on curriculum committees to enhance the educational experience of our students.

He was an internationally respected scholar on 20th-century Europe, politics, culture, and communications, and the history of France. He authored several books: To Speak for The People: Public Opinion and The Problem of Legitimacy in The French Revolution (Routledge, 2001), Modern Spain and Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History (Editor and translator, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), Empire Films and The Crisis of Colonialism 1946-1959 (John Hopkins University Press, 2015), Film and Colonialism in the Sixties: The Anti Colonial Turn in the US, Britain, and France (Routledge, 2019). He was also a collaborator with several journals and publications.

Host or Publisher Federated Department of History