Biography
Robert Cassanello (he/him/his) is an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida. He is a social historian who writes about Jim Crow America and the Civil Rights Movement. His book To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville won the 2014 Harry Moore Award by the Florida Historical Society. His other books include Crafting Constitutions in Florida, 1810–1968, Migration and the Transformation of the Southern Workplace since 1945 with Colin J. Davis and Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration with Melanie Shell-Weiss.
He has also produced numerous media projects such as the films. His films are The Committee, Filthy Dreamers and Marching Forward with all with film professor Dr. Lisa Mills. Additionally, he produced the podcasts A History of Central Florida and The Florida Constitutions, which both won the Dunn Internet Broadcasting Award with the Florida Historical Society.
Education
- Ph.D. from Florida State University (2000)
Research Interests
Jim Crow America, The Civil Rights Movement, Social History, Labor and Working-Class History
Recent Research Activities
Robert Cassanello has published articles in the Journal of Urban History, Florida Historical Quarterly and 49th Parallel. He is author of To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville. He has co-edited two books Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration (with Melanie Shell-Weiss) and Migration and the Transformation of the Southern Workplace since 1945 (with Colin J. Davis). He is completing a book length manuscript examining the suffrage and the right to vote in Florida. He also produces media public history projects such as the film documentaries The Committee and Filthy Dreamers. He also produced the public history podcast series A History of Central Florida, the Florida Historical Quarterly Podcast and The Art of the Review. He is also working on a multimedia digital history exhibit with the Jones High School Historical Society Inc that features the one hundred plus year history of Orlando's historic black high school. He is also a network editor of H-Podcast.
Publications
Books
- Crafting Constitutions in Florida, 1810–1968, ed. Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2025
- To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2013
- Migration and the Transformation of the Southern Workplace since 1945 with Colin J. Davis, eds Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2010
- Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration with Melanie Shell-Weiss, eds. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009
Films
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Marching Forward, (2020) Film, with Lisa Mills, Executive Producer, Director
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Filthy Dreamers, (2020) Film, with Lisa Mills, Executive Producer, Director
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The Committee, (2012), Film, with Lisa Mills, Executive Producer, Director
Articles/Essays
- "The Right to Vote and the Long Nineteenth Century in Florida," The Florida Historical Quarterly 95 (Fall:2016), 194-220.
- “Avoiding “Jim Crow:” Negotiating Separate and Equal on Florida’s Railroads and Streetcars and The Progressive Era Origins of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, 1882-1905” Journal of Urban History, 34 (March 2008) 435-457.
- “The Fluidity of Racial Hierarchy: Changing Ethnic Images of Germans and Czechs in the American Mind, 1877-1918," (March 2001) 49th Parallel
Book Sections/Chapters
- "Park Monroe Trammell" in The Governors of Florida, R. Boyd Murphree and Robert A. Taylor eds. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2020, 332-344
- with Melanie Shell Weiss "Introduction: The Promise of Florida's Labor History" in Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009), 1-16
- with Melanie Shell Weiss "Epilogue: Florida and the Contemporary Labor Movement," in Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration. (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009), 257-274
- with Colin J. Davis, "Introduction" in Migration and the Transformation of the Southern Workplace since 1945 (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2010), 1-12.
- We Are White Men and Haven't Got Black Hearts Racialized Gender and the Labor Movement in Florida, 1900-1920. in Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009
Podcasts/Digital Media Projects
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The Florida Constitutions Podcast, (2019) [H-Net] Co-Producer and Co-Host
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The Art of the Review: An H-Net Podcast, (2015) [H-Net] Executive Producer and Co-Host
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A History of Central Florida Podcast, [iTunes] (2013-2015), Executive Producer
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Florida Historical Quarterly Podcast, [Stars-UCF Digital Commons] (2009-2017), Producer
Awards
Suncoast Emmy© Award, [Nominated] Best Historical Documentary, "Marching Forward" (2021)
Hampton Dunn Broadcasting Award, "Filthy Dreamers" (2021)
Suncoast Emmy© Award, [Nominated] Best Historical Documentary, "Filthy Dreamers" (2020)
Hampton Dunn Internet Award, "The Florida Constitutions Podcast" (2019)
Florida Humanities Council, Mini Grants for Community Organizations, (2018)
UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) 2018
UCF Research Incentive Award (RIA) 2017
Special Recognition Award, (In)justice For All Film Festival, Hymns of Three Cities, (2016)
Hampton Dunn Internet Award, "A History of Central Florida Podcast" (2016)
Hampton Dunn Internet Award, "A History of Central Florida Podcast"(2015)
Suncoast Emmy© Award, Best Historical Documentary, "The Committee" (2014)
Harry and Harriette Moore Award, To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville (2014)
Hampton Dunn Internet Award, "A History of Central Florida Podcast" (2014)
International Jury Award for Best Documentary, Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, South Africa, "The Committee" (2014)
Love Your Shorts Film Festival, Best Documentary, "The Committee" (2014)
Florida Humanities Council, Mini Grants for Community Organizations, (2013)
Hampton Dunn Internet Award, RICHES Podcast Documentaries, (2013)
Hampton Dunn Broadcasting Award, Film “The Committee,” (2013)
UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) 2013
Broadcast Education Association, Best of Competition Mixed Video, “The Committee,” (2012)
UCF Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, (2012)
Florida Humanities Council, Mini Grants for Community Organizations, (2011)
National Endowment for the Humanities, Extending the Reach Fellowship: Research Grant (2001-2002)
Courses
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 93651 | AMH5920 | Colloquium Jim Crow America | In Person (P) | W 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM | Unavailable |
| Course # | Course | Title | Mode | Days/Times | Syllabus |
|---|