Daina Ramey Berry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daina Ramey Berry
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| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA, PhD) |
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Daina Ramey Berry is an American historian and professor. She is currently the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Before this, she worked at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Berry studies important topics like the history of slavery and the lives of Black women in the United States. She has written several books. Her work helps us understand how enslaved people contributed to society and how African American women have shaped American history.
Contents
Education and Early Career
Daina Ramey Berry went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts in history, in 1992. She continued her studies at UCLA. In 1994, she received a Master of Arts degree in African American studies. Later, in 1998, she earned her PhD in United States history.
Teaching and Leadership Roles
After finishing her studies, Dr. Berry began her career as a professor.
- In 1998, she started teaching history and African American studies at Arizona State University.
- In 2000, she moved to Michigan State University to join their history department.
- In 2010, she became a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. There, she worked in both the history department and the African and African Diaspora Studies department.
- By 2018, she was named the Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor of History.
- In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the associate dean of the graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Since 2022, she has been the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Research and Books
Dr. Berry is known for her deep research into American history. She has written and co-edited several important books.
Swing the Sickle for the Harvest is Ripe (2007)
This was Dr. Berry's first book. It explores the lives of enslaved people in two different counties in Georgia during the early 1800s. She looked at how their work was connected to their gender. She also studied how their family and community ties were affected by the system of slavery. The book compares a more controlled system in Glynn County with a more open one in Wilkes County.
The Price for their Pound of Flesh (2017)
In this book, Dr. Berry examines the economic side of slavery in the United States. She researched how enslaved people were given a "price" from before they were born until after they died. She explains that enslaved people had different kinds of value:
- Assessed value: How much others thought they were worth for buying or selling.
- Market value: How much they could be sold for based on demand.
- Soul value: Their own inner worth and spirit, which was important to them and their families.
- Ghost value: The value given to their bodies after death, often for sale to medical schools.
By looking at these different values, Dr. Berry shows that the history of slavery is not just about money. It also includes the feelings and ideas of enslaved people about their own lives.
A Black Women's History of the United States (2020)
Dr. Berry wrote this book with Kali Nicole Gross. It tells the stories of eleven African American women who made a big difference in U.S. history. The book highlights two main ideas:
- African American women have played a central role in American history, but their contributions are often not recognized enough.
- The rights that Black women have gained were mostly won through their own hard work and activism.
The authors show how the actions of African American women have helped define what liberty means in America. They also point out problems in how democracy has worked and how to fix them. The book features stories of both well-known and lesser-known historical figures. The Washington Post and Bustle magazine listed it as a highly anticipated book when it was released.
Other Works and Recognition
Dr. Berry has also helped edit other books, including Slavery and Freedom in Savannah (2014). Her work and interviews have been featured in major news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR.
Selected Books
- Swing the Sickle for the Harvest is Ripe: Gender and Slavery in Antebellum Georgia (2007)
- The Price for their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation (2017)
- A Black Women's History of the United States, with Kali Nicole Gross (2020)
