Mark Celinscak

Ph.D. - Humanities
York University - 2012

B.Ed. - Education
Brock University - 2005

M.A. - History
University of Toronto - 2003

B.A. - History
Laurentian University - 2001

Two Roses: A Story of Deception and Determination in Nazi Germany. Toronto: New Jewish Press/University of Toronto Press, 2026 - Book

“Anger and Disgust in Liberator Accounts.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Special Issue on “Emotions in Holocaust Studies.” Volume 40, Issue 1. 2026 - Journal Article

Global Approaches to the Holocaust: Memory, History, Representation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2025 - Book

“Reflections on the Art of Samuel Bak in North America.” Samuel Bak: The Healing Symbols. Compiled by Ieva Šadzevičienė, pp. 108-111. VGMJH Samuel Bak Museum, Vilnius, 2025 - Catalogue Essay

“The Ecology of Liberation: Animals, Nature, Geography.” Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History, Special issue on “Genocide/Ecocide: Culture, Public Debate, Language,” Volume 30, Issue 3. 2024 - Journal Article

“Care Amidst Chaos: Narrative Medicine and the Holocaust.” Narrative Medicine: Trauma and Ethics. Edited by Anders Rasmussen and Morten Sodemann, pp. 77-87. Wilmington: Vernon Press, 2024 - Book Chapter

Kingdom of Night: Witnesses to the Holocaust. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022 - Book

“There are no roads back.” Icons of Alone: New Works by Samuel Bak. Edited by Jeanne Koles, pp. 1-5. Boston: Pucker Gallery, 2022 - Catalogue Essay

Canadian Jewish Literary Award, Holocaust Literature - Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto [2022]

Publication Grant, Awards to Scholarly Publication Program - Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (SSHRC) [2022]

Excellence in Research/Creative Activity Award - College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha [2022]

Faculty Excellence in Engagement Award - University of Nebraska at Omaha [2020]

European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) Fellowship - Wiener Library [2018]

Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature, Non-Fiction - Koffler Centre of the Arts [2016]

Publication Subvention, Emerging Scholars Program - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [2015]

Publication Grant - Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme (SSHRC) [2015]

Dr. Stephen Speisman Bursary - Ontario Jewish Archives [2013]

Fleischer Award - Centre for Jewish Studies, York University [2012]

Professor of History
University of Texas at Dallas [2026–Present]

Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies
University of Nebraska at Omaha [2016–2026]

Professor of History
University of Nebraska at Omaha [2025–2026]

Associate Professor of History
University of Nebraska at Omaha [2021–2025]

Assistant Professor of History
University of Nebraska at Omaha [2016–2021]

Sessional Instructor
Toronto Metropolitan University [2016–2016]

Sessional Instructor
Trent University [2014–2016]

Sessional Instructor
Laurentian University [2014–2015]

Assistant Professor, Limited Term Appointment
Trent University [2013–2014]

Pearl Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [2012–2013]

Civil Internment Camps and the Denazification of Germany [in progress].

This project examines the Civil Internment Camps that were established in the British Zone of Occupied Germany in the postwar period. 

“Series of Concentration Circles: The Holocaust in Global Context.”

2026/03 Michael and Elaine Jaffe Lecture, Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, University of Texas at Dallas.

“Global Approaches to the Holocaust” Book Launch

2025/11 Co-editors Mark Celinscak and Mehnaz Afridi in conversation with Dr. Laura B. Cohen at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

A Rose in Plain Sight

2025/07 The documentary film, 'A Rose in Plain Sight', details the process of collaboration between artist Miriam Libicki, survivor Rose Lipszyc and editors Mark Celinscak and Charlotte Schallié. It was was directed and edited by Chorong Kim with assistant camera by Skylar Kim.

The 'Two Roses' Project: Arts-Based Storytelling and the Holocaust

2025/07 Virtual program featuring acclaimed graphic novelist Miriam Libicki, co-editors Dr. Charlotte Schallié and Dr. Mark Celinscak and Holocaust survivor Rose Lipszyc.

Visual Storytelling in Holocaust Education

2023/04 A webinar about the award-winning graphic book, But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust. Winner of two 2023 PROSE Awards and the 2022 Canadian Jewish Literary Award.

Professional Memberships

• Royal Historical Society (RHS)
• Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies
• British and Irish Association for Holocaust Studies (BIAHS)
• Group for War and Culture Studies (GWACS)
• International Auto/Biography Association (IABA)
• Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)

Past Fellowships

Wiener Library, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Keene State College, Western Washington University, University of Mississippi, Goodenough College London, and Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University.

“The Liberation of Bergen Belsen.”

Interview with David Borys. Curious Canadian History podcast (January 2026)

“Global Approaches to the Holocaust.”

Interview with Kelly McFall. New Books Network’s Genocide Studies podcast (December 2025)

“Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp.”

Interview with Ari Barbalat. New Books Network podcast (16 January 2025).

“Hope in the Darkness: Holocaust Survivor and Artist, Samuel Bak, Offers Lessons on Moving Forward.”

Interview with Robyn Murray. UNO Magazine (Spring 2023): 32-37.

“Canadian Witnesses to the Horrors of the Holocaust.”

Podcast interview with Greg Marchildon. Produced by The Champlain Society for “Witness to Yesterday | Témoins d’hier.” (11 February 2022)

Meyerhoff Annual Lecture and Regional Symposium, University of Oklahoma

Co-organize and facilitate a four-day symposium about teaching the Holocaust through visual culture, as well as act as moderator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 2027 Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Annual Lecture Series to be held at the University of Oklahoma.

Special Issue: Historical Testimony and the Arts, Journal of History

Plan and co-edit a special issue of the Journal of History on engaging the use of historical testimony in various artistic and educational initiatives.

What is Testimony For? Accessibility and Applications of Holocaust and Genocide Testimony, Yale University

Co-organize a 2026 conference at Yale University exploring the use of testimony in various artistic and educational initiatives, as well as explain various artistic forms of expression and the application of new media and technology from aesthetic, political and pedagogical perspectives.

2023/01
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of History (University of Toronto Press)

2023/01
Board of Scholars, Facing History and Ourselves

2022/06
Co-Chair, Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies (501c3)

2022/05
Elected Fellow, Royal Historical Society (RHS)

2018/12
Executive Committee, Consortium of Higher Education Centers for Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies (501c3)

2005/06
Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)

Narrative Art and Visual Storytelling in Holocaust and Human Rights Education

$2,500,000 [CAD] - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [2022/01–2029/12]

Co-applicant on the award and co-leader in the Holocaust Research Cluster. The project is a multiperspectival, participatory, arts-and-human-rights-based collaboration among academics, educators, Holocaust survivors, and artists for teaching and learning about the Holocaust in diverse, international public contexts. We collaborate as an international team of scholars and institutions from around the world, create free educational resources for the study of the Holocaust.

Developing Trauma-Informed Teaching Resources and Outreach Activities for Arts-Based Survivor Testimonies

$129,769 [CAD] - National Holocaust Remembrance Program, Heritage Canada [2025/01–2028/03]

Co-applicant on the award and part of a team that develop open-access educational resources, learning activities, and an art exhibition to accompany non-fiction graphic novels.