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Headlines from History

A Newsletter from the Baruch History Department
February 2004

AS A NEW SEMESTER BEGINS... Welcome back to faculty, students, and staff-and an invitation to students to visit the History Corner, where you can find comfortable chairs, candy, copies of the New Yorker, and now the New York Times!

GOOD NEWS... Let's begin with some good news to share: Congratulations to Robert Friedman, whose generosity makes the Friedman Seminar and Symposium possible each year, on the arrival of his grandson, Zachary Harris. We are all hoping young Zachary will become a brilliant historian some day! And congratulations also to Professor Cynthia Whittaker on her new granddaughter, born in London just in time to meet the deadline for this edition: Sophie Whittaker Young.

Let's continue with a "Welcome Home." Trevor Brookins, a history major and graduate of Baruch College will be back in the classroom this semester-but not as a student. Trevor, now getting his PhD in American History at the University of Pennsylvania, is returning as an adjunct professor. We are all thrilled to have you back, Trevor!

IN THE CLASSROOM.... Last semester, Professor Ervand Abrahamian taught our first capstone course, entitled "In Search of History." This course was a resounding success. Here's what two students had to say:

From Robert Rohr: "The capstone course in history allows the student a remarkable opportunity to learn first hand how history is interpreted and recorded. By studying particular historical episodes written by influential authors representing a specific approach or inquiry, the student is introduced to the manifold disciplines that exist within history itself. Additionally, it is an illuminating course that helps explain the reasons for opposing interpretations of the same event. The capstone course in history was most exciting for me, however, because it taught me that history is much more than the dry and simplistic recitation of dates and events it is often reduced to in more traditional classes: it lives and breathes!"

And from Alexandra Breitenstein: "The capstone course is an essential part of any history curriculum. In this class, students learn the 'hows' and 'whats' of studying history, as the course offers an introduction to the different questions, methods, biases, and schools of thought used by historians throughout time. This class is a valuable asset for any student interested in the historical profession, as it teaches you to think and read like an historian, and tries to answer the essential question of what exactly is the study of history. Overall, the course does a fine job in defining the essence of 'history.'"

NEW ATTRACTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM... The History department continues to provide Capstone courses that probe historical questions and allow students to hone their analytic skills. This semester, Professor Veena Oldenburg is leading the course.

IN OUR LAST NEWSLETTER ... we left young Joseph Goldberger wondering whether to study engineering or to attend a special lecture by the famous Dr. Flint. Scroll down to see what happened....

Even one lecture can change a life. And in this case, the entry of this immigrant New Yorker into medical research would in time change the lives of millions in the American South, saving them from the ravages of pellagra, a dietary-deficiency disease. For the whole story, along with others from 1940s true adventure comic books, look for a small upcoming exhibit of comics from Professor Bert Hansen's collection in display cases in the Newman Library and a larger on-line version.

COMING UP IN THE FALL... Professor Carol Berkin will offer a Friedman Seminar entitled "Current Events in Historical Perspective" that follows the Presidential race as well as other "hot" news stories. Guest lectures by newspaper writers and editors are planned.

AND UNDER SPECIAL EVENTS ... Don't miss this!... Professor Thomas Heinrich is organizing a symposium entitled "National Security in Historical Perspective" in March. Held in conjunction with the Friedman Seminar "HIS 3460: America and the World." A panel comprised of two guest speakers and Professor Heinrich will discuss the Bush Administration's "U.S. National Security Strategy 2002," the Truman and Eisenhower administrations' national security policies, and the concept of preventive war. History majors, minors, and faculty are invited to this attend this college-wide event at the end of March 2004, time and date to be announced.

STUDENT NEWS ... Marina Vishnepolskaya and Iva Morton served as the student members of the History Department's recent search for a modern American Women's Historian. The faculty thanks them for their very astute comments and recommendations! Greg Toft will be doing an internship this semester with Professor Carol Berkin that allows him to go "behind the scenes" to see how a syllabus is constructed, how assignments are designed, and how classroom lectures and discussions are organized. A good way to decide if the life of the professor is the right career choice for him....Vlad Georgiev begins work on his honors paper on the Credit Mobilier...

FACULTY NEWS ... Professor Ervand Abrahamian is co-authoring a book entitled Inventing the Axis of Evil with Bruce Cummings and Moshe Ma'oz. It will be published by the New Press in April of 2004.....Professor Carol Berkin's essay, "Ethnicity in Seventeenth Century English America, 1600-1700," in Ronald Bayor's Race and Ethnicity in America has been published by Columbia University Press....Professor Veena Oldenburg delivered a talk at the Columbia University Seminar this January. On February 19, she will be at the University of Texas, giving a talk on her recent book, Dowry Murder...Professor Berkin and Professor Oldenburg were both speakers at the Chicago Humanities Festival this past November....Professor Katherine Pence's article, "A World In Miniature': The Leipzig Trade Fairs in the 1950s and East German Consumer Citizenship," appeared in David F. Crew, ed., Consuming Germany in the Cold War : Consumption and National Identity in East and West Germany (Oxford: Berg Press 2003).... Professor Vincent DiGirolamo's review of Donna Gabaccia and Fraser Ottanelli's anthology, Italian Workers of the World: Labor Migration and the Formation of Multiethnic States will appear in the March issue of the Journal of American History. His review essay "`Such, Such were the B'hoys': Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and the Pursuit of Authenticity" will soon appear in Radical History Review. In addition, Professor DiGirolamo was interviewed for the Marketplace Radio documentary series on child labor, which aired on National Public Radio last January. You can listen to the "Newsies" episode and the entire series at www.marketplace.org/features/child_labor ... Professor T. J. Desch-Obi received a Eugene M. Lang Junior Faculty Research Fellowship to conduct research in Europe (France/Spain/England)and the Caribbean (Haiti/Cuba) on the role of African martial art traditions in the Haitian and Cuban Wars of Independence.