Headlines from History
A Newsletter from the Baruch History Department
Volume 1, Number 1, April 2002
In this issue:
- Interviews with Alumni by history majors Elvin Avilas and Marisa Gamble
- News of faculty publications
- Report on the History Department's Spring Reception
Greetings from the Baruch History Department. We are located on the Fifth Floor in Room B5-200. To reach us, call our Administrative Assistant, Ms Jessica Gonzalez, at 646-312-4312.
Headlines from the Department....
This semester the History Department hosted a reception for majors,
prospective majors, and all students interested in history. The turn out
was fabulous and even the cold pizza couldn't dampen our enthusiasm.
Our department Chair, Professor Cynthia Whittaker, discussed career
options for history majors, possible double majors, minors in history, and some exciting new courses that could involve travel, both in the US and abroad.
We invite all Baruch students to come by the department, keep an eye out for special events we will be sponsoring, and get information on next semester's course offerings. If you would like to help organize a film festival, or a brown bag discussion group on current events, or even a history reading club--- let us know!
Headlines from the Faculty....
No question about it: Baruch has one of the most dynamic, productive group of scholars in the country. Just look at their accomplishments in 2001-2002:
Professor Carol Berkin, our American colonialist and women's historian, has three new books this year: The third edition of her textbook, Making America: A History of the United States; The Encyclopedia of American Literature, The Colonial and Revolutionary Era, 1607-1814; and A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution....Professor T.J. Desch-Obi, one of our new Africanists, published “Combat and the Crossing of the Kalunga,” in Linda Heywood, ed. Central Africans and Cultural Transformation in the American Diaspora....Professor Bert Hansen, our specialist in science and medicine in America, published “Public Careers and Private Sexuality: Some Gay and Lesbian Lives in the History of Medicine and Public Health,” in The American Journal of Public Health [January 2002]....Professor Thomas Heinrich, who teaches our business and industrial history courses, has two articles, “Product Diversification in the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry: the Case of International Paper,” in Business History Review [2001] and “Cold War Armory: Military Contracting in Silicon Valley,” in Enterprise and Society [2002]....Professor Veena Oldenburg, our Indian and British colonial expert, has two books this year: The Making of Colonial Lucknow, 1856-1877 and Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime....Professor Murray Rubenstein, who teaches East Asian history and Chinese religion, co-edited a volume entitled Women and Men on Taiwan and co-edited a second volume, Religion and the Formation of Taiwanese Identities....Professor Tansen Sen, our specialist in Asian History, has an article and a forthcoming book: “In Search of Longevity and Good Karma: Chinese Diplomatic Missions to Middle India in the Seventh Century,” in Journal of World History [2001] and Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade in the Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400....Professor Randolph Trumbach, whose fields are the family, sexuality, and religion, published “Homosexuality and Lesbianism,” in Peter Stearns, ed., Encyclopedia of European Social History, 1300-2000...Professor Cynthia Whittaker, chair of the department and a Russian historian, published “Chosen by ‘All the Russian People’: the Idea of an Elected Monarch in 18th Century Russia,” in Acta Slavica Iaponica [2001].
Headlines from students, past and present....
Robert and Richard DiNardo are brothers and both are Baruch history department success stories. The scholarly Richard is now a professor of Military History at the U.S. Marine Corps College. The athletic Robert is an elementary school principal. Both men have returned to Baruch recently. Professor DiNardo gave a talk this March entitled "War as a Theme in Teaching Global History," and Robert has returned as the coach of Baruch's women's basketball team. This year the professor will publish his fifth book and the coach was named CUNY Co-Coach of the Year!
History major Elvin Aviles interviewed Coach DiNardo for this newsletter. Aviles asked DiNardo if the study of history had proved useful to him. The answer was a resounding yes, both in the Coach's personal life and in his role as an educator. He had discovered men and women from the past, he told Aviles, who he could admire and who inspired him. He believed that he was better able than many people to evaluate current events and current crises because of his knowledge of the past.
Marisa Gamble interviewed Richard DiNardo. She asked if Baruch had changed much since the early 1970s when he was a student. The answer was no. Gamble says that DiNardo chuckled when he recalled that since he was one of Professor Cynthia Whittaker's first students, this proves that Vanessa Williams is wrong: “the best don't always come last.” Because DiNardo is a military historian, Gamble took the opportunity to ask him about the current effort to eliminate al-Qaeda. Had President Bush followed the right strategy? DiNardo thinks the answer is yes. And, DiNardo would not stop at attacks on terrorists in Afghanistan. This is “a long term project," he said, a "protracted struggle” that we cannot back away from. Serious words; but Gamble found DiNardo is not serious all the time. He loves bad movies, the trashier the better! In fact, he loves Mystery Science Theatre 3000. As Gamble observed: “we all need to find our recreational activities somewhere!”
The DiNardo brothers don't agree on everything: Richard supports the NRA; Robert prefers the NBA. Richard relaxes in front of a bad movie; Robert prefers to be on the basketball court. But they do agree on two things: History is important and Baruch is a great place to study it.
Got news you would like to share? Have someone you would like to interview? Contact Professor Carol Berkin at cberkin@gc.cuny.edu and let her know.
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