History Department Newsletter
April 2008
New News from the History Department
No, it’s not a typo. This news really is new: we’ve never had a departmental newsletter to send to alumni before. We hope to publish at least once a year— assuming people like it--to keep you up to date with what’s happening here at the Rowan history department. We love to stay in touch with students and alumni, and we hope you will enjoy hearing about our news.
new perspectives to our intellectual community. We’re very proud of our students, who inspire us while here and go on to make fine contributions in their work after graduation. We hope to see many back at future events. -Joy Wiltenburg
Department Changes
This past year, Edward Wang stepped down after 9 years of service as department chair. (This gives him more time to spend with his son, Maxwell, born June 19, 2007.) Joy Wiltenburg began a 3-year term as chair last July, leaving the position of advising coordinator. Corinne Blake has taken over as advising coordinator, resuming a position she held prior to 2001. We also have some departures and additions to announce. Former faculty Chima Korieh and Joan Bryant have taken positions at Marquette and Syracuse Universities, respectively. During this academic year, we have been fortunate to have Matteo Salvadore and John Aveni with us, teaching courses in African and African-American history. We’ve welcomed Emily Blanck, who joined us this spring in a shared tenuretrack line with American Studies. In the
From the Chair
As incoming department chair, I’ve inherited a department of extraordinarily committed teachers and scholars, along with nearly 500 history majors full of curiosity and talent, plus a capable and resourceful administrator in our department secretary, Denise Williams. So the main task of the chair is to make sure they have what they need in order to do the great things they were already doing--not too hard a job, luckily. Of course, we always face some challenges with time and change. We’ve been fortunate in our searches for new faculty to find bright and dynamic young scholars who will enrich our course offerings as they bring new energy and
1
fall we will be welcoming a new permanent faculty member, Chanelle Rose. (See new faculty profiles below.)
prestigious grants for this project, including visiting research appointments at Brandeis and Harvard Universities. Lee Kress took a study trip to Normandy this spring to explore significant battlefields of World War II. Janet Lindman’s book Bodies of Belief: Baptist Community in Early America will be appearing shortly from the University of Pennsylvania Press. We expect to have a book signing event in the fall. Scott Morschauser has been awarded tenure, effective Fall 2008, based on his excellent teaching and scholarship. Edward Wang published A Global History of Modern Historiography (2008), co-authored with Georg Iggers. Over the winter break he took up his prestigious visiting professorship at Beijing University. He is now back in Glassboro, hard at work on the next of his many books. We are working away on other research, books and articles -- look for more announcements in the future.
Faculty News
As always, our faculty have been incredibly active and productive. David Applebaum is on leave for the spring term conducting research for his book on French magistrates and several articles; he will be spending part of the time in France. Lynching Reconsidered: New Directions in the Study of Mob Violence, edited by William Carrigan, was published by Routledge in 2007. Dr. Carrigan also has signed a contract with Oxford University Press for a book he is co-writing with Clive Webb, Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928. Jim Heinzen is on sabbatical for this calendar year, doing research for his current project on corruption in the Soviet Union. He has been granted a fellowship at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University to conduct research there. Melissa Klapper’s new book, Small Strangers: The Experiences of Immigrant Children in America, 18801925 (2007), has been featured on National Public Radio and in other media and public events. Dr. Klapper is on sabbatical this year doing research for her next book, on American Jewish women’s activism before World War II. She has been awarded several
New Faculty
Emily Blanck, our newest faculty member, is a specialist in American legal history and teaches courses in both history and American Studies. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2003 and has recently published an article on the legal treatment of slavery in revolutionary South Carolina and Massachusetts in the
2
journal Slavery and Abolition. She and her husband Bill Carrigan have two young daughters, Julia and Sara. Chanelle Rose, who will be joining us in the fall, has just completed her Ph.D. in African-American History at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on the history of civil rights activism in Miami. She has already published an article in this field and looks forward to teaching courses on the civil rights movement and urban history.
morschauser@rowan.edu or (856) 2564500, x3993.
Student/Alumni News
Christopher Stanwood (1994) is a librarian at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia. Anthony DiClaudio (2000) completed a law degree at the University of Pennsylvania and is now studying political philosophy at Tufts University. Sean Evans (2000) is employed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Kristina Myers (2002) is Director of Heritage and Outreach at the Alice Paul Institute. Victor Baker (2005) has been named Executive Director of the Seabrook Educational Center and Museum. Christopher Fields (2005) is now a Customer Service Specialist at the Rowan Registrar’s Office. Sean Fischer (2005) is employed at Atlantic Cape Community College and is pursuing a graduate degree at Villanova University. Sabrina Hodur (2005) is now teaching at Pennsauken High School. In the summer of 2007, Ryan Kling served as a legislative intern in the U.S. Congress for Representative James Saxton (R-NJ).
New--Graduate Study in History at Rowan
The History Department is launching two new Certificate of Graduate Study (COGS) programs -- one in general history and the other in world history. Students can earn a certificate with 15 hours of graduate study. These programs are a good opportunity for professional development, or just personal enrichment. We have two graduate colloquia scheduled this summer. Janet Lindman is offering U.S. Cultural History, Monday through Thursday 12:30-3:45 from May 19 through June 5. Edward Wang is offering Race and Identity in East Asia, Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-6:45, June 23 to July 24. If there is demand, we could also offer a graduate colloquium in conjunction with Lee Kress’s course on the Vietnam War, Monday through Thursday 10:15-12:15, June 23 to July 24. Students with a B.A. may apply to the program or take up to 9 credits as nonmatriculated students before applying. If interested, please contact Scott Morschauser at
3
Maxwell Levine is now employed by the American Institute for History Education in Swedesboro, NJ. Current students studying abroad include Timothy Hill at Middlesex, Brian Kenny at the University of Limerick, Anthony Spatola in Rome, and Mariel Suarez in Prague. Congratulations to the winners of our 2008 history awards: Dean’s Tea awardee Neil Ruben, medallion winners Megan Meiler and Mark Walter, Livingston scholar Jennifer White, Hunter scholar William Suarez, and Best Paper winner Jason Rindosh. Neil Ruben has also been selected to speak at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Commencement ceremony.
Also this fall, Bill Carrigan and a group of students visited Yale to meet with author Hampton Sides and hear him speak about Kit Carson and the American frontier. Some of you may remember our firstever alumni reception a couple of years ago. This year we hope to gather history alumni at Homecoming--watch for future announcements via email or on our website.
Please Keep in Touch
We always want to know how our former students are doing, but often we don’t—maybe because we haven’t asked? We hope the newsletter can become a catalyst for better communication. We would appreciate hearing about your doings; you can write to the chair at wiltenburg@rowan.edu, or of course to any of your former teachers, who are always thrilled to hear from alumni. (Please let us know if you would like us to forward your news to the alumni magazine, a separate and more glorious publication.)
Past & Upcoming Events
Bill Carrigan and Scott Morschauser led a tour/lecture study trip for students to Antietam and Harper’s Ferry in September 2007. They will be teaming up again for another trip to Gettysburg in May 2008, to include tours tracing the course of the battle of Gettysburg as well as lectures on the site’s historical significance.
4