Retired St. Bonaventure professor’s new book examines ‘The Creation of Modern Buenos Aires’

 

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., May 2, 2024 — A new book by Dr. Joel Horowitz, professor emeritus of History at St. Bonaventure University, examines the impact of civic associations on the culture and society of Buenos Aires and their ties to politics in the first decades of the 20th century. 

 “The Creation of Modern Buenos Aires: Football, Civic Associations, Barrios, and Politics, 1912-1943,” published by the University of New Mexico Press, focuses on a period that saw the emergence of the modern political system with true appeals to the voters, tremendous urban growth, and the solidification of a barrio identity.

Horowitz examines four types of organizations: football clubs, bibliotecas populares (popular libraries), sociedades de fomento (development societies that pushed for barrio improvements), and universidades populares (popular universities that provided practical training beyond the primary school level). All four types became important social centers and were connected to the political world. The book covers the period from the passage of a voting reform law in 1912, which made male citizen voting obligatory and fraud more difficult, to the military coup of 1943.

“The book shows how civic associations helped create the social world of the city, focusing especially on the part they played in the development of the sense of barrio,” Horowitz said. “These associations became vital links in the system of politics that emerged, providing politicians with opportunities to build connections to a variety of communities.”

Horowitz also demonstrates that even though these organizations were created by inhabitants to fulfill some of their needs and were generally founded on democratic procedures, they did not function as schools for democracy.

Horowitz taught in SBU’s Department of History from 1989 to 2016. He is the author of two other books: “Argentina’s Radical Party and Popular Mobilization, 1916-1930” and “Argentine Unions, the State, and the Rise of Perón, 1930-1945.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).

 

History Major, Natalie Merrill, Presents Research at A&S Expo

 

Natalie Merrill, class of 2024, presents a poster outlining her senior research paper, “The New Deal, Residential Segregation, & a Culture of Psychological & Physical Violence in Buffalo, NY” at the Arts & Sciences Expo. Her research made use of local newspapers, government documents, and relevant scholarship to illustrate the development of residential policies that have negatively impacted black communities and neighborhoods. She argues that the discrimination behind violent events such as the recent mass shooting at the Tops Supermarket in East Buffalo are not random but part of a larger pattern stretching back to the New Deal.

History Club visits Erie Maritime Museum

 

On Saturday, April 20, the History Club, along with Dr. Pitt, went to Erie, P.A. to visit the Erie Maritime Museum.  There, students were welcomed graciously by staff and led on a guided tour of the bottom portion of the museum, before being escorted outside to step foot on, and explore, a replica of the U.S.S. Niagara.  After that, everyone was allowed to take their own tour of the museum, and learn at their own pace.  Afterwards, the club treated all trip-goers to a meal at Subway before returning back to campus.

Caliva Smart Named a Fellow with Center for Hellenic Studies

 

Kathryn Caliva Smart, assistant professor of History, has been named a 2024-2025 fellow for the Center for Hellenic Studies, a research institute under the auspices of Harvard University. 

She will spend six weeks this summer in residence at the CHS in Washington, D.C., working on her current book project "Speaking about Gods: Mythic Knowledge and Narrative Authority in Greek Lyric Poetry."

Caliva Smart will join an international cohort of fellows who will live and work at the CHS over the course of the academic year.

Visiting the Eldred World War II Museum

 

Students in History 419: Digital History and Archival Practices visited the Eldred World War II Museum as part of their assignment. The students are building digital exhibits that compliment the existing physical exhibits.

The History Club Visits Buffalo Museums

Students learning how to use the desk to veto or approve legislation

Eleven members of St. Bonaventure’s History Club visited two Buffalo Museums on March 16.  Students spent several hours at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Museum, exploring the location where the twenty sixth president was inaugurated following the assassination of President McKinley.  They enjoyed exploring the home and engaging with the displays and artifacts discussing the Pan-American Exposition, Roosevelt’s inauguration, and the issues he faced after unexpectedly taking office.  This included viewing historical stereographs through a stereoscope that turns a pair of separate images into a single three-dimensional image (see images below).  Some students (and even Dr. Henning) took turns sitting behind TR’s desk to veto or approve legislation (above).  The Club rounded out their day by visiting the Buffalo Harbor Museum and learning about the creation of the Erie Channel and other components of Buffalo’s Maritime History.

student using the stereoscope

Students learning about the TR Inaugural Site

Hybrid Journalism Article

 

Jandoli Institute Publishes Payne/Moritz Hybrid Article The second article in Round 2 of the Jandoli Institute's Hybrid Journalism project was published today.  The article, History, Here and Now: The Issue of Presentism and Relevance, is a collaboration between Phillip Payne, Chair of the Department of History, and Brian Moritz, director of the Jandoli School of Communication's online M.A. programs in sports journalism and digital journalism.  In the article, the authors explore two contradictory trends in American society - the decline of history in the nation's educational system and an explosion of popular history across various mediums.