Phillip Payne on panel examining the 2024 election

 

St. Bonaventure faculty will discuss presidential election on TV and radio this weekend

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., Oct. 30, 2024 — Buffalo Toronto Public Media will broadcast a forum that features St. Bonaventure University faculty unpacking the issues in the presidential election.

 The 90-minute program will air on WNED-TV, a PBS member television station in Buffalo, on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. and 88.7 FM WBFO Monday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m.

 

“This program was a tremendous collaborative effort among students, faculty, staff and alumni,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communication. “I am proud of the efforts of everyone involved to produce a timely and important discussion of the issues at stake in the election, and I appreciate our local public media making this engaging broadcast available to a wider audience.”

 

The forum, “Policy Palooza at SBU: How the Presidential Election Will Affect the Lives of Today’s College Students,” was recorded on Tuesday, Oct. 22, on the St. Bonaventure campus.

Jandoli School Professor Richard Lee, a former political reporter and press secretary, and student Sydney Labayewski, an SBU-TV news anchor and reporter, moderated the session. Panelists included several St. Bonaventure faculty members, as well as SBU alumnus Bob McCarthy, ’76, a veteran political reporter and analyst.

 

Lee and Jandoli School faculty member Scott Sackett worked as partners to develop and produce the program.

 

“Our goal was to bring together journalists, policy experts, students and the university community for insightful conversations,” Lee said.

 

Panelists discussed the economy, health care, foreign policy, immigration, cybersecurity and other issues. St. Bonaventure students staffed the production.

 

“I’ve heard from many of my students that they don’t follow news or politics, and I wondered whether giving them a safe space for civil discourse might change how they feel,” Sackett said. “I was inspired by ‘Firing Line,’ ‘The McLaughlin Group’ and ‘Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals’ — the current affairs programs I enjoyed watching when I was their age.”

 

The project was funded by the Jandoli School and by a grant from the Leo E. Keenan Jr. Faculty Development Endowment at St. Bonaventure.

 

 

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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).

 

Professors Chris Dalton and Phil Payne present at Teaching Conference

Chris Dalton, senior lecturer, and Phil Payne, professor, presented at the 2024 H-Net Teaching Conference on August 22, 2024. The theme of the conference was "History, Social Sciences, and Humanities: Working in Classrooms and Communities." They participated in the panel "It Takes a Collaboration: Teaching In and Out of the Classroom with Campus and Community Partners." Professor Dalton presented "The Local and the National: A College & Community Engagement Project" working with students in the history methods class work on a local history project in collaboration with the Cuba Circulating Library. Professor Payne presented "Lessons Learned: Community Collaboration with History and Education" summarizing his work on an National Endowment for the Humanities Connection planning grant, “Collaborative Pathways for Inquiry-Based Education: Piloting a Humanities Education Partnership.” 

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.

 

History Class works with Eldred World War II Museum

 

Eldred World War II Museum

Students in History 419: Digital History and Archival Practices are starting new projects working with the Eldred World War II Museum located in Eldred, PA. Over the next few weeks, they will be working with museum staff to build a digital complement for an exhibit in the museum. Stay tuned as we work on these cool projects.

St. Bonaventure professors collaborate on interdisciplinary hybrid journalism stories

 

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., Feb. 13, 2024 — The Jandoli Institute at St. Bonaventure University has launched a second round of its Hybrid Journalism Project in which professors from different disciplines will partner with faculty from the Jandoli School of Communication to develop and produce news stories.

“The initial project in 2022 accomplished what we set out to do,” Jandoli Institute Executive Director Richard Lee said. “The faculty teams produced stories that were informative and engaging, and they learned about each other’s disciplines.”

Seven faculty teams are collaborating on stories for Round 2 of the project. Their stories will be published on the Jandoli Institute’s website, jandoli.net.

“Each team will work in partnership to shape the ideas and concepts from the different disciplines into well-researched, well-reported and well-written journalism,” Lee said.

The hybrid teams and their projects are:

• Dr. Tiffany Demiris, an assistant professor of sports management, and Dr. Denny Wilkins, a professor in the Jandoli School, will delve into questions about the implications of NCAA conference realignment.
• Dr. Elizabeth Gratz, an assistant professor of marketing and interim chair of the Department of Marketing, and David Kassnoff, a retired Jandoli School faculty member, will explain how businesses can tap a $21 billion market by better connecting with consumers with disabilities.
• Dr. Scott Medler, an associate professor of physician assistant studies, and Dr. Tammy Rae Matthews, an assistant professor in the Jandoli School, will develop a “how to” guide to collecting and processing acorns into versatile flour that can be used for a variety of dishes.
• Dr. Phillip Payne, chair of the Department of History, and Dr. Brian Moritz, director of the Jandoli School’s online M.A. programs in sports journalism and digital journalism, will 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.
• John Stevens, a lecturer of management, and Carole McNall, an assistant professor in the Jandoli School, will collaborate on an article about what students know, and should know, about artificial intelligence in a college environment.
• Dr. Robin Valeri, a psychology professor, and Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, an associate professor in the Jandoli School, will study the different ways hate is expressed in schools, why schools are often targets of hate crimes, and the educational culture that breeds dissent.
• Dr. Xiao-Ning Zhang, a biology professor and director of the biochemistry program, and Hoffmann will explore how climate change will impact food security worldwide by sharing the data, as well as stories of people struggling with climate change-related food insecurity.

“This project is a perfect example of faculty innovation and collaboration,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School. “I am thankful for Dr. Lee’s leadership in making the Jandoli Institute a dynamic place for creative approaches to tackle important issues.”

The institute’s hybrid journalism project is funded by a grant from the Leo E. Keenan Jr. Faculty Development Endowment at St. Bonaventure.

Stories from Round 1 of the project are posted on the Jandoli Institute website, along with a video of a roundtable discussion among the faculty participants.

The Jandoli Institute, part of the Jandoli School of Communication, serves as a forum for academic research, creative ideas and discussion on the intersection between media and democracy.

 

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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).

Article by Smart published in the journal Classical Philology

An article by Dr. Kathryn Caliva Smart titled "Divine Liars: Gods and their Falsehoods in the Homeric Hymns" was published in the most recent issue of Classical Philology, a peer-reviewed journal devoted to research on the ancient Greek and Roman world.

You can find the article at the University of Chicago Journals web page.

Abstract

This paper examines examples of lies performed by gods in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite and the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, and demonstrates how these false assertions illustrate each god’s power and essential nature. This analysis uses speech act theory and theories of lying to demonstrate that not all lies are speech acts that have deception as the primary objective. Rather, both Hermes and Aphrodite have goals beyond deception when they make false assertions. The lies uttered by Hermes and Aphrodite demonstrate how divine lies in the Homeric Hymns exert a perlocutionary force beyond deception and highlight the praiseworthy aspects of each god.

Team Taught Class on Democracy and the 2024 election

 

Democracy? Election 2024

Every election, we hear that this election is the most important one in our lives. Is it? It could be? How do we think about this? How do we process all the noise and chatter to get a deeper understanding of our political process?

Next fall, we are offering a team-taught class interdisciplinary class focusing on democracy and the 2024 election. It is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the Jandoli School of Communications. Details will be forthcoming, but if you are interested in democracy and politics, this will be a great class to examine our election from a variety of perspectives.

The following faculty are participating.

College of Arts and Science:

History - Phillip Payne

Political Science - Mary Rose Kubal

Sociology - Benjamin Gross  

Jandoli School of Communications:

Journalism and Strategic Communication - Pauline Hoffmann

Journalism, Strategic Communication, Integrated Marketing Communications, Sports Media - Richard Lee, executive director of the Jandoli Institute.

Stay tuned for more details.