Thinking about Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and it's a great time to think about the contributions and achievements of Black Americans. As we know, the history of our country is complicated by the legacy of slavery and racial divisions. Understanding the experiences of those who have lived and suffered through this pain, I believe, gives us a greater appreciation of how to respect others and work out the problems we've inherited.

One of our recently graduated History majors, Natalie Merrill, who is now a graduate student in Education, has written a short piece for the blog, Her Campus. It highlights some of the research she did on the troubled past and challenges of Buffalo's black community. It also reminds us that there are pressing issues to keep in mind and ways we can move forward. 

Here's the link: The City of Segregated Neighbors

Details of the Civil War Trip

 

Friday April 4

Departs from campus via a bus between noon and 1 p.m. for Harrisburg, PA. That evening you can join the Harrisburg Civil War Roundtable . Chris Mackowski will give a talk on Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs.

Saturday April 5

Tour of the Gettysburg National Military Park with the museum and  behind the scenes tour of the cyclorama depicting the battle. The American Battlefield Trust has an animated map of the battle that will help you understand the lay of the land. The battlefield and museum are both large so spending an the day is appropriate.

Sunday April 6

Sunday morning we will depart for Harpers Ferry, featuring the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park - the site of John Brown's Raid and numerous battles.

After lunch we will visit the Antietam National Battlefield. This is one of the critical battles of the war. The American Battlefield Trust has an over of the battle on YouTube. Around 5 p.m. we will depart to return to campus. 

If you are interested email Phillip Payne (ppayne@sbu.edu) or Chris Mackowski (cmackows@sbu.edu). 

Civil War Field Trip Associated with New Class

Chris Mackowski, of the Jandoli School of Communications, and Phillip Payne, professor of history, are team teaching History 320: The Civil War and Reconstruction.  This is the first time the Civil War and Reconstruction has been taught at SBU in around 20 years. We're excited to do this and experimenting with collaborative ways to teach history. 

Taking advantage of his work with the Emerging Civil War (Dr. Mackowski is the co-founder and Editor and Chief) and the American Battlefield Trust, he has arranged a series of guest speakers bringing a real depth and breadth of expertise to the class. 

Students in the class, and members of the university community, are invited to join a field trip to tour Gettysburg, Antietam and Harpers Ferry on April 4 - 7. If you are interested contact either Chris Mackowski or Phillip Payne for cost and details.

Phillip Payne chairs panel on civics education

 

Phillip Payne chaired the session “Citizens: the Past, Present, and Future of History and Civics Education. American Historical Association, New York City: January 3 – 6, 2025. The panelist represented faculty from education and history discussed the relationship between history and civics education in k-12 and higher education.