History Majors at the 2013 Arts & Sciences Exposition

On Thursday, April 18, 2013, seven history majors presented their research at the 2013 Arts and Sciences Exposition in Doyle Hall. Congratulations!

Matt Zaros, "The Battle of Britain"
(Mentor: Dr. Schaeper)

Colin O'Donnell, "Dr. Seuss and World War II"
(Mentor: Dr. Marinari)

Alexandra McCumiskey, "The Vauxhall Gardens"
(Mentor: Dr. Schaeper)

Jason Mahar, "Albert Gallatin: A Visionary Clouded by Debt"
(Mentor: Dr. Robbins)

Harrison Leone, "The Manhattan Project"
(Mentor: Dr. Marinari)

Shannon Conheady, "Bobby Sands: The Life and Impact"
(Mentor: Dr. Schaeper)

Colin Bearer, "Local Teachers' Unions in the 1960s and early 70s"
(Mentor: Dr. Marinari)

Congratulations to Dr. Payne!

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, Dr. Phillip Payne, professor of history (left), received an award for Professional Excellence in Research and Publishing from Provost Dr. Michael Fischer. Congratulations!

Thursday, April 18, 2013: A Busy Day for History Majors!

Eight History Majors will present their research at the 2013 Arts & Sciences Exposition at St. Bonaventure University. On Thursday, April 18, a reception will be held in the Trustees Room from 11:30 a.m. to about 1:00 p.m., during which our eight students will stand by their posters and answer questions about their research projects. 

Please come by to talk to Colin Bearer, Shannon Conheady, Harrison Leone, Jason Mahar, Alexandra McCumiskey, Colin O'Donnell, and Matt Zaros!

On the same day, at 5 p.m., the History Department will initiate six new students into its national honor society, Phi Alpha Theta. The induction ceremony will take place in the Living Room of University Ministries, and there will be a small reception afterward. Please come and support our new members: Shannon Conheady, Harrison Leone, Jason Mahar, Alexandra McCumiskey, and Maria Swieciki.

Introduction to Public History

Now that we’re into registration I’d like to plug History 206: Introduction to Public History. Public History is a smorgasbord of the types of history that exists outside the academy. One of the goals of the course is to introduce students to their career options in history and fields related to history. We look at a range of things from the how and why of museum work, historic preservation, history tourism, grant writing and more. What role does the historian play? How does it differ from traditional history? What skills are needed? A second goal is for students to do hands-on projects that will be available for public viewing. We work closely with Dennis Frank in the university archives. Past projects have included oral histories, exhibits on SBU’s history and other stuff. The point is we want to move beyond the paper with an audience of one, the professor, into projects that the university community will enjoy.

Mixing History and Music

Sure, 8 o’clock in the morning may be early and, yeah, it’s cold more often than not here at St. Bonaventure, but, every Tuesday, three stalwart cohosts rub the sleep from their eyes, guzzle their coffee, gulp down their breakfast sandwiches, and brave the sub-freezing temperatures to bring the “To Be Announced Show” to the world.

While I haven’t had the pleasure to listen to every show aired on WSBU The Buzz, St. Bonaventure’s nationally renowned, student-run radio station, I can say with confidence that the “To Be Announced Show” is the only one on 88.3 FM featuring a major historical component. Not only are two of the three hosts history majors-and proud of it, damn it-but our DJ names, “Kid Charlemagne” and “DJ Boris”, are inspired by historical figures. While we can’t claim to be a solid two-hour block of historical wisdom, we do have to play some music, after all, but we can at the very least say we incorporate a healthy dose of intelligent discussion into our show.

Life as a History Major at Bonaventure (Colin Bearer)

There is no greater joy than being a student. One can enjoy the independence of living away from family and experience the happiness of living in community with your peers, without many of the burdens and responsibilities that one must take on upon entering adulthood. With this in mind I chose to study history at St. Bonaventure University not with an eye on my future career, though that was certainly in my mind, but in the belief that I should study that subject which I most enjoy. I have never regretted this decision. Through my four years of study at university I have learned to appreciate new perspectives on topics that I once considered to be historical fact, have gained a wider knowledge of both American and World history, learned to appreciate the rigors and challenge of historical research, greatly improved my writing skills, and gained invaluable professional experience as an intern in the Friedsam Library archives. Studying history has not only been a fun and gratifying experience, but it has also allowed me to learn a number of professional skills which I can widely apply in either my future career or future studies at graduate school.

More on Film

Last week in History 429 we looked at musicals focusing on the work of Busby Berkeley. One of the films we looked at was Gold Diggers of 1933.