Upcoming History Club Meeting!

Interested in History? Come to a brief History Club Meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Plassmann Lounge. We will discuss events/trips to take place this semester. Take a break from your studies to meet with others interested in history! You need not be a history major. All SBU students are welcome!

History Major Shannon Conheady Writes from Northern Ireland

Whenever anyone mentions Ireland, they almost always define it by its color and its people: “it’s so green,” they say, and “the people are the friendliest in the world.” Well, both of these things are completely true. My first impression of flying over this country was that everything was greener compared to home; the light pollution was almost nonexistent, unlike in the U.S. And the people here are among the kindest people I have ever met; willing to share a story or advice just as long as you’re willing to listen. However, there is a lot more to this island in the Atlantic. I study in the northern part of the island, which still remains part of the United Kingdom.

My Time as a History Major at Bonaventure by Chelsea O'Connor-Rosiek

"So, what do you plan on doing with a history degree?"

                This is the question that every history major has to answer at least forty-seven times a week. It is usually asked with a condescending quality or bewilderment. I know I've heard it, and having to justify a personal choice at every turn gets tiring after four years. But I no longer find this question to be tedious because I could defend my degree until the day I die.

                 I could tell you more about the S. S. St. Louis, the Tango, or the Great Leap Forward than you would probably care to know, but the skills that I've learned as a history major extend beyond facts. I can digest and transmit information well. I can gauge other subjects through a historical lens, from medicine to film, and tell you what implications they convey. The skills I've learned are applicable in many areas of study. Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the prospect of the future but only  because there are so many things I want to do. With my degree in hand, I know I could achieve any of those things.

Studying European History with Dr. Horowitz (Daniel Leopold)

After studying history throughout my life in the United States, I’ve come to realize that our approach to history is America-centric. Even when studying World or European history, all events are filtered through an American lens, almost as if the world functions as a reaction to what we do. Such a geopolitical vacuum does not exist. The beauty of one class in particular that I am taking, “Europe Since 1815”, is that it completely challenges this misconception. Focusing on the dynamic events in history during that specific time and space period, its lens is not tinted with red, white, and blue, but rather targets what the title of the course promises.

Dr. Payne on CSpan

My talk at the Kansas City Public Library has been airing on C-Span. I've gotten some nice emails from folks who have seen it. Here is the link to the video on the CSpan web page.

Upcoming Talk on Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation, and Spielberg's Lincoln

Professor Paul Finkelman, PhD., the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School and the Justice Pike Hall, Jr. Visiting Professor at Louisiana State University Law School will speak on how Abraham Lincoln came to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. In his talk, titled “How a Railroad Lawyer Became the Great Emancipator:  Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation, and Spielberg's Movie,” Finkelman will show the evolution of Lincoln's thinking on freedom and the changing constitutional understandings during the Civil War. He will also explain why the central moment of the Civil War and American history since the Revolutionary Period was the Emancipation Proclamation, and not the debate over the Thirteenth Amendment, as portrayed in the movie "Lincoln." Dr. Finkelman will be speaking at 7:00 on January 29 in the Walsh Theater. 

Join the History Club at the Movies!

The History Club and Mock Trial invite you to attend the showing of Stephen Spielberg's Lincoln with Daniel Day-Lewis. The event will be on Wednesday, January 22 in Walsh Theater at 06:30pm. Refreshments will be provided. Don't miss it!