A Field Trip to Historic Deerfield, MA
On March 9th, Prof. Wickman took undergraduate students enrolled in his seminar course, “HIST 311: Place in the Native Northeast” to Deerfield, MA. Having read scholarship and primary sources related to the 1704 Deerfield Raid prior to their field trip, Prof. Wickman’s seminar students walked around Historic Deerfield to deepen their sense of place there. In the first photograph, Prof. Wickman and his students are standing next to a sycamore tree that stood within the stockade at the time of the raid. The other two photographs (below) show the 18th-century Wells-Thorn House, which the class toured to get a feel for changes in colonial architecture and settler lifestyles in the decades after the raid.
Prof. Sam Kassow Wins Award
February 18, 2015 – Samuel S. Kassow ’66, Charles H. Northam Professor of History, was honored this week in Warsaw, Poland, for his service to Polish Culture. Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Malgorzata Omilanowka, presented a medal to Kassow in a ceremony on Monday, February 16.
Kassow served as lead historian for two of eight galleries of the new POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which opened in October 2014 on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. His 2007 book, Who Will Write Our History?, is set to be adapted for the screen by director Roberta Grossman and executive producer Nancy Spielberg. Kassow is also in the process of completing a highly anticipated book called Listen and Believe: The Ghetto Reportage of Peretz Opoczynski and Jozeph Zelkowicz, to be released this year by Yale University Press.
Celebrating the life of Jack Chatfield
“Hartford, Conn. — After a long and spirited battle with prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease, Jack died peacefully at home on Sept. 18, 2014 surrounded by a continuing stream of family and friends, comforted by the music and companionship he so adored. He never complained about his fate. His strong will to live, sense of humor, and generosity of spirit gave him incredible strength throughout his final journey.
Jack was born in Baltimore, Md. on July 20,1942, son of Dr. Paul Oakes Chatfield and Helen Taylor Chatfield. He graduated from Randolph Macon Academy in Front Royal, Va. in 1960 and from Trinity College in 1964. It was during his freshman year that his attention became riveted on the growing black student movement in the South. He became increasingly absorbed through news reports, speakers, and conversations with fellow students and when he learned that Trinity friend Ralph Allen had joined the movement and was badly beaten in Dawson, Ga., he left immediately for southwest Georgia. On his first night in Dawson he was injured by shotgun blasts fired by night riders into the house where he was staying. Jack’s involvement in the civil rights movement was passionate, inspirational, and lifelong.
Jack received his M.A. and PhD from Columbia University. From 1970-1978 he taught at the Watkinson School in West Hartford, Conn. In 1987 he began his teaching career at Trinity College which spanned 25 years until his retirement in 2012. Highlights at Trinity include the Hughes Award for Teaching Achievement in 1992, The Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2002 and organization of the SNCC conference – “We Shall Not Be Moved – The Life and Times of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee” in 1988, the first major reunion of SNCC members since the group disbanded in the 1960’s.
Jack leaves his wife of 45 years, Barbara; son, Jonathan of West Hartford; daughter and son in law Julia and Nir Levy of West Granby; grandchildren Zoe and Anya Chatfield and Mason Levy; his sister Lora from Bradford, VT who has been present for weeks providing priceless nursing and moral support; brother in law Alan Schneider in San Francisco Calif. and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Special thanks to VNA HealthCare and Jack’s wonderful hospice team.
Jack’s body will be donated for research and his ashes buried at Trinity. There will be a Celebration of Jack’s life at Trinity in the next few weeks. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Watkinson School or the Professor John H. Chatfield ’64 Scholarship Fund at Trinity College.”
Source: http://www.vnews.com/home/13640613-95/john-jack-h-chatfield
Lecture: Education and Civil Rights in the 21st Century
On Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, Trinity College’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and La Voz Latina hosted Pedro Noguera, the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University, who in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month spoke on Education and Civil Rights in the 21st Century. This event, which is co-sponsored by the History, Educational Studies, Political Science, Sociology, American Studies and International Studies departments.
Here are some reflections from first year students who attended this eye-opening talk:
“Professor Noguera highlighted and brought to my attention many key points and issues pertaining to our education system that I myself have struggled through in my experience as a student in the American system. There key generalized revisions in the professor suggested that our leaders and lawmakers make, but also specific advice for teachers and principals at the local level. Perhaps the most important point in the entire conversation, however, was that education for everyone benefits us all in greater ways than education solely for a privileged few” — Theo Pesiridis, Class of 2018
“Before hearing Professor Noguera talk, I had imagined him speaking in regards to the “wrong” about education and the ruthless results in education. In a way, I imagined him talking about that failures in the education system, but in actuality, Noguera mentioned successes throughout the country…In the end, he challenged the audience into going out into the community and being that small token of difference. He stated in his closing arguments: “It’s all about will”. This shows us that if we want the change in the education system, we must be willing to make the transformation.” — Giselle Galan, Class 2018
“Racial segregation does exist in the United States of America and can’t be ignored.” — Abdi Noor, Class of 2018
“While the civil rights movement is no longer the proprietor of headline news come the 21st century, education has taken over as the civil rights issue of our time…Professor Noguera, who has been studying how to improve schools for many years, pointed out how, for many of the school systems that were failing, there were schools populated by mostly white students, which received far more funding. This idea of providing schools that are the most well off with further funds is not only backwards, but is the driving the problem farther from its solution.” — Jonah Meltzer, Class 2018
Prof. Lestz Awarded Alumni Medal for Excellence
During last week’s Trinity reunion weekend, History Professor Michael Lestz was awarded the Alumni Medal for Excellence. This medal is awarded annually to alumni who have made significant contributions to their professions, to their communities, and to Trinity College. Congratulations Michael!
Read the full citation here. (more…)
History 366 Interpreting the Ancient City: Angkor
“HIST 366: Interpreting the Ancient City: Angkor” was a hands on field investigation that traveled to Cambodia in May and June. Launched with the scholarship aid provided by the O’Neill Asia Cum Laude Endowment and the Charlotte Riggs Scholarship fund, ten Trinity students and four professors were able to travel to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to do in depth study of ancient and modern Cambodia. History Department professors Michael Lestz and Dario Euraque, and Prof. Pablo Delano (Studio Arts) led the ten Trinity students to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in a rich exploration of the themes of the course. As we visited material remains of Angkorean cities just north of Cambodia’s great freshwater lake accompanying the group as an associated faculty member was Dr. Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, who served twice as Minister of Culture of Honduras, between 1994 and 1998, and between 2006 and 2009. Faculty and students benefitted from Dr. Pastor Fasquelle’s vast knowledge of the ancient Mesoamerican world and especially the Mayan World Heritage site of Copan in Honduras.
Toe the Line Exhibition at the Watkinson Library
Title of Exhibit: Toe the Line School Rules in 19th-Century America
Description: School catalogs and reports drawn from the professional library of educational reformer Henry Barnard. “Henry Barnard was born on January 24, 1811, in Hartford, Connecticut. From 1837 to 1839, he belonged to the Connecticut state legislature. In 1838, he founded the Connecticut Common School journal. In 1845, he became Rhode Island commissioner of public schools. He was hired as the U.S. first commissioner of education in 1867 and resigned in 1870. Barnard died on July 5, 1900, in Hartford, Connecticut.”
Dates: June 14-August 16, 2013
Trinity Convocation 2013
The 187th Commencement of Trinity College took place on Sunday, May19th. Over 20 students received undergraduate degrees in History. In addition, Professors Antrim, Bayliss and Kassaw of the History Department won prestigious awards for their research, scholarship and teaching. Professors Antrim and Bayliss were awarded the Charles A. Dana Research Award while Professor Kassaw was this year’s recipient of the Thomas Church Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence. Congratulations to all graduating seniors and honored faculty.
For more photos: (more…)
Prof. Kassow in Poland for 70th Anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
HARTFORD, CT, May 9, 2013 – Since the 2007 publication of Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive, Samuel Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity, has won numerous awards, been elected a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, lectured often and widely, and been recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars on the Holocaust and more specifically, the fate of Jews in Poland. Just last month, Kassow was invited to Warsaw to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and was asked to speak at the unofficial opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The five-day event, April 18-22, was somber yet uplifting and featured a number of dignitaries and notable organizations, including the president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski; the Israeli Philharmonic and conductor Zubin Mehta; philanthropic organizations; human rights activists; scholars; and Simcha Rotem, one of the last survivors of the ghetto uprising. “It was really, really amazing,” said Lisa Kassow, director of Trinity Hillel and Sam’s wife. “The anniversary of the Ghetto uprising overtook the entire city. There was nothing else going on. Everywhere you turned, there were advertisements about events and Jewish issues.””
(more…)
Class of 2013 History Prizes at 63rd Annual Honors Day
“HARTFORD, CT, May 3, 2013 – The Trinity College Chapel served as the site Friday, May 3 for the school’s 63rd annual Honors Day Ceremony in which more than 200 students were cited for their scholarly, athletic and community-oriented achievements. Some students were recognized more than once. The honorees, which included members of the Classes of 2013, ’14, ’15 and ’16, were presented with a broad array of prizes and awards for their contributions and accomplishments over the years. The ceremony originated when George Keith Funston, who served as Trinity College President from 1945 to 1951, sought to re-establish the school’s academic pageantry, which had been halted during World War II. Matriculation and the Book Ceremony for first-year students were restored, and in the spring of 1950, Honors Day was added as a new event. It was intended to be an occasion when all Trinity prizes and awards — with the exception of those handed out at Commencement – could be celebrated in the presence of the entire College community.” (source: http://www.trincoll.edu/NewsEvents/NewsArticles/pages/HonorsDay2013.aspx)
Congratulations to all of the following the history majors awarded prizes:
(more…)