{"id":5724,"date":"2019-09-30T16:16:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T20:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=5724"},"modified":"2019-09-30T16:16:24","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T20:16:24","slug":"lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-fall2019\/features\/lessons-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Understanding \u2018richness of the human experience\u2019 through study of history<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Mary Howard<\/em><\/p>\n

You might say that Catherine Trott \u201919 has been a history buff since childhood. She spent family vacations in museums and at archeological sites instead of on roller coasters at Disney World. When it came to choosing a major at Trinity, history was a natural choice. That decision, however, makes her a bit of a rarity among today\u2019s college students.<\/p>\n

According to a 2018 report by Benjamin Schmidt, assistant professor of history at Northeastern University, and the American Historical Association, less than two percent of college undergraduates receive degrees in history. The report also states that between 2008 and 2017, history degrees awarded nationally fell by more than 30 percent, signifying a bigger drop than in any other major.<\/p>\n

What caused such a sizable decline? Schmidt notes his belief that students and parents have been thinking more practically after the financial crisis of 2008 and have been looking for a major that they think will lead to a job. \u201cStudents think history, humanities, English, and philosophy are not those practical majors,\u201d he says in a November 2018 interview in The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Yet, according to Schmidt, this anxiety over career prospects for history majors is misguided. \u201cWe know that students with history B.A.s disperse into a wide variety of careers,\u201d he says in the report.<\/p>\n

Though her major may not be popular nationally, Trott says she feels it has provided excellent preparation for a future career in the legal field. \u201cIn history, you read many books, and I learned to synthesize a lot of information in a short amount of time.\u201d She also cites as benefits of a history degree better writing skills and the ability to effectively communicate her perspective.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/a>
Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, associate professor of history. Photo by Thomas Lefebvre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The decline in history majors has affected all types of colleges and universities. At Trinity, while history fell out of the top five majors in 2016 and 2018, it usually finds itself among the most popular areas of study. And Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, associate professor of history, is not alarmed by any downturn. \u201cI don\u2019t think students are going that far away,\u201d says the teacher of popular courses that include \u201cThe History of French Wine\u201d and \u201cParliamentary Debate in History and Practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she sees students moving toward interdisciplinary majors, including international studies, American studies, and public policy, which incorporate historical perspectives. \u201cA drop in pure history majors doesn\u2019t mean a lack of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regan-Lefebvre says she feels the major is \u201cone for the ages.\u201d The study of history teaches openness, thoroughness, patience, and good communication skills. \u201cThe discipline takes an enormous amount of perseverance,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

To demonstrate this, she has students in her \u201cNetworks: Historical and Contemporary\u201d first-year seminar read a volume about the history of the Watkinson family. She then takes them to the Watkinson Library to examine the numerous archival sources used in the book. In 2019, people are accustomed to finding information immediately, but historical research requires patience and organization, she says. \u201cHistory is not about hot takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nor is it black and white, says Charles H. Northam Professor of History Samuel Kassow \u201966. \u201cHistory requires us to reject simplistic judgment and instead evaluate context, intent, and the factors behind events and decisions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>
Charles H. Northam Professor of History Samuel Kassow \u201966. Photo by Nick Caito<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kassow is the author of Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive<\/em>, a book that illustrates how the stories of history often are dependent on perspective. The book centers on Emanuel Ringelblum and his resistance to Nazi oppression. In 1940, Ringelblum founded the Oyneg Shabes, an organization that secretly documented all aspects of Jewish life in the Warsaw Ghetto. Facing death and deportation, Ringelblum and the members of Oyneg Shabes wanted to write their own history. \u201cSo often, what we know about murdered people comes from their murderers,\u201d says Kassow.<\/p>\n

Before the city was razed in 1943, the members buried thousands of documents in milk cans and tin boxes. Though parts of the archive were discovered after the war, the existence of these documents and the efforts of the Oyneg Shabes remained largely unnoticed until Kassow\u2019s book was published in 2007. Translated into eight languages, the book inspired a 2018 documentary that has garnered numerous awards at film festivals and will be broadcast nationwide on PBS in January 2020.<\/p>\n

Kassow believes Ringelblum\u2019s story is so popular because it brings a human element to the Holocaust, giving voices to people often seen as anonymous victims. He is glad that his work is reaching a wider audience through the film and through the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, where Kassow served as lead historian for two of the museum\u2019s eight galleries. \u201cThe goal of [the study of] history is to understand the richness of the human experience,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That richness is what fascinates Stephanie Irvin-Taha \u201919, a history and international studies major with a Japanese minor. She feels examining multiple historical perspectives has given her a better understanding of the modern world. \u201cI see why we are where we are and the mistakes we made in getting here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Initially, Irvin-Taha had little interest in studying history. \u201cI didn\u2019t really enjoy it in high school,\u201d she says. \u201cBut at Trinity, I discovered history has all these different perspectives, like Japanese history and the history of women.\u201d After a Chinese history course with Associate Professor of History Michael Lestz, she was \u201chooked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan Clark \u201921, a double major in history and public policy and law, says the challenges of varying perspectives of history have been addressed in several of his Trinity courses. \u201cA big topic of discussion was Eurocentrism and where that falls in the historical field of study,\u201d Clark says. \u201cIf a lot of the world\u2019s major academic institutions \u2026 are centered in the West, how do we work around that, how do we counteract that perceived Western mindset?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I took away is that really the only way to counteract that is to keep reading, keep expanding your field of study, and be willing to pick up a book that would be outside your comfort zone,\u201d he adds. \u201cBe willing to reach out and find a text that takes a different approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeAnn<\/a>
LeAnn Cassidy ’86, 2018 Connecticut History Teacher of the Year. Photo by Nick Caito<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LeAnn Cassidy \u201986, a social studies and U.S. history teacher at Memorial Middle School in Middlebury, Connecticut, uses a hands-on approach\u2014literally\u2014to get the attention of her students.<\/p>\n

Cassidy, named the 2018 Connecticut History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, scours flea markets for items from the 1700s, \u201clike old documents with the king\u2019s seal,\u201d that her students can hold in their hands. \u201cIt brings the past alive for them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Known as the \u201cmusic lady,\u201d she also uses period music to give her students a feel for an era. Visits from guest speakers and engaging assignments\u2014such as interviewing older relatives\u2014also \u201chelp history step out of the textbooks,\u201d she says. Gone are the days of memorizing historical dates, she says. \u201cThey can look those up on their phones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Cassidy works hard to ensure her students understand the importance of studying not only American but also world history, she says she often feels stymied by federal and state mandates that require a focus on literacy and mathematics, thus limiting time for history education. \u201cHistory is not tested and is often seen as expendable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Cassidy says this lack of history education at an early age may be contributing to the decline of history majors at the undergraduate level. \u201cOur job as educators is to help students become engaged [with history] in such a way that they desire world peace more than greed and power,\u201d she says. \u201cHistory is the basis by which we develop our understanding of the past to build a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understanding \u2018richness of the human experience\u2019 through study of history By Mary Howard You might say that Catherine Trott \u201919 has been a history buff since childhood. She spent family vacations in museums and at archeological sites instead of on roller coasters at Disney World. When it came to choosing a major at Trinity, history … <\/p>\n

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