Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Hasia Diner talk 4/4/2016


Monday, April 4, 7:10-9:10 p.m. in SJH 211
St. John's University Department of History
~ presents ~
Dr. Hasia Diner, Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and History, New York University
A Conversation with Professor Hasia Diner on
Roads Taken: The Great Jewish Migrations to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way

Dr. Diner, a pre-eminent historian of American Jewish history and immigration history, provides new insights into the immigrant experience, as well as into the unfolding of consumer culture in the United States, in her recent  book, Roads Taken: The Great Jewish Migrations to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way.  On April 4, she will engage students in a conversation about her book and her research.  Levi Strauss, manufacturer of blue jeans, is perhaps the most famous of the small-time Jewish merchants who sold wares across the expanses of a rugged, largely rural America.  They brought jewelry and cloth, eyeglasses and bathtubs to people living in towns and on farms.  Peddlers encountered prejudice, but also tremendous opportunities.  



Hasia Diner is the Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at New York University, with a joint appointment in the departments of history and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and is the Director of the Goldstein Goren Center for American Jewish History.  She received a Fulbright to teach in Israel, was a fellow at Radcliffe College, was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2010-2011, and has held several offices in professional organizations.  She president of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society.  She is the author of numerous books, including In the Almost Promised Land: American Jews and Blacks, 1915-1935; Erin's Daughters in American: Irish Immigrant Women in the Nineteenth Century; A Time for Gathering: The Second Migration, 1820-1880;  Lower East Side Memories: The Jewish Place in America; and Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration.

Please join her for a conversation on April 4, 7:10-9:10 p.m. in SJH 211

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Graduate Colloquium: Applying for Conferences and for Jobs.

Thoughts on our Graduate Colloquium: Applying for Conferences and for Jobs.


Larissa Knopp and Richard Taylor


            Here at St. John’s History Department, the first graduate colloquium of the spring semester, which took place on March 1, focused on two topics that leave many students quite fearful: presenting at conferences and finding a job. By the end of the night, the professors leading the colloquium, and special guest-star our own returning D.A. alumnus Christopher Ferraro, had greatly alleviated many of those fears.  
            Long before our dreams of defending our dissertations can be achieved, doctoral students face the hard fact that presenting at conferences is necessary to success in the field of history. The problem, from our perspective, is we lack knowledge of the process which leads to fear and anxiety because the audience will be filled with respected scholars. This fear is largely based on our own self-doubt; as Dr. Rustomji pointed out, when presenting a thoroughly researched paper, the expert in the room is the author. As graduate students the key is to start at small conferences. Stay local and look for those conferences geared towards graduate students, ones that will help you grow as a presenter and researcher.
            Another daunting endeavor that each student must face is the job search. A particularly helpful piece of advice that was offered was to know the trends of the field before we graduate. See what potential employers are looking for, which topics or subtopics they want to hire in. Do not wait until you are graduating or it might be too late. Dr. Szylvian pointed out the necessity to diversify. Do not put all of our focus into one area. The more well rounded we are, the more attractive we look to employers. Lastly, know the location you want to be hired in. Some students have a more flexible lifestyle and are free to move, which can be an advantage. If a student does not have the freedom to move, she may need to start small, such as in a private high school.



                                               


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

History Trivia Night
March 3rd 7.30pm
DAC 301

Dear all history lovers!! Are you eager to show off your history skills? Come join us, the History Club/ Phi Alpha Theta ,for a fun night of trivia, food, and prizes!! Winner of the Trivia Night will win an Amazon Gift Card. Follow us on Facebook: STJ History Department

Upcoming History Club Events:

Trip to the NYPL 
Presidential Debate Night
 Trip to the 69th Armory
 And more to come…

 If you have any questions please contact Austin Rojas: Austin.rojas14@stjohns.edu 

Review of St. John's Screening and Talk "Love Between the Covers"

Reviewed by Nadia Mushib
Of course people have a derogatory view of the romance industry –
 it’s for women, by women, about women.

“Love Between the Covers” is an unusual glimpse into a meritocracy in action. An avid romance reader, myself, I never really questioned the dynamics of this genre. Most of it did not surprise me - the photo shoots, the content, the writers ethic, and the metaphorical “flame behind their ass”. The one thing that did surprise me was how close the authors and readers interact. Hugging at the conventions? That is the biggest security issue when you go to ones for any other genre. And being able to not only have your work read, but also critiqued by these same authors is literally out of the question.
So why then is it that this industry allows this, even promotes the “pay it forward” mentality? Because it is female dominated. Society still places this image of a motherly figure into our heads, women are still supposed to take care of and be the soft sex. That is why they are so matronly at the conventions and allow people to hug them. They are not viewed as true artists. People have this respect for other genres and especially male artists. Usually the mass majority does not run up to the talent and hug him, but in this industry not only do they do that, it is okay to do so!  
"[This] feature-length film takes an affectionate look at the vast, unheralded community of women who have effectively kept the publishing industry afloat." – The Boston Globe
I was reading some comments about the documentary on social media and one that I came by was a young man complaining about the sexualization of males on the cover of so many romance novels. Boy did he get major backlash. Girls are so often sexualized in the media, on social media, in public all around that a lot of people do not even notice it. In terms of sales, it makes the most sense. The majority of readers, i.e. buyers, are females, therefore it would make financial sense to appeal to the opposite sex. Just like the SuperBowl commercials usually have half naked girls with large breasts prancing around on screen. It is all about the marketing strategies.
Beverly Jenkins, pioneer of African American romance, made the funniest yet truest comment in the whole documentary.  Black women have never been made to feel beautiful in society and African American romance gives them that feeling, that emotion they have been missing. But she has received backlash for beautifying the black girl because people “can’t relate”. But like she states in the film, if you can relate to werewolf and vampire romance and not black romance, that is a problem.

This documentary really showed that anyone could be a writer, whether they make it a profession or they just write for themselves. So many of the women showed began writing because their romance was not popular or even considered a romance yet. Just look at Len Barot. She began writing lesbian romance fiction while she was a surgeon. Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley wrote romance through their divorce. These female novelists are from all walks of life, they are the every day people like you and I, but the one thing uniting them is romance. Sarah Wendell, romance blogger and reviewer, voiced it best, “[The romance industry] is the one place where you will consistently find women’s sexuality treated fairly and positively. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually uplifting and affirming.” 
Screening and Discussion with Professor Kathleen Lubey
and Natalie Hallak, SJC ’15, HarperCollins
Sponsored by History, English, and Women’s & Gender Studies