Barnard College History Department’s senior thesis seminar option, “Histories of the Present” track, celebrates the 2020-2021 cohort’s public history projects! Barnard students have produced three types of projects: podcasts, policy briefs, and op-eds. The “Histories of the Present” track was taught by Professor Nara Milanich and Professor Lisa Tiersten and trained students to bring historical analysis to bear on our understanding of the present.
Continue reading “Barnard College History Department Celebrates the 2021 Public History Projects Produced in the Newest Senior Thesis Seminar Option, “Histories of the Present”!”Alumnae Spotlight: Shreya Sunderram on Activism in the High School Classroom
Shreya Sunderram (Barnard, B.A. in Political Science and Urban Teaching Certificate, 2019) currently teaches 9th grade Global History and 12th grade Government and Economics at the Urban Assembly Maker Academy in NYC. In 2018, she founded the inaugural Barnard Bold Conference which facilitates dialogue between students and faculty. BarnardHistoryBlog invites Shreya to share her insights on high school teaching and how history classrooms can be unique spaces of activism to empower and validate diverse experiences.
Continue reading “Alumnae Spotlight: Shreya Sunderram on Activism in the High School Classroom”Student Initiative: Hyphenated Americans Making Hyphenated America
In the summer of 2020, Sophia Houdaigui (B.A. in History, Barnard 2021) and Maria Castillo (B.Sc. in Environmental Science, SEAS 2021) drew from their background as children raised by immigrants and identity as hyphenated Americans to put forth a community resource to unpack immigration policies. Hyphenated America offers short guides and fact sheets that make policies like DACA and family separation easily digestible, a podcast that features experts such as reporters, lawyers, professors, and activists in the immigration field, and a weekly breakdown to bring attention to related news, activists, and organizations.
BarnardHistoryBlog invites Sophia to share insights on why she co-founded Hyphenated America and her experience at Barnard College as a History major!
Continue reading “Student Initiative: Hyphenated Americans Making Hyphenated America”Barnard Crush: Courtney Lyons the Sustainable Fashion Queen
Courtney Lyons is the first student profile of the BarnardHistoryBlog column “Barnard Crush” which aptly describes how I felt about her when we first met – through her Instagram profile. When I interviewed her on Thursday, January 28, 2021 (the first time we’ve ever talked), she was an absolute ray of sunshine dressed in shades of yellows and oranges and sitting in front of a wall of eclectic thrifted frames and art. She exuded carefully-curated individuality that’s fun and lively. Here is Courtney Lyons in her own words on how she cultivated her passion for fashion as a History major at Barnard College
–Reporter Connie Cai
Continue reading “Barnard Crush: Courtney Lyons the Sustainable Fashion Queen”Alumnae Spotlight: Batya Chava Reflects on the Value of her Barnard Experience
I first met Batya in my sophomore year in a seminar titled, “Stalinist Civilizations,” taught by Professor Brandon Schechter. Professor Schechter is one of those professors who are true nurturing educators so I can easily attribute my passion for history to him. His ability to engage and teach combined with a room packed full of eloquent and witty students meant that I had no shortage of role models. In this class, I had the pleasure of knowing Batya who struck me as one of the warmest, most helpful, and driven people. Here is Batya in her own words on graduating Barnard, reflecting on her college experience, and having been a History major at Barnard!
–Reporter Connie Cai
Continue reading “Alumnae Spotlight: Batya Chava Reflects on the Value of her Barnard Experience”Student Initiatives: Meet Me at the Museum
Meet Me at the Museum is a Barnard/Columbia student-led initiative that provides tours to elementary school students in New York City. BarnardHistoryBlog invites Sofia Perez, the club’s president, and Allie Berdon, the club’s director of operations, to share their experiences and to encourage History majors to get involved! No art history education required, just a passion for equity, public education, history, art and social justice!
Continue reading “Student Initiatives: Meet Me at the Museum”Alumae Spotlight: Caitlin Lynch on Public Defending
Caitlin Lynch (Barnard, B.A. in History, 2012; UCLA, J.D., 2016) is a public defender in California. BarnardHistoryBlog invites her to share insights on how her history training has helped prepare her for the challenging job.
Continue reading “Alumae Spotlight: Caitlin Lynch on Public Defending”Student Initiatives: Sam Ortega Pens “The U.S. Has Always Exploited Immigrants During Pandemics” in YES! Magazine!
Rising junior History major Sam Ortega authored this piece in YES! Magazine, exploring the treatment of migrants at the border in her home town of El Paso across two pandemics: the 1917 typhus outbreak and our current COVID-19 outbreak. Sam had originally researched the 1917 typhus epidemic in “World Migration” with Professor Jose Moya, and returned to the topic this spring for an op-ed assignment in “Seeking Asylum” with Professor Nara Milanich. You can read the full, compelling article through the link below!
One Recipe for a Delicious Thesis: Taking a Hands-On Approach to Cookbook Research
Recent Barnard history graduate Ally McDonough writes about how a centuries-old recipe inspired her to conduct some field research in the kitchen for her senior thesis on dairy farming and the use of dairy in Northern Indian recipes before and during the colonial eras and make her own Halwa at home.
Continue reading “One Recipe for a Delicious Thesis: Taking a Hands-On Approach to Cookbook Research”Doing Senior Thesis Research with the Fellowship for Research in Europe
Senior History major Anna Morrow discusses her experience with the Senior Thesis Fellowship for Research in Europe in Summer 2019, and how it helped her thesis, and reveals her favorite thing that she found doing the archival research.
Continue reading “Doing Senior Thesis Research with the Fellowship for Research in Europe”