UMass History Club

MOVED!

2010-08-01T10:49:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope everything is going well for you, however, the Umass History Club blog has moved! We are now using the UMass campus pulse website for our listings! Check it out!
http://umassamherst.collegiatelink.net

See everyone in the fall!

Candidates for Office 2010-2011

2010-04-30T12:45:00.003-04:00

Here are the current candidates for office (you have until 11:59pm Sunday May 2nd to submit your self-nomination):

President:

Daniel McDonald

Vice President:

Thamy Almeida

Sara Eglitis

Treasurer:

Igor Galis

Secretary:

Samantha Faso

Public Relations and Advertising:

Caitlin Hayes

Just email umasshistoryclub@gmail.com to self-nominate.

Congratulations History Club!

2010-04-25T11:13:00.003-04:00

It is our great pleasure to announce that the History Club has been chosen to receive the History Opportunity Award given by the History Department. This great honor is given to a student who has made an outstanding contribution to the undergraduate History program. In an unprecedented move, the History Department has chosen to recognize our entire organization for its achievements. As part of the award, the History Club has received $250 to pursue our various projects.

An award ceremony will be held Friday April 30th at 5:00pm in Herter 601 and any History Club member is invited to attend. To RSVP, send an email to umasshistoryclub@gmail.com and be sure to state your name.

Other information:

Nominations for officer posts for the 2010-2011 academic year are due by Sunday May 2nd at 11:59pm. All officers are required to run for re-election even if they have not completed a full term.
History Club T-Shirts are in! Check them out and contact Caitlin for more information or to order. They are only $15 and come in all sizes!

Professor Chat: Jose Angel Hernandez

2010-02-09T14:18:00.003-05:00

We have the great pleasure of welcoming Professor Hernandez of the History Department on February 22nd at 7pm in Herter 601. Having completed his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, his research focuses on repatriated Mexicans during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among other courses, he teaches History 354 History of Mexico and History 120 Colonial Latin America. Be sure to come out and meet one of UMass's finest!

Other announcements:

There will not be history club the week of the 15th even though Tuesday (Feb. 16) is a Monday schedule.

Emails will be going out regarding serving on our special action committees, if you signed up at the first meeting you should receive information from that particular committee. If you are interested in serving on one of the committees, email your request to umasshistoryclub@gmail.com. Current committees include the Veterans Oral History Project and the History of UMass Tour.

If you have any professors that you would like to see come in, let us know!

Dan McDonald
History and Political Science '12
UMass History Club President

Moviess!!

2010-02-02T14:44:00.003-05:00

SOO we are having a movie night next week and we have some choices for everyone to choose from! Here are the choices:
War & Peace
Bridge over River Kwai
Top Gun
Rocky IV
The Godfather
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
American Pie
The Watchmen
300
Gladiator
Braveheart
Dragonheart
Julie & Julia
Inglorious Bastards
The Last Waltz
The Barber of Siberia
Downfall ( der Ubertang)

Vote for any one of these and the movie with the most votes, we'll watch it!

First Meeting!

2010-02-01T00:09:00.002-05:00

Hey History Club! We hope you all had a restful winter break and are looking forward to the coming semester. Our first meeting is Monday Feb. 1st at 7:00pm in Herter 601. We will be going over general information as well as holding important sign-ups for various projects. Hope to see you there!

-Dan McDonald

History Club President

Treasurer Elections and Constitutional Convention

2009-10-01T20:32:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone,

A reminder that our next meeting Monday, October 5th is both the date of the election for Treasurer and our Constitutional Convention. The election will be held first. Candidates will give brief speeches then answer club members questions. After which ballots will be cast and tallied. Once the election is complete the Constitutional Convention will begin. Debates will be held on all the articles and any desired amendments will be made. You can find a copy of the draft Constitution at the bottom of the blog.

Hope to see you all there,
Rebecca H.
Secretary

10/05/09
7:00pm
Herter 601

Minutes 09/28

2009-10-01T20:24:00.001-04:00

The professor chat on the 28th with Prof. Appy was both interesting and very enjoyable. He discussed memorable interviews from his book Patriots, the process of collecting oral history, the purpose and focus of his book and other topics related to the Vietnam War and Oral History.
The club would like to extend our deepest thanks to him and hope that he will speak to the club again in the future.

-Rebecca H
Secretary

Meeting 09/28

2009-09-27T21:49:00.002-04:00

Monday 09/28
7:00pm Herter 601

Professor Appy will be speaking to us about his book on the Vietnam War.

Also Nomination forms for treasurer are due.

Hope to see you there,

Rebecca H.
Secretary

Nomination Forms

2009-09-24T14:39:00.002-04:00

Reminder if you wish to run for the open Treasurer position nomination forms are due next meeting (09/28).

Thanks,
Rebecca H.

Meeting Minutes 09/21/09

2009-09-24T14:38:00.002-04:00

The club screened the film Miracle at Santa Anna and people who volunteered as tour guides went out and practiced giving tours.

Minutes- 09/14/09

2009-09-15T00:52:00.003-04:00

Hello,

The first History Club meeting was a great success, thank you all for attending. There where 62 people present in total at the meeting! The meeting consisted of introductions (Name, Major, Favorite Dinosaur) and an overview of the Club and its activities. Including the new Constitution, meeting structures, the Veteran's History Project, Hunted Tours and Tableing.

It was also announced that sadly our Secretary Diana will be stepping down and a special election will be held on October 5th to fill her position. Information about running can be found on the side (of this blog).

Also the activities for the next three meetings where anouced: 09/21 - Movie Night- "Miracle at Saint Anna" (Meeting will start at 6:00), 09/28 Faculty Chat with Prof. Appy and 10/05 Constitutional Convention and Special Election. More information on these events will follow.

In addition people where ask to volunteer as tour guides for the Hunted Tours the first of which will be given on 09/26 for UMASS parents during parents weekend. People where also asked to table for the Club during the week of September 21st, if you are interested in doing either and did not specify so at the meeting please contact us via email.

Thanks
-Rebecca H.

First Meeting!!!

2009-09-13T16:20:00.003-04:00

Hello,

The History Club will be hosting its first meeting on Monday September 14th at the usual time and place, 7:00 Heter 601. The meeting will consist of introductions, a description of the activities of the club and plans and new policies for this year. We hope to see all our old members there and to welcome many new ones!

See you there,

-Rebecca H.

Summer Greetings

2009-07-21T14:47:00.004-04:00

Hello I hope everyone is having a great summer and is psyched to come back to History Club in the fall.

There are lots of things planned for the coming year. The clubs first meeting will be on September 14th at 7:00 pm in Herter 601 and the meeting is open to all.

The club will be continuing work on the Veterans History Project with a provisional date for the interviews set as November 15th. The club will also be hosting its annual Hunted Tours of campus around Halloween and during parent’s weekend in September. Faculty Chats, monthly History Movie Nights and history related Board Game nights will continue at the weekly meetings.

Updates will continue throughout the rest of the summer and if you have any questions or suggestions for the coming year please feel free to email the club officers at umasshistoryclub@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Rebecca H.

Secretary

Elections!!!

2009-05-07T21:15:00.003-04:00

Elections will be held at the next and last meeting on the 11th. The candidates for each position are as followed.

President:
Dan McDonald

Vice President:
Igor Galis
Zachariah Clark
Yianella Blanco
Bryan Rizza

Treasurer:
Diana Chase

Secretary
Rebecca Hoell
Sara Eglitis

Public Relations
Caitlin Hayes

There will be pizza at the meeting as well as voting and other merriment.

Herter 601
7:00 PM

Meeting April 4th

2009-05-04T16:46:00.002-04:00

The Club will be watching Kite Runner and the meeting will start 6:00 pm.

Also this is the last day to turn in nominations forms.

Herter 601
6:00 pm

Meeting Monday April 27th and News

2009-04-27T09:03:00.002-04:00

Mr. Andrew Dausch, a doctoral candidate and instructor here on campus will be coming to speak to the club.

Officer election for fall '09 will be held on the May 11th with nominations to be turned in the two meeting prior. You can find the nomination from at the bottom of the blog. Members may run for all positions but the Current President, Treasurer and Secretary will be running again. The Positions are President, Vice-President, Treasurer Secretary and Public Relations.

There is now a new tentative date for the Veterans History project May 7th, also a time and place the Amherst History Museum (on Amity Street) from 9-3pm. If you where at the original planning meeting we do have that list but anyone else who is interested in helping out please send us an email to umasshistoryclub@gmail.com. You will not need to volunteer for the whole day we are planning in running shifts.

Thank you,
Rebecca H

Herter 601
7;00pm

Preliminary Constitution

2009-04-21T20:51:00.002-04:00

The Preliminary Constitution for the History Club has been posted at the bottom of the blog please review it and email us any comments or concerns you may have.

Thank You,

Rebecca H
umasshistoryclub@gmail.com

T-Shirt Slogans

2009-04-21T20:33:00.004-04:00

These are the Slogan ideas people came up with at the meeting on the 13th please comment and suggest any you may think of.

History Club-The Common Era

"Stuck in the Past"

History - You can dig it!

Front of shirt- "Stuck in the past?" Back of shirt- "I can dig it!"

History Club- "Better than the Roman Empire"

History Club- "We like dead men"

"We did build Rome in a day!"

Thanks

Rebecca H

Minutes for April 13th

2009-04-21T09:55:00.003-04:00

Hello,

I apologize that it took me so long to get these up. At the meeting last Monday the club both played trivia and discussed possible ideas for club T-shirts for next year. The trivia was a lot of fun and covered several different periods of history. The T-shirt Ideas will be posted latter today and every one please feel free to comment on them and add any new ones of your own.

In other news there is no meeting tonight even though we had a Monday schedule today.

Hope to see you all next week.

-Rebecca H

Meetign Monday April 13th

2009-04-13T18:15:00.003-04:00

The meeting this week will be a trivia night as well as a discussion of ideas for new history club T-shirts.

Hope to see you all there,

7:00 pm
Herter 601

Veteran's History Project

2009-04-08T19:01:00.000-04:00

Dear History Club!

The History Club is going to participate in the Veteran's History Project. The Veterans History collects the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. This has the potential to be an interesting and life changing experience as you interview World War II veterans and hear their stories, but it can only be done with YOUR help!
So, we are asking for donations that will go toward the purchase of stamps and envelopes so that we can ask the veterans to meet with us. If there is extra money, it will go into the history club account as a donation and we will use it for the future events and trips that keep the history club alive.

This is an exciting opportunity for you, as a member, and a benefit to the entire History Club

Thank you in advance,

Umass History Club Treasurer

Meeting Minutes for April 6th

2009-04-06T23:32:00.004-04:00

The planning meeting fro the Veteran's History Projects today went very well. Details where hashed out about how we will be contacting the veterans and a date was set for the interviews. The date is Thursday April 30th and the place will be announced by the end of this week.The event will be all day but people will be able to sign up for sifts once we have a handle on how many veterans we can expect to participate. It was also decided that for this first series of interviews will focus on WWII veterans exclusively. Volunteers will be needed to help out with stuffing envelopes in the next week or so, an exact time and date will be forthcoming soon.

Over all it was a very successful meeting and thanks to every one who attended!

P.S. The History Club now has an email address so if you need to contact the club for any reason the address is umasshistoryclub@gmail.com!!!

Meeting Monday April 6th

2009-04-06T13:58:00.002-04:00

Hello,

The meeting this Monday is going to be a planning meeting for the Veterans History Project. We will be discussing exactly what need to be done and figuring out how to obtain the materials that will be needed. If you are interested in helping please be there.

Thanks

Herter 601
7:00 pm

Movie at 6:00

2009-03-30T13:50:00.002-04:00

The Movie tonight will start at 6:00 not 7:00 doing to its length. As usual there will be pizza.

Herter 601
6:00 pm

Movie March 30th

2009-03-26T16:35:00.006-04:00

Hey History Club! The History Club will be screening King Arthur (2004) this Monday at 6pm in Herter 601! This movie takes a non-traditional look at the mythical King Arthur. Come for pizza, friends and a good time!
-Dan McDonald History Club President

We will also be talking about the Veterans History Project.

Herter 601
7:00pm

Meeting Minutes (03/23) and Veterans' History Project

2009-03-24T13:18:00.005-04:00

Hello,

The risk tournament night went well last night with various people showing their skill at world domination. Next meeting on the 30th we will be watching a movie the poll, although incorrectly titled, is still open and will be till Wednesday. If you have not voted please do.

The History Club will also be beginning work on the Veterans’ History Project created by the Library of Congress. This project is an effort to document the experiences and stories of veterans from WWII and the wars since. The Library of Congress has a very detailed site that fully explains the project and allows you to peruse the collection so far the link is http://www.loc.gov/vets/. Updates as well as requests for help will come at the coming meetings as a few details are worked out. The Project will require volunteers but the time commitment will not be overwhelming likely a few hours here and there and an afternoon for the actual documentation of the stories once a month or so.

Meeting March 23rd

2009-03-22T21:36:00.002-04:00

Hello,

I hope everyone had a nice break and is excited to return to history club! The meeting this week will be the risk night we missed previously due to a snow day. We have three risk boards but if anyone has their own or any other board games they would like to bring it would be greatly appreciated.
The poll for the movie night has been reopened, due to the fact that we miss calculated the date the movie will now be shown on the 30th so if you have not voted please do.

Thanks and hope to see you all there

Herter 601
7:00pm

Meeting March 9th

2009-03-06T18:32:00.003-05:00

Hello,

Sadly we missed the meeting last week because of snow but we are back this week. Prof. Audrey Alstadt will be coming to talk to us she is a specialist in the non-Russian ethnic groups within the former Soviet Union and Head of the History Department . We will also be talking about a community service opportunity for the group. Food will be served

7:00 Herter 601

Meeting Febuary 23!!!!

2009-02-22T21:45:00.002-05:00

Hey all another exciting history club meeting tomorrow the 23 i hope every one will be there!!!

We have a couple of things on the agenda. Mostly this is going to be a social and "blue print" meeting. We are going to do some fun history activities to try to bring the group together and also put forward ideas for future meeting and events. If anyone has any ideas about things they would like for the club to do this semester please bring them. O ya and THERE WILL BE FOOD! =)

Hope to see you all there!!

Information for Monday February 23

2009-02-18T16:33:00.002-05:00

History Club hopes that everyone had a restful and productive President's Day!

Our next meeting will be February 23rd and we hope to have a professor chat.

Please ask your professors and TA's if any of them would be interested in talking to us about history!

Leave a comment on this post with any ideas you have regarding doing something else if the chat doesn't work out, as well as the names of any professors that would be willing to come in and talk with us!

See you monday!

Movie Night 2/9/09

2009-02-09T22:40:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Rebecca Hoell for becoming our new Secretary!

...
History Club had a successful Movie Night tonight; we watched Saving Private Ryan. Be sure to check back on the blog for our next Movie Night Poll coming soon!
Movie suggestions welcome.

We also want to get suggestions for Professor Chats. If you know a history professor you’d like to come talk to the History Club, let us know! (Related fields, like classics are also acceptable ideas)

See you next meeting!

For the Position of Secretary

2009-02-04T21:42:00.003-05:00

We will be voting on the History Club’s Secretary soon.

Candidates for Secretary:

Rebecca Hoell

Matthew Keheler

Patrick Whittle

While there is no formal speech required, all candidates should be ready to tell the club why they’d make a great secretary.

We will be using paper ballots, so bring a pen or pencil!

Also, we will be watching a movie on Monday, so vote for your favorite in the poll!

Saving Private Ryan
The Last Samurai

The Patriot

Amazing Grace

2009-01-29T08:53:00.002-05:00

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a good first week of classes!
Our first meeting of the term will be Monday, February 2nd at 7pm in Herter 601.

We will be discussing our plans for the semester including movie nights and professor chats.
We will need someone to fill the position of Secretary on our board of officers. If you are interested in filling the position come to the meeting to find out more!

Hope to see you all there!

New Officers

2008-12-08T21:04:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to our new officers for Spring '09:

Dan McDonald, President
Carolyn Billmers, Vice President
Diana Chase, Secretary/Webmaster
Hillary French, PR/Advertising

Good luck next semester!

Good luck everyone on finals and final papers!

End of the Semester Hist-ravaganza!

2008-12-07T19:29:00.004-05:00

Take a break from your studying, paper writing, and otherwise onerous activities for one last hurrah with the UMass History Club this semester! Join us for pizza & holiday treats! If you are inclined to bake, feel free to bring something delicious to share!

The party will start at 6pm, and kick off with elections!

We will watch a holiday movie TBD- if you have a favorite on DVD, bring it along!

This will be a perfect member for non-club members to visit and learn about the club. If you're at all interested in History Club, stop by and share some cheer and meet the new officers for Spring '09. As always, feel free to bring friends- the more the merrier!

See you there!

And the Nominees are...

2008-12-07T15:42:00.003-05:00

President: Dan McDonald
Vice President: Carolyn Billmers
Secretary/Webmaster: Diana Chase
PR/Advertising: Igor Galis, Hillary French, Eric Magazu

Elections will be at the meeting tomorrow, so make sure you come to have your voice heard! Nominees, you are more than welcome to prepare a speech, but this is not a terribly formal process so you don't need to do anything fancy!

Good luck!!

Meeting Minutes

2008-12-01T22:03:00.004-05:00

Next week is ELECTION WEEK! Nominations must be in by Wednesday for you to be eligible to be elected. The open positions are (with rough descriptions):

*President: responsible for running meetings, coordinating events, being a go-to person for the club

*Vice President: responsible for running meetings in the President's absence, helping coordinate events, and various other tasks

*Secretary/Webmaster: responsible for taking meeting minutes, updating the blog & Facebook group, and supporting other officers

*PR/Advertising: responsible for advertising for club events, making and distributing flyers, contacting the Collegian and other sources when needed

Anyone is free to run for these positions! Please message Kendra on Facebook with your formal nomination, or with any questions you may have.

***************

Next week will also be our end-of-the-semester holiday party! We will have pizza and other goodies, and some fun activities! This event will be a great way for non club members to get to meet club members as well as learn about the club, and a great time to bring friends together for a good time! More details later...

Have a great week! See you at the party!

Meeting Monday

2008-11-30T23:27:00.003-05:00

Hello folks! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and are ready for the final stretch of fall '08!

Monday's meeting will be our last chance to get together and organize before next semester! We will be planning our end-of-the-semester "shindig" for next week. Do we want to have a movie? Have a game night? Invite some faculty in? Build a cake in the shape of something historical? The world is our oyster! (within reason...) Brainstorm what fun things you would like to do at the event, and bring them to the meeting.

Next week will also be our elections for the spring, so if you are interested in running for an officer position, please let us know at the meeting on Monday! Being an officer is a great way to take a leadership position at the University.

Also, we would love some feedback from club members, history majors, history lovers who aren't in the club, et cetera, on what you loved and didn't love about this semester! Please use the comment section on this post to discuss what you would like to continue to do or what you would like to change! Are there any professors or movies that are musts for next semester? Non-club attendees, what would make the club more attractive to you? Your feedback is essential to making this club great for everyone! As always, feel free to bring up questions/comments/complaints/concerns at the meeting.

Happy December!! See you at the meeting!

Tomorrow's Meeting Cancelled

2008-11-23T22:52:00.003-05:00

Since our anticipated faculty is unable to make our Monday meeting time and we're sure everyone has a lot of work to do before the break, we will not be meeting this week. Use the extra time to catch up on work or get ready to go home! We will meet again the Monday after break, December 1st.

Have a wonderful break, enjoy all the delicious Thanksgiving food, and be sure to spend some time reflecting on the things you are most thankful for!

Exhibit: Legacy: W.E.B. Du Bois As Political Pioneer

2008-11-16T17:31:00.004-05:00

The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is currently hosting an exhibit honoring the legacy of its namesake:

Friday, November 7, 2008 – Thursday, November 27, 2008

Library, Special Collections and University Archives • Floor 25

From the UMass events listing:

“Legacy: W.E.B. Du Bois as a Political Pioneer” includes materials relating to Du Bois’s efforts to change the political system for the better, from founding documents of the Niagara Movement and the Pan-African movement, to materials relating to his unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate and his work for world peace.

A pioneering sociologist, historian, novelist, playwright, and cultural critic, Du Bois committed his life to ending racial and social injustice. Without ever seeking a mass following, he was a peerless organizer who helped found both the Niagara Movement and the NAACP, and was a key Pan-African theorist. For many years, he was editor of The Crisis and other progressive journals, and an international spokesperson for peace and the rights of oppressed minorities. Through relentless struggle, Du Bois set the stage for the civil rights activists to follow.

The exhibit is sure to be inspiring as well as fascinating for all of our future historians!

Professor Chat: Robert Sullivan

2008-11-16T09:47:00.002-05:00

We are pleased to welcome professor Robert Sullivan, associate professor of German and Scandinavian Studies, for our next professor chat! Professor Sullivan's main research focus is Medieval Literature, and he also offers a popular course on the Crusades and Islam.

Come meet professor Sullivan and hear his unique perspective on history and German studies. Professor chats are a great way to get to know the faculty in your department and make connections!

We hope to see you all on Monday!

Career Development Series Finale: What can I do with my history degree?

2008-11-09T22:38:00.006-05:00

The History Department and Career Services proudly present

THE ANNUAL HISTORY ALUMNI CAREER NIGHT

Thursday, November 13, 2008
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Herter 601

What do history majors do after graduation? We’ve assembled a panel of alumni to talk about their careers. They’re here to tell you how they got started and to offer you advice on doing the same.

The panel below represents only a few options of the many fields open to history majors. The sky is the limit.

Panelists:
• Krista Ferrante, Project Manager, American Antiquarian Society

• Timothy Lyons, Special Education Teacher, 2006 Teach for America Corps Member

• Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn, Professor of History & Director of Graduate Studies, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

• Deepak Kapoor, Program Recruiter, Massachusetts MENTOR

• Michael Cass, Supervisory Examiner, National Labor Relations Board

Moderators:
Caroline Gould, Assistant Director of Career Planning

Alice Nash, Undergraduate Program Director

Maria Abunnasr, Internship and Career Development Advisor

The program is sure to be insightful for history majors and non-majors alike! As always, refreshments will be served.

Movie Night

2008-11-06T14:39:00.004-05:00

Due to professor scheduling conflicts, this Monday we will have a movie night, not a professor chat. We are pleased to announce that the movie, by popular demand, will be Dr. Strangelove.

The classic Cold War satire is sure to be a hit with the club! Like previously, the movie will start at 6pm, not our regular meeting time. There will be pizza!!

Feel free to bring a friend! We hope to see you there.

Professor Anna Taylor's Bookshelf

2008-11-02T19:43:00.002-05:00

From Professor Taylor:

These are books on religious and cultural history. I am particularly interested in medieval cognition, with how people in the Middle Ages understood their world. These books unsettle popular notions of how medieval people behaved or challenge modern assumptions about human how humans order their minds and social interactions.

Carruthers, Mary J. The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
This is a fascinating book about how medieval people thought about and used memory. Have you ever tried to remember things by creating an imaginary building (a memory palace) in your mind and filling its rooms with objects symbolic of the things you want to recall?

Carruthers, Mary, and Jan M. Ziolkowski. Ed. The Medieval Craft of Memory: An anthology of texts and pictures. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.

These are primary source documents relating to the same topic and – best of all – pictures of various mnemonic devices. A real insight into the workings of the medieval mind.

Geary, Patrick J. Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978.

Charlemagne (d. 814) legislated that every church needed a relic of a saint in its altar. Further, powerful relics, believed to have healing power, drew pilgrims, donations and powerful patrons to a Church. Therefore, churchmen needed good relics (usually the bones of martyrs and other saints) and they engaged in trade and even theft to acquire them. But how do you know that you really have a saint’s bone and not just a piece of a cow? Churchmen told elaborate stories (called translationes) explaining how their particular church came to possess the bones of the saints. A highlight of this highly enjoyable and readable book is the story of monks forming raiding parties to steal relics from another monastery.

Geary, Patrick J. Phantoms of Remembrance: Memory and Oblivion at the End of the First Millennium. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.

In this series of essays, Geary explores how medieval individuals not only created new versions of their past to fit their present needs, but also how they deliberately forgot or obliterated evidence that contradicted their new stories. Geary’s work is great for challenging your perceptions about medieval Christianity. Here he shows us monks forging charters and describing dragons!

Ginzberg, Carlo. The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller. Trans. John and Anne Tedeschi. Baltimore: John Hopkins, 1982.

This is a book about the early modern period, but still well worth reading as a medievalist, because it gives a much more nuanced picture of heresy and inquisition than the prevailing popular views. The Italian Miller, Menocchio, developed a cosmology in which the world springs from decay, like worms from cheese. Unsurprisingly, this view was deemed heretical by the Catholic Church. Ginzberg’s other books are also well worth your time (especially The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century. Trans. John and Anne Tedeschi. Baltimore: John Hopkins, 1985).

Leclerq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture. Translated by Catharine Misrahi. 2nd ed. New York: Fordham University Press, 1974.

This is the book that made one of my advisors become a medievalist and so is, indirectly, partly responsible for my own intellectual formation. Leclerq, a French historian and Benedictine monk, examines monastic education and reading and finds that medieval monks read both Christian and pagan texts with the aim of getting closer to God. Leclerq discusses medieval monastic reading as a meditative process that its practitioners described using metaphors of eating and digestion. This slow, thorough and ruminative approach is quite different to the kind of skim reading (or Googling) by which modern readers may acquaint themselves with information. Leclerq’s book is itself not at all susceptible to quick reading. Rather, reading this book is itself a meditative experience, requiring time and a quiet mind.

Schmidt, Jean-Claude. The Holy Greyhound: Guinefort, Healer of Children since the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Since the thirteenth century, the Catholic Church claimed the exclusive right to canonize saints, but in reality it proved impossible to enforce who – or what – was revered in this manner by local communities. Catholic theology does not support the notion of a dog saint, but that didn’t hamper Guinefort’s popularity.

And a film: Into Great Silence (2006, Philip Gröning).
Like Leclerq’s book, this film is a meditative experience. The filmmaker received permission to live in the alpine Carthusian monastery of Grand Chartreuse, which has changed very little since its foundation in the late eleventh century. There is no plot and very little dialogue in this film – don’t watch it expecting to be entertained, but you may find yourself transported into a calm and contemplative space through vicarious experience of the monks’ life.

Career Development Series: Law School & Careers in History

2008-11-02T19:20:00.002-05:00

There will be three Career Development events in the next two weeks! They are:

Thursday, Nov 6 -- Career Development Double-Header
3:00 pm
APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL
Diane Curtis, pre-law advisor, will talk to students about if Law School is for you, how to apply, and how to finance your degree.

4:00 pm
BECOMING A HISTORY TEACHER
Faculty from the School of Education will talk about their programs that can help you become certified as an elementary, middle, or high school teacher, including STEP (Secondary Teacher Education Program), and CTEP (Collaborative Teacher Education Program).

Thursday, Nov. 13
5:30 pm
ALUMNI CAREER NIGHT
This exciting event is the highlight of our career development program! Several former UMass history undergrads will return to campus to share their experiences working in publishing, teaching, social services, and historical and environmental outreach. Come and hear what real people have done with their UMass history degrees!

Montréal Updates

2008-10-28T15:02:00.002-04:00

For all of you interested in traveling to Montréal and seeing some great historical sites, here's the information for the trip, brought to you by your trip coordinator, Brendan:

While in Montreal we will be staying at the Hotel Le Cantlie Suites. The best rate I could find works out to about $56 per person for the weekend, based on 4 people in a room with 2 queen beds and parking for 1 car for 2 nights. Due to the time-sensitive nature of these prices, I will need to get a $45 deposit from each person who is planning on going on the trip before this Friday, October 31 to cover the reservations for the rooms. The parking fees will be assessed
separately.

Here are several of the sites we're looking at visiting:

McCord Museum of Canadian History
The McCord Museum has two exhibitions which should prove to be of
great interest. The first is entitled "Reveal or Conceal." It is "a
provocative exhibition that explores historical perceptions of modesty
and eroticism in women's clothing. Through a selection of remarkable
garments, accessories, and photographs from the McCord's collection,
discover how changes in fashion trends and cultural standards over the
last two centuries have influenced women's decisions to reveal or
conceal their bodies."
The second exhibition is more ordinary, yet still sure to be of
interest. "Simply Montreal" is an effort to bring the history of the
city to life, with the help of over 800 objects from the McCord's
collection.

Marguerite Bourgeoys Museum & Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel
In addition to offering a museum and chapel for your viewing
pleasure, this place also offers an actual archaeological site that
you can take a tour of.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
This museum currently has an exhibition on Napoleon on display,
in addition to its usual collection of fine are and historical pieces.

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Not your typical museum. Another one that involves an
archaeological aspect, which looks to be quite fascinating

In addition to these museums, there are several churches, cathedrals, and basilicas that are of interest. There are also many events occurring while we will be there which we may also want to take advantage of.

If you want to attend the trip, please message Brendan on Facebook ASAP! He needs your deposits by Friday.

If you have any additional questions, message Brendan or comment here!

Meeting Minutes

2008-10-28T14:49:00.002-04:00

We want to extend a big thank you to professor Taylor for giving up her time to attend our meeting! She shared some really fascinating information, and I'm sure everybody learned something. Some bits of advice from professor Taylor:

*Learn something that not many other people know. Having particular skills (e.g. a language or statistical analysis) can be used as an advantage when looking at history.

*Learn something that takes you where you want to go. She was able to spend time in Paris doing her research!

Prof. Taylor will also be sharing a list of books, so keep checking the blog for additional reading on the topics she spoke about!!

----------------------------------------

In other news, we will be having the haunted tours tonight, rain or shine! In the likely event that it doesn't clear up, we will be telling the stories inside. Please arrive by 7:30 if you are a tour guide.

There will be a Majors Fair on Wednesday 10/29 5:30 to 7:30 in the lower level of the campus center and the department is looking for a couple of students to help out. If you are free at that time and want to be around to field questions from prospective majors (and advertise the club to history lovers!) please email professor Nash a.s.a.p. at advising@history.umass.edu. If you have any ideas for making the booth snazzy, you can email her as well!

Next Monday will be another planning meeting. We will work out our movie nights, professor chats and events for the rest of the semester. We will also discuss activities we can do with Amherst History Museum. If you have any ideas for fun events or meeting topics, bring them to the meeting!

If you have any ideas to share right now or you can't come to the meeting, just leave a comment! Thanks for all your ideas!

Professor Chat: Anna Taylor

2008-10-23T13:56:00.004-04:00

We are pleased to announce our first professor chat of the semester! At our next meeting we will be joined by History professor Anna Taylor. Professor Taylor's fields of interest include the Middle Ages, Late Antiquity, monasticism and literary culture.

Come meet professor Taylor and hear what she has to say about history as a passion, a profession and a field of study. Professor chats are a great way to get to know the faculty in your department and make connections!

We hope to see you all on Monday!

Career Development Series: Interships & Graduate School

2008-10-21T15:06:00.002-04:00

There are two exciting events in the career development series this week:

Wednesday, October 22, 4:00 pm
INTERNSHIP INFORMATION EVENT
Jeff Silver, Field Experience Director in the UMass Career Services office, will discuss this valuable tool in gaining experience, making career contacts, and helping students find out about the types of work they might enjoy.

Thursday, October 23, 4:00 pm
APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL
Our grad student panel will help students think about the ifs, wheres, and hows of continuing their academic career, whether to an MA, a PhD, or beyond.

As always, the events are in Herter 601, refreshments will be served, and all students are welcome.

For more information contact internships@history.umass.edu

Movie Night

2008-10-19T20:12:00.003-04:00

Don't forget, tomorrow night is our first movie night! We will be watching Start the Revolution Without Me at 6pm in Herter 601. We will be serving pizza! Bring a friend!

See you there!

Career Development Series/Applying to Law School

2008-10-16T09:23:00.003-04:00

Every semester, the History Department puts on a series of events aimed at helping history majors figure out what they want to do after they graduate from UMass, and how to do it. We will be posting information about these events on the blog, so you know what is happening and when! Members of the history club who have attended these events in the past say that they are incredibly helpful not only for planning out your future, but also for making connections to people who can help you out. The events are open to all students, so bring your non-history major friends along!

The first event is this afternoon at 5:00 pm in Herter 601:

APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL
Diane Curtis, pre-law advisor, will talk to students about if Law School is for you, how to apply, and how to finance your degree. All students are welcome, and refreshments will be served!

For more information about the events, feel free to email internships@history.umass.edu

Haunted Tours of Campus

2008-10-13T23:05:00.004-04:00

It's that time of year again, when leaves crunch underfoot and the cold air bristling through the skeletal trees makes us wonder if there is something lurking in the night. Fortunately, UMass students will get the chance this fall to learn what ghosts and spirits haunt their very own campus. On Tuesday, October 28th, the History Club will be leading it's famous haunted tours around campus.

The tours will leave from Herter Hall at 8pm, and last about an hour. Be prepared for some spine-tingling tales! We hope you don't live in one of the haunted dorms...

New! Check out the Facebook event!

If you have any questions write a comment on this post and we will get back to you promptly!

Meeting Minutes

2008-10-09T15:46:00.002-04:00

This Monday we had an excellent meeting with Patricia Lutz of the Amherst History Museum. She spoke with us regarding a number of opportunities, including:

*Internships (that you can get credit for)
*Entering data into the museum's catalog
*Cleaning & painting
*Individual & small group work

She also spoke with us about projects we could work on as an organization, specifically:

*A hands-on "history of science" program for kids this spring
*Something to celebrate the Town of Amherst's 250th anniversary next year (spring and fall)
*Any other ideas we come up with as a group, we can collaborate with Pat and the museum

Pat says she has heard from a number of you already- that is great news! She was really impressed by the interest in our group. For those of you who would like to contact her, her email is amhersthistory@yahoo.com. Thanks for being such a great host for our guest!

REMEMBER, there will be no meeting this Monday due to the "holiday," but we will meet again on the 20th, at 6pm for the movie!

Have a wonderful long weekend!

And the winner is...

2008-10-07T13:58:00.002-04:00

Start the Revolution Without Me!

Our first movie night of the semester will be in two weeks (no meeting on Columbus Day), and we will be screening the French Revolution comedy Start the Revolution Without Me.

The movie will start at 6pm (not 7!) in Herter 601 and we will be serving pizza and soda for your eating and drinking pleasure. Feel free to bring a friend!

Thanks for voting!

Amherst History Museum!

2008-10-05T22:57:00.003-04:00

We are excited to announce that we will have a special guest at our meeting tomorrow night! Patricia Lutz, director of the Amherst History Museum, will be speaking with the club regarding volunteer opportunities. The museum, located on Amity Street right next to the Jones Library, is run by the Amherst Historical Society and contains wonderful artifacts and information about Amherst's vibrant history.

Volunteering at the museum is a great opportunity. If you are interested in public history, research or museum curating, for example, you can gain valuable experience working with the Amherst Historical Society. Even if you aren't planning a career in museums, this presents a great chance to make an impact in your community working with something you love! And of course, we all know that volunteer work, especially in one's concentration, looks great on a resumé.

Click here to read about the museum's latest exhibit on "Emily Dickinson's Amherst"! See you at seven!

Meeting Minutes

2008-09-30T09:41:00.004-04:00

Last night's meeting went wonderfully, and I'm happy to announce that we have some wonderful upcoming events!

Montréal Trip
The trip has an official date! We will be going to Montréal over the weekend of 11/15-16. The trip planning committee will be Brendan, Allison, Dan Mc and Caroline. They will be responsible for planning activities and picking lodging- so keep posting ideas on the previous post and they will be checking that for input!

Campus Ghost Tours
Mark your calendars! Tuesday night, October 28th, will be the night of the History Club's annual haunted tours of campus! So far, Calla, Caroline, Dan M, Dan Mc, and Pat have signed up to be tour guides, and Becky and Kim will be in charge of snacks. Anyone else who wants to be involved, just comment with your name!

Movie Nights
We now have a great selection of movie suggestions, so go vote in the poll to help determine which movie we show! Check the previous post for info on the movies. There is another poll asking if we should start the movie at 7 like normal, or at 6 to allow everyone to leave by 8. There will be pizza, if you're concerned about dinner! Please vote!

Other Ideas
We had two great suggestions for additional events:

1. History Board Game Night! play RISK, Stratego, Axis & Allies, or whatever other history-related board games you love!

2. History of UMass panel: we would love to get a group of professors together, both history and non-history, to hold a panel on the history of UMass. These can be professors who have been here a while and have great stories, or professors who have done research on UMass's history. If you have any suggestions of professors that might be good for this panel, please comment!

Keep up the great work, folks!

Movie Nights

2008-09-28T15:33:00.003-04:00

In order to have movie nights that everyone will enjoy, we want to hear from all of you! These are the movies that have been suggested in the past, that we haven't yet watched:

Start the Revolution Without Me (French Revolution)
Jacob the Liar (WWII)
Life is Beautiful (WWII)
Sir! No Sir! (Vietnam)
The Dirty Dozen (WWII)
Patton (WWII)

If you have any suggestions of a history-related movie that you either love or would like to see, please post it in a comment. It would be extra helpful if you included a wikipedia/imdb/etc. link so we know exactly what movie you're referring to!

Thanks!

Montréal Trip

2008-09-25T20:44:00.003-04:00

For those of you who were unable to attend the meeting this Monday, one of the big things we discussed was a trip to Montréal that we are trying to plan for this fall. We don't have a lot of details ironed out, just that we want to go and see some awesome historical sites!

In order for this trip to be enjoyable for as many people as possible, we would like as much feedback as possible!! We ask two things of you:

1) Check out Montréal's tourism website. If you see any sites or events that you are interested in, please comment on this post, or write them down and bring them to the next meeting.

2) Determine which weekend works best for you, and which is the absolute worst. Then post this in a comment as well!

Also, if you have any amazing fundraising ideas (or connections) let us know! The trip will pretty much be all out of pocket (except for museum admission) unless we do some fundraising.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

First Meeting Tonight!

2008-09-22T08:05:00.001-04:00

First Meeting of the Semester.
Tonight.
7 pm.
Herter 601.
Be there.

(bring your planner so we can discuss dates for events/trips!)

Feinberg Lecture Series

2008-09-21T15:22:00.004-04:00

Every two years, the UMass Amherst History Department has the great honor of hosting the Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series. This year-long series allows students, faculty and visiting scholars to explore a particular theme in depth. This year's theme is "Measuring the Value of Human Life." According to the event's website, the lecture series will:

Engage scholarship in history, bioethics, legal studies, the arts, and other realms to explore how value has been ascribed to human lives in courtrooms, labs, archives, boardrooms, and universities. Public lectures, panels, and film screenings will consider subjects ranging from the role of war and sacrifice in ancient societies to contemporary reparations movements. Events will examine efforts to compensate individuals and families for lives and limbs lost on the battlefield and in the workplace. We will consider attempts (from the religious to the technological) to purchase eternal life, and reflect on ways in which historians have measured and valued life stories. In sum, this exciting series investigates the many and varied approaches to the questions, what is life worth?

Check out the website for a schedule of events, as well as more information about the lecture series and Kenneth Feinberg, the UMass Alumnus after whom the series is named.

Greetings history lovers!

2008-09-11T20:40:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the new UMass History Club blog! We are one of the many RSOs at UMass, and proud to finally have our own blog up and running. We will be updating this site regularly to keep you updated on meetings, events, news, and other exciting things. Please feel free to contribute feedback so we can continue to update and improve the site and the club! (Just remember to keep it classy, UMass.)

Our meetings for this semester will be on Mondays at 7pm in Herter 601 (excluding holidays when the University is closed). Our first meeting will be on September 22. Come meet other historiophiles, eat snacks, and learn what the history club has to offer! History majors and non-history majors alike are welcome.

We hope to see you there!