Spring 2016 History Department
Independent Study Opportunities
Use this list to identify professors in the history department offering opportunities for undergraduate
research in history related to their intellectual interests. Begin by contacting the professor whose research
interests you. If it is a match, students may earn credit by enrolling in AHIS 497 under that professor’s
supervision to earn up to 3 credits of upper-level history credit, depending on hours logged.
European History Faculty
FOGARTY, Richard S.
Associate Professor, Associate Dean for General Education
Office: Social Science 60C
518 442-5344
rforgarty@albany.edu
Rick Fogarty’s research interests are in the histories of France, French colonialism, and the First
World War. He would be happy to direct undergraduate research in the history of the French
colonial empire, 1914 – 1918, and would also welcome research collaboration on his ongoing
project exploring French and German rivalry for leadership over the Muslim world during the
First World War. A reading knowledge of French and/or German would be necessary.
KIZENKO, Nadieszda
Associate Professor, Director of the Religions Studies Program
Office: Social Science 145F
518 442-5357
nkizenko@albany.edu
Nadia Kizenko's research interests are in imperial Russian history and the history of
religion. She has two research projects, and would be glad to direct undergraduate research
projects related to them. The first is a history of confession in the Russian emigration. The
second is a history of confession among Orthodox Christians broadly speaking (this would
include Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians, Montenegrins, Finns, Rusyns, Ukrainians,
Albanians, etc.). Those interested should be able to read, or to conduct interviews, in the
relevant language(s). .
KOROBEYNIKOV, Dimitri
Assistant Professor
Office: Social Science 145H
518 442-5300
Dkorobeynikov@albany.edu
Ottoman History, 11th-15th century Byzantines History, Religion; not accepting students at this
time.
KROSBY, H. Peter
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 145G
518 442-5300
hkrosby@albany.edu
International history since 1870 with emphasis on great-power diplomacy and World War II
political and military history; not accepting students at this time.
MONFASANI, John
Distinguished Professor
Office: Social Science 60G
518 442-5360
jmonfasani@albany.edu
Early Modern European Intellectual & Cultural, Byzantine; not accepting students at this time.
NOLD, Patrick
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 145J
518 442-5434
pnold@albany.edu
Medieval Europe, Intellectual and Cultural, history, manuscript sources; not accepting students
at this time.
TRACHTENBERG, Barry
Associate Professor, Director of the Judaic Studies Program
Office: Humanities 355
518 442-4130
btrachtenberg@albany.edu
Barry Trachtenberg’s research is in Holocaust studies, modern Jewish history, and genocide
studies. He is currently working on two book-length projects. The first is a study of the United
States and the Nazi Holocaust and the second is on the impact of the Nazi Holocaust on Yiddish
culture. He invites interested students to contact him to inquire about research opportunities.
Knowledge of European languages is a plus, but by no means required.
United States History Faculty
BALLARD, Allen
Visiting Professor
Office: Social Science 60K
518 442-5300
aballard@albany.edu
African-American, Local & Regional, Modern Russian Politics; not accepting students at this
time.
BERNARD, Sheila Curran
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 60D
518 442-5300
sbernard@albany.edu
History and Media, Public History, Documentary, U.S. Topics; not accepting students at this
time.
BON TEMPO, Carl
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 109B
518 442-5368
cbontempo@albany.edu
20th Century U.S., Politics, Public Policy, Foreign Policy; not accepting students at this time.
GRAVES, Kori
Assistant Professor
Office: Social Science 60L
518 442-5292
kgraves@albany.edu
20th Century U.S. History, Gender and Women’s history, Marriage and Family/adoption history
and Foreign Relations; not accepting students at this time.
HAMM, Richard F.
Professor, Chair, History Department
Office: Social Science 145C
518 442-5305,
rhamm@albany.edu
Richard Hamm’s research interests are focused on rhe interaction of law and society in the
American past, especially the 19th and 20th centuries. How ideas, individuals and structures have
combined to shape law and how law has determined the courses the government officials,
reformers, and ordinary people have been the foci of my work. I am currently looking for student
researchers to help me with a number of different writing projects centered in the 1920s through
1940: one on the background on the case that created doctrine of commercial speech in
constitutional law; one on the extradition hearing of Robert Elliot Burns – an escaped chain gang
convict; one on the controversy when Francis Rivers (a leading African-American lawyer) was
denied admission to the American Bar Association; and one on the changing image of the
famous lawyer Clarence Darrow.
HOCHFELDER, David
Associate Professor, Graduate Director
Office: Social Science 119
518 442-5348,
dhochfelder@albany.edu
David Hochfelder’s research interests are in U.S. history of technology; history of capitalism;
late 19th and early 20th century U.S. history; urban history.
He has two research projects, and would be happy to direct undergraduate research projects
related to them. The first is a history of saving and investing from Franklin to the recent Great
Recession. The second is a website that will digitally reconstruct and repopulate areas of Albany
that were demolished in the 1960s for urban renewal.
IRWIN, Ryan
Assistant Professor
Office: Social Science 60N
518 442-5379
rirwin@albany.edu
Ryan Irwin writes about U.S. foreign relations and he's currently researching two books. The
first is a collective biography of four individuals who shaped American assumptions about world
affairs during the mid-20th century. The second is an overview of six moments when the United
States tried its hand at global governance.
KANE, Maeve
Assistant Professor
Office: Social Science 60S
518 442-5300
mkane2@albany.edu
Maeve Kane’s research interests include the history of the Six Nations of the Iroquois in New
York, Canada and Wisconsin, the history of fashion, consumerism and gender, the history of
religious conversion efforts, and the history of colonialism in the 17th, 18th and 19th
centuries. She is currently working on a project analyzing the politics of Iroquois buying
patterns from 1600-1860 and would be happy to direct undergraduate research projects related to
these areas. Experience reading cursive handwriting; reading Dutch, French, or German; or
experience working in Excel or other spreadsheet programs is welcome but not required.
PASTORE, Christopher L.
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 60J
518 442-5311
cpastore@albany.edu
Christopher Pastore’s research interests include early Atlantic world, continental history,
environmental history, and the history o the human use and understanding of water. He is
particularly interested in directing undergraduate research projects that examine the history of
rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, rainstorms, rainbows, waterfalls, wells, springs, and any and all
things having to do with the history of hydrology, watery cartography, and the soggy stories of
riparian people.
SMITH-HOWARD, Kendra
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 60Q
518 442-5375
ksmith-howard@albany.edu
Kendra Smith-Howard’s research interests include environmental history, histories of public
health, consumer culture, technology, and rural and agricultural life. She is currently working on
two research projects. One is an environmental history of cleaning up in the twentieth-century
US, with special attention to the changing environmental footprint in terms of water and air
quality, forest management for disposable paper products, and concerns about environmental
health linked to cleaning work. The other is about the effects of World War II on American
agriculture. Interested students should contact Dr. Smith-Howard via email or in office hours
about the requirements.
WITTERN-KELLER, Laura
Lecturer
Office: Social Science 60E
518 442-5300
lwittern-keller@albany.edu
20th century U.S. Public Policy, Legal, Constitutional and Immigration history; not accepting
students at this time.
ZAHAVI, Gerald
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 60R
518 442-5427
gzahavi@albany.edu
U.S. business & Labor, Local & Regional, Oral History, Quantitative, Media; not accepting
students at this time.
World History Faculty
ASO, Michitake
Assistant Professor
Office: Social Science 60P
518 442-5441
maso@albany.edu
20th Century Southeast Asia, Global Environment, Medicine and Health; not accepting students
at this time.
GAUSS, Susan
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 145E
518 442-5354
sgauss@albany.edu
Professor Gauss researches modern Latin America, U.S.-Latin American relations, global
consumption, and the history of beer and alcohol. She is accepting students who would like to
conduct research on the history of drugs, alcohol, and beer.
SCHWALLER, John
Associate Professor
Office: Social Science 60F
518 442-5300
jschwaller@albany.edu
Colonial Latin American History; History of Mexico, Catholic Church in Latin America, Nahuatl
(Aztec) language and culture; not accepting students at this time.