FALL 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: Social Science 119
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
Prof. Bernard’s research is in history and media, public history, and documentary studies. She is
considering research assistance for two ongoing projects, one on the history of documentary film
and the other on U.S. cultural history. Knowledge of documentary work and 20th century history
(US and world) would be helpful; excellent computer, research, and writing skills are essential.
Beginning fall 2016, when she has returned from leave, she would also be happy to direct
independent undergraduate research in the areas listed above.
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 the interaction of law and society in the
American past. 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. First one on the deep background
on the extradition hearing of Robert Elliot Burns – an escaped chain gang convict. Second, one
on the controversy when Francis Rivers (a leading African-American lawyer) was denied
admission to the American Bar Association. Third, one on the changing image of the famous
lawyer Clarence Darrow. All will involve interesting primary source digging as well as some
secondary source sleuthing.
HOCHFELDER, David
Associate Professor, Graduate Director
Office: Social Science 60B
518 442-5348
dhochfelder@albany.edu
David Hochfelder’s research interests are in history of technology; history of capitalism; late 19th
and early 20th century U.S. history; urban history. He would be happy to direct undergraduate
research projects related to any of these fields.
He has two research projects, and would be happy to discuss them further. 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 not accepting students at this time.
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 of 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 not accepting
students at this time.
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
Dr. Schwaller’s area of research focuses on early colonial Latin America. In particular he
studies Mexico in the sixteenth century. This includes study of the Aztec language, Nahuatl, the
history and culture of the Aztecs, the conquest of Mexico, and the establishment of Spanish rule
in Mexico. A noted scholar of the Catholic Church in Latin America, Dr. Schwaller also
researches various aspects of the religious history of the region.