History Department News and Research

Ralph Ketcham taught citizenship at Maxwell longer than most of us have been alive. And, while doing so, he championed an approach to citizenship education that virtually defines the Maxwell School.

"Although the U.S. and Israel claim they favor a peaceful settlement and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state through negotiations, their actions ensure that it will not be achieved," says Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history.

“The Otey and Barbara Scruggs scholarship is a fitting tribute to a treasured member of the History Department and his wife,” said Associate Professor and Chair of History Norman Kutcher. “Otey cared deeply about the University generally and the History Department especially. Graduate education grew substantially in strength and numbers under his leadership, so it is fitting that this scholarship will benefit our most deserving graduate students.”

The Maxwell School has appointed new chairs for the departments of anthropology, economics, history, international relations (undergraduate), political science and sociology, as well as an interim chair of social science. 

"Vowed women in the church deserve more than our fascination, our giggles, and our objectification. They deserve, instead, our appreciation—and, more importantly, our respect," writes Margaret S. Thompson, associate professor of history and political science.

"Washington’s perception of American educational institutions in the region changed during World War II. In early 1942, German forces pressed an offensive in North Africa. Their initial goal was the Suez Canal and eliminating Britain’s position in Egypt and the broader Middle East," writes Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history.

“My research on political violence and the drug war allows me to bring greater attention to how these issues impact U.S.-Mexico relations and showcase it within Maxwell and the greater community,” says Gladys McCormick, an associate professor of history who has taught at Maxwell since 2010.

Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history, has been announced as the recipient of the Montgomery Gruber Professorship. Additionally, the O’Hanley Faculty Endowed Fund for Faculty Excellence, which serves to help recognize, reward and retain excellent teachers at the school, announced three new scholars: Azra Hromadžić, associate professor of anthropology; Natalie Koch, associate professor of geography; and Rebecca Schewe, assistant professor of sociology. 

Maxwell Associate Dean and Professor of History Carol Faulkner was one of the featured scholars on day one of the VoteTilla voyage. VoteTilla is part of a year-long celebration recognizing 100 years of women’s voices and suffrage in New York state.

According to Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history, the current system of training and acclimating young people to the work world has its antecedents in the Middle Ages. “Families couldn’t necessarily afford to feed all the members of the household, so this was a way of getting rid of children who had gotten too old to live in the house and not work,” he says.