By DYLAN DEMARTINO
STAFF WRITER

Thursday, Feb. 20 marked the second annual History Day at Fordham. Fordham community members gathered in the Campbell auditorium for a day-long exploration of various historical themes and recent work by faculty, graduate and even undergraduate students.

A  faculty panel discussing the receptions of U.S. power began the day with a presentation of undergraduate work in history following afterwards. Afterwards, several faculty members presented on their experiences performing archival research and constructing books in their respective fields.

Career services was even on hand to advise students that the value of the skills accrued while pursing a history major had real value in the professional world and that Fordham has plenty of connections to employers who value liberal arts degrees.

Dr. Hamlin, chair of undergraduate studies, agreed, noting, “Most of the jobs that new graduates can expect to compete for in our global economy regardless of the field will likely to make sense of a large volume of data, to see what is important, and to explain persuasively why that is important. Understanding what factors impact individuals and the institutions in which they operate, how such institutions respond to change, and what greater ramifications that change has for nations and the world at large are questions students of history often have to answer. The study of history can uniquely equip students with a core competency in thinking about the world in such a perspective”.

Dr. Hamlin was also quick to emphasize that a history education, like the study of any subject at Fordham, delivers far more than simply job training to students “Fordham isn’t just a career school meant to churn out future employees,” he said.  Fordham as an institution is very committed to its endeavors to shape students into morally conscious individuals, who take seriously the notion that the world is full of choices.  Understanding how to make good choices and why is of crucial importance to the improvement of the self and society.”

The day ended with the highly anticipated presentation in Flom auditorium by Dr. Craig Steven Wilder, a Fordham alumnus who currently chairs the history department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She delivered a final lecture to end the day’s activites. Dr. Wilder earned his PhD. from Columbia University. Originally from the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, he was among the first generation of his family to attend college, and has participated in the first generation initiative at MIT.

His lecture was based on the findings presented in his new book Ebony and Ivory, Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities. The work highlights the pervasive financial, ideological and political connection between some of America’s earliest and most elite schools, their alumni, their faculty, the plantation establishment, the racist, anti-integration resettlement societies and political power in both the Northern and Southern sections. This work challenges the notion of a monolithic anti-slavery North during the Antebellum period.

History majors and other students with backgrounds or interest in service learning projects were treated to an opportunity to discuss their perspectives as scholars and as individuals with Dr. Wilder prior to his lecture.

He advised students of diverse backgrounds to avoid flattening their perspective in the university community in an effort to avoid making others uncomfortable, noting that a multitude of voices from every angle is what changes institutions and strengthens their impact on each individual person.

Dr. Wilder noted that he was glad to see an interest in scholarly development still present at Fordham, and noted that education always has an important moral purpose from which students and teachers alike should not shrink.

“I have to say I was quite impressed by some of the speakers at History Day, particularly the panel on American Power”, noted Greg Rizzo, FCRH ’14. “I didn’t realize that there was so much academic productivity going on at Fordham, and it’s nice to see an alumnus like Dr. Wilder who ascended to a leadership role at an institution like MIT return to speak to us.”