The SUNY Geneseo Department of History is pleased to host this year’s Phi Alpha Theta‘s Western/Central New York annual regional conference. Phil Alpha Theta is an academic honor society for colleges and universities whose mission is to promote the study of History through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among Historians.
Opening Remarks
9:00am – 9:15am
Dr. Jovana Babović (SUNY Geneseo), Omicron-Rho Chapter Advisor
Dr. Justin Behrend (SUNY Geneseo), Head of the Department of History
Session 1 (9:30AM — 11:00AM)
Panel 1: Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
Chair: Dr. Tim Thibodeau (Nazareth College)
Presenters
Katelyn Bajorek (Syracuse University), “Paper Bodies: Women, Texts, and Medieval Ontologies of Healing”
Michael Lucy (Syracuse University), “Theories of the Codes of honnêteté in Seventeenth Century France: Implications of the movement précieux on Aristocratic Modes of Courtesy”
Yining Lyu (Syracuse University), “The Fantasy and Reality of Late Ming Officials”
Panel 2: Creating and Contesting American Symbols
Chair: Dr. Pablo Sierra (University of Rochester)
Presenters
Russel Bassarath (University at Buffalo), “The American Flag: Unifying Symbol or Symbol of False Hope”
Alexander Paredes-Ruíz (Ithaca College), “’¿Cual Es Tu Sueño Americano?:’ The Shifting Latinx Perception of Opportunity in Miami Since 1980”
Madison Darrell (Nazareth College), “The Iroquois League and Founding the United States”
Panel 3: Feminists, Prostitutes, and Activists at Time of Rebellion
Chair: Dr. Isabel Cordova (Nazareth College)
Presenters
Samantha Brandal (Ithaca College), “Short Skirts and Revolvers: Cumann na mBan and Irish Republican Feminism”
Hannarose Manning (SUNY Geneseo), “Prostitution in Times of Rebellion: Examining the Roles Prostitutes Played in the 1857 Rebellion and the Legacy They Left Behind”
Eileen Reinhardt (SUNY Geneseo), “A Year in Derry: 1972”
Panel 4: Histories of Global Muslim Communities
Chair: Dr. Bob Zens (Le Moyne College)
Presenters
Lucas Brenner (SUNY Geneseo), “Wahhabism and the Stereotyping of Indian Muslims After the Rebellion of 1857”
Keegan Matthews (University of Rochester), “Heart of the Oak: The Battle of Salamis”
Zackary Irish (SUNY Geneseo), “The Creation and Influence of Firdawsi’s Shahnama”
Panel 5: The Transformation of Rural American Spaces
Chair: Dr. Jonathan Ablard (Ithaca College)
Presenters
Stevie Malenowski (Ithaca College), “Adirondack Logging in the Era of the Machine: A Radical Transformation in Technology and Ecology”
Vincent Calovi (SUNY Geneseo), “The War Effort and the Impact on Rural America during WWII”
Halie Saunders (SUNY Geneseo), “A Forgotten State in Rural History: Farming and Agriculture in the Hawaiian Islands”
SESSION II (11:15AM — 12:45PM)
Panel 1: Defining Roles for Women and Girls
Chair: Dr. Catherine Adams (SUNY Geneseo)
Presenters
Kathleen McHugh (Syracuse University), “Physics for Girls: Household Physics Textbooks, 1935-1955”
Meredith Burke (Ithaca College), “The Rise of Domestic Science: Electrification’s Culture of Efficiency and Perfectionism in the Early Twentieth-Century American Household”
Dominic Chiappone (Syracuse University), “An Analysis on the Portrayals of Racial Generalizations and Cultural Stereotypes in American Girl Products”
Panel 2: US Presidents and Their Legacies
Chair: Dr. Noel Wolfe (Nazareth College)
Presenters
Simone Gorgievski (Nazareth College), “Evolution of the JFK Records Collection Act: A Government’s Attempt to End Secrecy”
Emma Repice (Syracuse University), “A Great Society: Kennedy’s Continuation of Johnson’s Ideals”
Olivia Russo (Le Moyne College), “’Slam, Bam, Thank You, Ma’am!:’ The Influence of Personal and Cultural Power Dynamics on Sexual Relationships Between Women Working in the White House and President John F. Kennedy”
Jessica Michels (Nazareth College), “Rancho Del Cielo: President Reagan’s Heaven on Earth”
Panel 3: Culture in the Context of War, Revolution, and Imperialism
Chair: Dr. Thomas Lappas (Nazareth)
Presenters
Josh DeBell (SUNY Geneseo), “Survivalist Music at the Moulin Rouge and Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique in Occupied Paris from 1940 to 1944”
Kayleigh Hegerle (Nazareth College), “The War on Assimilation: The Acts of Native American Resistance towards Indian Boarding Schools”
Panel 4: America in the 19th Century
Chair: Dr. Tamara Plakins Thornton (University at Buffalo)
Presenters
Michael Sheedy (SUNY Geneseo), “’All My Trials:’ The Neglected Role of Enslaved, White, and Free Women in the Southampton and Sussex County Trials of the Nat Turner Rebellion”
Lara Goodman (Geneseo), “Chasing Utopia: An Analysis of the “Back to the Land” Movement 1862-1939”
Panel 5: Sex and Sexuality in 20th Century America
Chair: Dr. Ryan Jones (SUNY Geneseo)
Presenters
Kasey Dillenbeck (SUNY Geneseo), “’Playboy’s Tinseled Seductress:’ The Multiple Narratives Surrounding the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s and 1970s and How They Engage to Create a Narrative Surrounding the History of Playboy”
Sarah Wack (University at Buffalo), “Obscene America and Her Porno Queens: How Porn Reflects America’s Understanding of Sex With the Internet Paving the Way”
Adam Comstock (SUNY Geneseo), “A Soldier and his Lover: The Baker Street Sandal and the Birth of Early Twentieth Century American Homophobia”
Panel 6: Untold Stories of Modern America
Chair: Dr. Timothy Kneeland (Nazareth College)
Presenters
Brandon Perez (SUNY Geneseo), “Transvestites and Magazine Communities in New York City during the 1960s”
Katherine Peter (SUNY Geneseo), “A Cultural History of Blizzards in Buffalo”
Dylan Walgate (SUNY Geneseo), “Battle of the Belt Line: The 1892 Buffalo Railway Strike, and Its Significance in American Labor History”
CLOSING REMARKS (1:00pm – 1:15pm)
Dr. Jacob M. Blosser (Texas Woman’s University), President of Phi Alpha Theta
BREAK (1:30pm – 2:30pm)
JUDGES’ MEETING (2:30pm – 3:30pm)
All sessions will be held over Zoom. To register to attend the conference sessions, please fill out this form.
