CRES Certificate Program

 

 

 

AMST/HIST 485 "Interpreting Ten Broeck," Professor Karen Mahar and Professor Jennifer Dorsey, (MWF 1:30pm-2:30pm)

 

Ten Broeck Mansion is an “historic house museum,” and headquarters of the Albany County Historical Association.  Built in 1797-1798 for General Abraham Ten Broeck and his wife, Elizabeth Van Rensselaer, the home is a Federal-style house set atop Arbor Hill with a view of the Hudson River.  In 1848 Theodore Olcott purchased the home and renamed it “Arbour Hill” (today Arbor Hill) after the surrounding area. It remained in the Olcott family until 1948, when the Olcott family presented the home to the Albany County Historical Association.  Ten Broeck’s director, Wendy Burch, and Matt Kirk, President of the Albany County Historical Association, have developed a list of strategic research projects that when completed will greatly enrich the quality of the museum’s interpretation.  Students in AMST/HIST 485 will undertake one of these research projects and then share their findings with the Ten Broeck staff for inclusion in their tours of the museum.

 

RELG 490-R/HIST 485 Religion, The Founding Fathers, and the Birth of the American Republic, Professor Joe Allegretti, (Thursday 1:00-3:05 pm)

This seminar will explore the relationship between religion and government from the colonial period through the early years of the American nation. We will examine the place of religion in the colonies, with special attention to the state establishments of religion in Massachusetts and Virginia and to the experiment in religious toleration in Pennsylvania. We will explore the role of religion in the Revolution. We will examine how the so-called Founding Fathers (such as Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and Washington) viewed religion and religion’s role in the state. Were they orthodox Christians, Deists, or something else? We will also investigate the controversies over religion in the Republic at the state and national levels, with special attention to the debates over the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. We will look at how our first presidents dealt with religion. What did Thomas Jefferson mean, for example, when he talked of a wall of separation between church and state? We will trace the gradual evolution from state-sponsored religion to religious toleration and then to true religious liberty. Finally, we will consider the relevance of this history for contemporary debates about church and state.  Much of our reading will consist of primary sources.
Permission of Instructor Required
 

ENGL 315 "Literature of the Enlightenment," Professor Keaghan Turner (TR 11:30am-12:50pm)

 

AMST/HIST 480 "Internship" Students work with the director of the CRES, Dr. Jennifer Dorsey, and the Internship Coordinator, Dr. Karen Mahar, to choose an appropriate historic site.