Ph.D. - European history
Harvard University - 1969
Professional Preparation
M.A. - history
The Ohio State University - 1963
The Ohio State University - 1963
B.A. - history
The Ohio State University - 1961
The Ohio State University - 1961
Research Areas
Research in Progress
- I am engaged in a long-term project on the social history of Marburg, Germany, from the middle of the seventeenth to the end of the eighteenth century. The study will be a careful structural analysis of an urban society over time and will then focus on three subjects: (1) the mercantile, administrative, and educated elites that dominated the city; (2) the endemic poverty in Marburg and the Upper Hessian region; and (3) the relationship between the city, on one hand, and, on the other, its surrounding countryside, the University of Marburg, and the Hessian territorial state.
Publications
"Die Marburger Stadtschule als Vor- und Zubringerschule: Eine kleine sozialgeschichtliche Studie," Mehr als Stadt, Land, Fluss: Festschrift für Ursula Braasch-Schwersmann, ed. Lutz Vogel et al. (Neustadt an der Aisch, 2020), 227-231 2020 - Article
"Die Marburger Studentenschaft und die hessische Bildungspolitik im 18. Jahrhundert," Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 61 (2011): 59 - 86 2011 - Article
"Die Marburger Juden in der Frühen Neuzeit (1640-1800): Eine Fallstudie in Familien- und Haushaltsorganisation," Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 58 (2008): 1-25 2008 - Article
"Frankfurt am Main," Encyclopedia of Early Modern Europe, ed. Jonathan Dewald et al. (6 v.; NY: Scribner, 2004), 2:456-457 2004 - Entry
"Hesse, Landgraviate," Encyclopedia of Early Modern Europe, ed. Jonathan Dewald et al. (6 v.; NY: Scribner, 2004), 3: 165-167 2004 - Entry
"The Jews of Early Modern Marburg, 1640s-1800: A Case Study in Family and Household Organization," History of the Family 8 (2003): 495-516 2003 - Article
"Die Schulbildung der Marburger Handwerker in der frühen Neuzeit," Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 43 (1993): 107-137 1993 - Article
"Six Books on Central European Family Histrory," Journal of Family History 14 (1989): 79-90 1989 - Review Essay
Awards
President, Conference Group for Central European History - The American Historical Association [1998]
Elected Member - The Hessian Historical Commission [1983]
Appointments
Associate Professor Emeritus of History, Arts & Humanities
The University of Texas at Dallas [2005–Present]
The University of Texas at Dallas [2005–Present]
Visiting Lecturer on Early Modern European History
Harvard University [1987–1988]
Harvard University [1987–1988]
Associate Professor of History, Arts & Humanities
The University of Texas at Dallas [1976–2005]
The University of Texas at Dallas [1976–2005]
Assistant Professor of History
Brandeis University [1969–1976]
Brandeis University [1969–1976]
Instructor of History
Brandeis University [1968–1969]
Brandeis University [1968–1969]
Lecturer on "Continental Europe, 1555-1715"
Dalhousie University [1967–1968]
Dalhousie University [1967–1968]
Teaching Fellow for German History
Harvard University [1965–1966]
Harvard University [1965–1966]
Graduate Assistant, History
Ohio State University [1961–1963]
Ohio State University [1961–1963]
Projects
Social History of Marburg, Germany, 1650-1806
I am engaged in a long-term project on the social history of Marburg, Germany, from the middle of the seventeenth to the end of the eighteenth century. The study will be a careful structural analysis of an urban society over time and will then focus on three subjects: (1) the mercantile, administrative, and educated elites that dominated the city; (2) the endemic poverty in Marburg and the Upper Hessian region; and (3) the relationship between the city, on one hand, and, on the other, its surrounding countryside, the University of Marburg, and the Hessian territorial state.Additional Information
Fellowships and Grants
- 1969 American Council of Learned Societies Grant-in-Aid for summer research in Frankfurt and Vienna on the poor in seventeenth-century Frankfurt am Main
- 1972-74 Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Federal Republic of Germany, for research in the Hessian State Archive in Marburg
- 1976 Tuition Fellowship from the Newberry Library Summer Institute
- 1976-9 National Endowment for the Humanities Grant (with T.K. Hareven) for an international bibliography on the history of kinship and the family
- 1978 Summer Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung for continued research in Marburg
- 1980 Summer Fellowship from the Humboldt-Stiftung for continued research in Marburg
- 1985-86 National Endowment for the Humanities Basic Research Grant to support statistical work on Marburg project
Some Awards and Fellowships as Student
1961Phi Beta Kappa
- Phi Alpha Theta, National Honorary Society for History
Kennedy Traveling Fellow, Harvard University
- Research Fellow, German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD), Federal Republic of Germany
Killam Visiting Fellow, Dalhousie University
Professional Activities
- 1974 Commentator in Session on "The Lower Middle Class in Early Modern History" December meeting of the American Historical Association in Chicago
- 1975 Chair of Session on "Educational and Social Change in Sixteenth-Century Europe," May meeting of the New England Historical Association in Boston
- 1975 Paper on "Competing Urban Elites: Marburg, 1560-1800" December meeting of the American Historical Association in Atlanta
- 1976 Newberry Library Summer Institute on "Family and Community History" June-July in Chicago
- 1976 Chair of Session on "The Functions of Kinship in Preindustrial European Peasant Communities" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Philadelphia
- 1977 Chair of Session on the "Demographic and Economic Consequences of Seventeenth-Century Wars" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Ann Arbor
- 1977 Chair of Session on the "Demographic and Economic Consequences of Seventeenth-Century Wars" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Ann Arbor
- 1978 Member and (1980) Chair, The John L. Snell Memorial Prize Committee, Southern Historical Association
- 1980 Commentator in Session on "World Civilization I: A Syllabus" at March Conference on "Integrating Women into History Courses" in Bloomington
- 1980 Chair of Session on "Culture and Politics under Four Regimes" October meeting of the Western Association for German Studies in Wichita
- 1981 Chair of Session on "Reform in Germany: The Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries" Eleventh (February) meeting of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850 in Huntsville, Alabama
- 1981 Chair of Session on "Traditions of Urban Revolution in Germany" October meeting of the Western Association for German Studies in Seattle
- 1981 Chair of Session on "Recent Work on Kinship and Family History from German Sources" November meeting of the Social Science History Association in Nashville
- 1981 Member, Program Committee, Western Association for German Studies: Responsible for all premodern sessions (i.e., before 1800)
- 1982 Chair of Session on "Herder and the Writing of History" October meeting of the Western Association for German Studies in El Paso
- 1982 Chair and Commentator in Session on "Stability and Instability in Early Modern European Cities," November meeting of the Social Science History Association in Bloomington
- 1983 Commentator in Session on "Literature and Society in Sixteenth-Century Germany" October meeting of the Western Association for German Studies in Madison
- 1983 Commentator on Paper "Luther and Politics" (December) Symposium on "Martin Luther" at North Texas State University
- 1983 Elected Member, The Hessian Historical Commission
- 1983 Member of Program Committee and Chair of Session on "Renaissance and Reformation Periods" (April) Conference of German and American Historians of the Holy Roman Empire at the University of Chicago
- 1985 Paper on "From Estate to Bourgeois Society: Allan Sharlin's Work on Frankfurt Social Structure" in Session on "The Lessons of Frankfurt: One City as a Mirror of German Society and Culture, 1750-1870" October meeting of German Studies Association in Washington, D.C.
- 1985 Paper on "German Cities, 1600-1800" in Session on "The Structures of Urban Society in Western Europe, 1400-1800" November meeting of the Social Science History Association in Chicago
- 1988 Chair and Commentator of Session on "Urban Politics and the Guilds in Early Modern Europe" November Meeting of Social Science History Association in Chicago
- 1989-1993 Coordinator, The Dallas Social History Group
- 1990 Participant in Roundtable Discussion: "Urban History in Five Lands: Distinctive Problems and Approaches" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Minneapolis
- 1990 Paper: "Schooling in a Craft Town: Marburg 1600-1800" in Panel on the "Transmission of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Minneapolis
- 1990 Paper: "Popular Schooling in a University Town: Marburg 1600-1800" Revision of above paper presented to December meeting of the Dallas Social History Group
- 1990-92 National Screening Committee [for Germany], Grants for Graduate Study, Institute for International Education
- 1991 Chair of Session on "Authority and Society in Early Modern Central Europe" November meeting of the Social Science History Association in New Orleans
- 1991 Commentator in Session on "Family Strategies and Wealth Distribution in Early Modern Germany" November meeting of the Social Science History Association in New Orleans
- 1991 Commentator in Session on "Catholic Religion and the Law" November meeting of the Southern Historical Association in Fort Worth
- 1993 Paper: "Municipal Privilege and State Consciousness: Citizenship in Early Modern German Cities" at special (October) conference on "The Rights of Citizenship in Western European Cities, 1400-1800" at the Centre de Recherches Historiques, Paris
- 1995 Member, Local Arrangements Committee, October meeting of the German Studies Association in Dallas
- 1995 Chair and Commentator in Session on "Households, Cities, and Architecture in the Eighteenth Century" October meeting of the German Studies Association in Dallas
- 1996 Chair, Session on “Civic Morality and Citizenship: German Identities and Public Discourse at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century,” January meeting of the American Historical Association in Atlanta
- 1996 Commentator, Session on “Early Modern Urban History: A Retrospective” October meeting of the German Studies Association in Seattle
- 1997 Vice President, Conference Group for Central European History, The American Historical Association
- 1997 Commentator, Session on “Attitudes Towards Wealth in Late Eighteenth- Century Germany” October Meeting of the German Studies Association in Washington, D.C.
- 1998 President, Conference Group for Central European History, The American Historical Association
- 1998 Chair, Session on “The Thirty Years War and the German Imagination“ October Meeting of the German Studies Association in Salt Lake City
- 1998 Chair and Commentator, Session on “Eighteenth-Century Conceptions of German National Identity“ October Meeting of the German Studies Association in Salt Lake City
- 2000 Chair and Commentator, Session on “Early Modern Discourses on War and Peace” October Meeting of the German Studies Association in Houston
- 2000 Paper: "Small-Town Jews in Early Modern Germany: Marburg, 1640s-1800" October meeting of the Social Science History Association in Pittsburgh and December meeting of the Dallas Area Social History Group
- 2001 Paper: "Town & Gown in Eighteenth-Century Germany: Student Enrollments & State Interests at Marburg University" November meeting of the Social Science History Association in Chicago
- 2002 Public Lecture: “Die Marburger Juden in der Frühen Neuzeit” July Meeting of the Marburger Zweigverein des Hessischen Vereins für Geschichte und Landeskunde in Marburg, Germany
- 2005 Commentator, Session on "Aesthetics and Self-Awareness in Early Modern Germany," and Moderator, Session on "Law and Agency in the Early Modern State" September Meeting of the German Studies Association in Milwaukee
- 2006 Public Lecture: "Marburger Studenten im achtzehnten Jahrhundert" July Meeting of the Marburger Zweigverein des Hessischen Vereins für Geschichte und Landeskunde in Marburg, Germany
- 2007 Public Lecture: "Marbuger Studenten im achtzehnten Jahrhundert: ein sozialgeschichtliches Profil" (21 June) at the Haus der Romantik in Marburg, Germany