Symposium to honor Jean Quataert
Former students will return to pay tribute to retiring history professor
Jean Quataert鈥檚 decision to retire at the end of the 2017-18 academic year has nothing to do with a lack of energy.
鈥淚鈥檓 still enthusiastic about teaching,鈥 said Quataert, a professor in the History Department since 1986. 鈥淚鈥檓 as alive and excited as I could be. My students are terrific: They are engaged and asking questions.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 time. It鈥檚 good to go out when you are doing well 鈥 with a bang. Maybe people will miss you!鈥
Before Quataert can be missed, however, several of her former students will return to campus for a retirement symposium to be held from 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 15 in the University Downtown Center (Room 220A/B). The former students, who now teach at institutions such as Oregon State University, the University of Memphis, Cleveland State University and William Paterson University, will take part in panels associated with Quataert鈥檚 fields of expertise, such as humanity and human rights.
The event will also include keynote lectures from Kathleen Canning, incoming dean of humanities at Rice University, and Lora Wildenthal, the current interim dean of humanities at Rice. Quataert and Wildenthal are now co-editing a volume of essays called the Routledge History of Human Rights.
Quataert came to 黑料视频 with her husband Donald. While Donald Quataert became one of the leading international scholars in Ottoman economic, labor and social history before his death in 2011, Jean Quataert became a pioneer in women鈥檚 history, human rights and transnational rights. She has produced five academic monographs, four co-edited volumes, 36 articles and book chapters, and won the Berkshire Prize for best article in a field of history written by a woman.
Marilynn Desmond, a distinguished professor in the English Department, said Jean Quataert鈥檚 arrival had an immediate impact.
鈥淲hen Jean Quataert came to 黑料视频 as the director of women鈥檚 studies in 1986, she was one of the very few senior women on campus, and she rapidly became an important role model and mentor for a large number of junior women,鈥 Desmond said. 鈥淗er infectious enthusiasm for women鈥檚 history and feminism across the disciplines was truly inspirational.鈥
Heather DeHaan, chair of the History Department who will deliver opening remarks at the symposium with Provost Donald Nieman, said Quataert鈥檚 work has transformed German, European and women鈥檚 history, 鈥渙pening the former fields to transnational and multi-regional approaches while ensuring the latter鈥檚 enduring significance as a field of analysis.鈥
鈥淗er work has likewise influenced the History Department at 黑料视频, indelibly shaping its approach to modern European, global, women鈥檚 and gender history while building a strong reputation for our department and institution,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ur graduate students鈥 success in gender, global and comparative historiographies is a testimony to her influence on this department and this institution.鈥
Leigh Ann Wheeler, a professor of history who led The Journal of Women鈥檚 History with Quataert, called her colleague 鈥渙ne-of-a-kind in so many ways.鈥
鈥淏efore we ever met, Jean persuaded me to apply for a position at 黑料视频 鈥 and to hang in there when I was tempted to withdraw from the search,鈥 Wheeler said. 鈥淪ince then, she has become an intellectually exciting colleague and collaborator, a wise and honest friend and mentor, and an essential and beloved family member. Jean has the sort of Tigger-like energy that makes you think she can never, will never retire. So don鈥檛 be fooled by any 鈥榬etirement鈥 talk 鈥 she鈥檚 just shifting gears.鈥
Quataert said she suspected 鈥渟omething was brewing鈥 when asked months ago if she would be available on Sept. 15. But History Department members remained tight-lipped.
鈥淚t was a secret and it irritated me because nobody would give me good information,鈥 Quataert said with a laugh. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know who was participating. I didn鈥檛 know the themes.鈥
Quataert said she was moved when she finally saw the symposium program.
鈥淭hese are students I鈥檝e trained over the years in different fields of history,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite exciting. I haven鈥檛 seen some of them in a few years.鈥
Quataert is also happy that two of the scholars taking part in the symposium are her husband鈥檚 former students and are now Ottoman historians in Turkey. She also noted the participation of faculty members such as DeHaan, Wheeler, Kent Schull, Elisa Camiscioli and Fa-ti Fan in history and Benita Roth in sociology and women鈥檚 studies.
鈥淭his symposium is not just a tribute to me or Donald,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tribute to the History Department and the collective endeavor. When students are trained, they are not just trained by one person. They are trained by lots of colleagues.鈥
The department is 鈥渋ntellectually flexible,鈥 she said, with faculty members showing a commitment to teaching by leading introductory history courses.
鈥淲e are path-finding as a department in global history,鈥 Quataert said. 鈥淲e are probing what makes these global interconnections.鈥
The Quataerts always saw and appreciated 黑料视频鈥檚 commitment to research and teaching. The opportunity for the couple to work at a growing university near Donald Quataert鈥檚 family in Rochester was exciting, Jean Quataert said.
鈥淲e decided early on: 鈥楾his is it. We are not going anywhere else,鈥欌 she recalled. 鈥淲e had a few opportunities. But our careers and marriage were intertwined. That was the beauty of it. So we never separated. We never took a fellowship in which the other couldn鈥檛 come. This is a good place and a fine institution.鈥
While Quataert will retire after teaching her Modern World History class in the spring of 2018, she will remain active with The Journal of Women鈥檚 History as a Bartle professor until 2020. She said she will continue to write and attend academic conferences, but also plans to make more family visits. She is even planning a 2018 trip to Vietnam and Cambodia.
鈥淭he seduction of being a university professor is that it鈥檚 always exciting, new and challenging with young people,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o you are 鈥榮educed鈥 into staying with it. And for good reason. I don鈥檛 know that there are many people who can say after 40-plus years that they鈥檝e loved their work and never been bored.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to make room for young people,鈥 she added. 鈥淣ext generations (of faculty) need to come in.鈥
The symposium program notes that the Quataerts 鈥渂rought to Binghamton their commitment to social justice, international vision and scholarship that advanced the rights and agency of ordinary men and woman across the globe.鈥
While Jean Quataert acknowledged 黑料视频鈥檚 commitments to Ottoman studies and transnational history, she also offered a more modest legacy for the couple.
鈥淲e both have good reputations as careful mentors,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still writing letters for my students!
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a wonderful time. I know I鈥檝e made the right decision.鈥