William C. Leonard
Chair, History/Political Science
Associate Professor of History
B.S., B.A., University of Massachusetts at Lowell; M.A., Northeastern University; Ph.D., Boston College
Office hours:
Mon & Wed 12:30-2:00 pm
Other times by appointment
Office: Administration Building, Room 317
Phone: 617-735-9875
Email: leonard@emmanuel.edu
When asked to describe what I do for a living I usually say "I am a historian who is interested in people's lives." My main areas of research and teaching focus upon American social, urban, racial, ethnic, and religious history, specifically Catholicism. My interest in these areas led me to write my dissertation on Boston's African-American Catholic community. Boston, a city I love and live in, has been both professionally and personally formative. When appropriate I have used Boston as "my extended classroom," something students seem to love and from which they learn a great deal. Helping students develop critical thinking and writing skills is my primary objective. Working with students and my colleagues has made teaching the most rewarding career I've ever had.
Courses
HIST1105 - United States History to 1877
HIST1106 - United States History Since 1877
HIST2105 - America Since 1960
HIST2128 - Immigrants in the American Experience
HIST2205 - Women in American History
HIST3107 - A History of Boston
HIST3111 - United States and Global Issues
IDS1101 - Cityscapes
HONOR3101 - Honors Colloquium I
Publications
"Growing Together: Blacks and the Catholic Church in Boston," The Historian, June 2004.
"The Failure of Catholic Interacialism in Boston before Busing," Boston Histories: Essays in Honor of Thomas H. O'Connor, James O’Toole and David Quigley editors, Northeastern University Press, December 2003.
"Review of James M. O"Toole, Passing for White: Race, Religion, and the Healy Family, 1820-1920," The Pilot, August 16, 2002.
"Review of Christopher Owen Lynch, Selling Catholicism: Bishop Sheen and the Power of Television," New England Historical Association Newsletter Fall 1999.
"Review of Albert J. von Frank, The Trials of Anthony Burns: Freedom and Slavery in Emerson's Boston," H-Net Book Review (November, 1998).
"A Parish for the Black Catholics of Boston," Catholic Historical Review January 1997, 44-68.
"Review of Alexander von Hoffman, Local Attachments: The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920," Technology and Culture July 1996.
Papers Presented and Panel Discussions
"Catholic Interracial Activity in Boston Before Busing," New England Historical Association Spring Conference, Tufts University (April 2000).
"The Significance of Race in American History; An Historical Perspective," Interdisciplinary Perspective on Race in U.S. Society, Campus Week of Dialogue on Race, Emmanuel College (October, 1999).
"Blacks and the Founding of the Catholic Church in Boston," Second Annual Boston-Area Graduate History Symposium, Boston, MA (March 1996).
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Fellowship for Higher Education of Present and Prospective Teachers, 2004.