Dr. Shannon Risk
Assistant Professor; Director, Public History Minor
Email: srisk@niagara.edu
Phone: 716.286.8084
Focus of Teaching
Regular Courses at Niagara University
- HIS 103 – U.S. History to 1876
- HIS 104 – U.S. History since 1876
- HIS 204 – Introduction to Public History
- HIS 344 – America in the Industrial Age, 1876-1914
- HIS 355 – Women in American History
- HIS 359 – Canada-U.S. history
Special Courses at Niagara University
- HIS 199 – America in the Contemporary World
- HIS 200 – Introduction to Research Methods in History
- HIS 390 – African American Women’s History
- HIS 400 – Senior History Seminar
- HIS 496 – Internship in History
- LAM 499 – Senior Capstone in Arts & Sciences
- NUB 102 – Niagara University Beginnings
Current Research
Canada and United States women and the suffrage movement
Publications
- “‛Mister Editor, Have We Digressed?’ John Neal and the 1870 Editorial Debate on Women’s Suffrage” Maine History Journal vol. 46, no. 1 (October 2011): 25-38.
- “‛The Magnitude of My Services:’ Minnie Bell Adney and the Women of Woodstock,” in Suzanne Morton and Janet Guildford, eds., Atlantic Canadian Women and the State in the Twentieth Century. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Acadiensis Press, July 2010.
- “Intellectual, Religious, and Scientific Debates Over Racial Supremacy, 1840s-1850s,” chapter in Conflicts in American History: A Documentary Encyclopedia, vol. 3. Columbia, SC: Bruccoli Clark Layman/Manly, Inc. July 2010.
- “Women and the Campaign Against Alcohol, 1830s-1840s,” chapter in Conflicts in American History: A Documentary Encyclopedia, vol. 3. Columbia, SC: Bruccoli Clark Layman/Manly, Inc. July 2010.
- “‛Friendship, Sweet Soother of My Cares!’– Women, Religion, and Power in the Diary of Sarah Connell Ayer,” in the Maine History Journal, vol. 44, no. 2 (April 2009): 155-171.
- “‘The Republic Shall Wear a Crown of True Greatness:’ The 1895 New York State Woman Suffrage Association Convention,” in the Hudson River Valley Review. Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. Spring 2007.
- “’Universal Confusion?’ A Historiography of Loyalist Women in Canada,” in Khronikos, the University of Maine History Graduate Student Online Journal. November 2006.
Selected Conferences and Presentations
- Historian for NBC episode, “Who Do You Think You Are.” Season 3. Spring 2012.
- Panelist, “Women’s Suffrage in Times of War: Canada and the United States.” Association for Canadian Studies in the United States annual conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. November 17, 2011.
- Panelist, “Back to the Land – Back to Pure Womanhood?” National Women’s Studies Association annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia. November 10, 2011.
- Presenter, “Fulbright Student Award,” at Western New York/Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Fulbright Association, St. John Fisher College. October 15, 2011.
- Panelist, “‛We Fear Sincerely That the Effect Will Be Injurious to the Women Themselves:’ Anti-suffragism in the Northeastern Borderlands of Maine and New Brunswick.” The annual conference of the New York State Political Science Association, April 8-9, 2011, Niagara University.
- Chair and Discussant, “The Politics of Gender Identity” Panel at the annual conference of the New York State Political Science Association, April 8-9, 2011, Niagara University.
- Discussion leader, film presentation of Louise Vance’s “Seneca Falls.” Susan B. Anthony Day event at Niagara University, February 15, 2011.
- Panel Chair, “Sex and the State: The Regulation of Reproduction in Late Nineteenth and Twentieth Century United States.” National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, November 11-14, 2010.
- Presenter, “Exploring Public History Programs in Graduate School,” Graduate Night for History and Social Studies Education Majors, Niagara University, November 10, 2010.
- Guest Speaker, WNYNWPA Chapter of the Fulbright Association Conference, SUNY-Fredonia, October 15, 2010.
- Guest speaker for Phi Alpha Theta induction ceremony, Niagara University, April 22, 2010.
- Moderator and Guest Speaker, WNYNWPA Chapter of the Fulbright Association Conference, Niagara University, April 5, 2010.
Current Involvement
- Fulbright Program Advisor, Niagara University, 2009-Present; student awarded 2011, Turkey.
- Advisor, History Forum (Student history group), Niagara University, 2010-present
- Women’s Studies Committee, Niagara University, 2009-Present
- Western New York/Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Fulbright Association, Board Member, 2010-Present
- Chair, “History and Politics” Committee for the New York State Political Science Association, 2010-present
- AP Exam Reader for United States History, The College Board, Princeton, NJ, 2009-2011
Educational Background
- Ph.D., American History, University of Maine; certificate, with graduate concentration in Women's Studies
- M.A., American History, University of Maine
- B.A., History, University of Northern Iowa
