Bruce W. Eelman

 Born and raised in New Jersey, I received my B.A. from The College of New Jersey before attending the University of Maryland for my M.A. and Ph.D. in Nineteenth-Century American History. The main focus of my scholarship has been on Southern History and Civil War Era History. I taught courses at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. before coming to Siena in 2001. I teach a wide array of American History courses including the American History surveys, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Sports in American History, and Westward Movement. I am a life-long Mets fan, enjoy the outdoors, and exploring historic places.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

 I look to engage students in a dialogue with the past through the use of primary sources and important texts as well as discussion of key themes in American history. I want students to see the relevance of history to our current challenges and to discover some of the excitement I find in uncovering the past. I continue to look for new ideas and methods to develop critical thinking and reflection through historical debate and analysis.

What I Love About Siena

 Siena offers the ideal combination of intellectual rigor and hands-on interaction with students. Classes are small enough to get to know each student and work with them. I’ve so enjoyed watching students develop their skills and become more confident in their work. Siena encourages this environment and fosters as sense of compassionate intellectual reflection.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

 I enjoy all of my courses. I am particularly fond of my Civil War and Reconstruction course because it delves into my decades long scholarly interests; my Sports in American History because it combines intellectual and personal interests; and my Westward Movement course because it wrestles with so many important issues in the settling of America.

My Professional Experience

Articles & Book Reviews

• Review of Mary Gordon McBride, Randall Lee Gibson of Louisiana: Confederate General and New South Reformer
  Journal of American History
  2008
• Review of Tom Downey, Planting a Capitalist South
  Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
  2006
• 'An Educated and Intelligent People Cannot be Enslaved': The Struggle for Common Schools in Antebellum Spartanburg, South Carolina
  History of Education Quarterly
  2004
• Entrepreneurs in the Southern Upcountry: The Case of Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1815-1880
  Enterprise & Society
  2004

Awards & Distinctions

• Co-Recipient with Daniel Turner of fellowship to support student travel for HIST401/ENG285 Blue Ridge to Blue Sea course, summer 2010.
  Category: Teaching
  Watson-Brown Foundation, 2010
• 2006 Nominee for Jerome R. Walton Excellence in Teaching Award
  Category: Teaching
  Jerome R. Walton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2006
• 2004 Nominee for Jerome R. Walton Excellence in Teaching Award
  Category: Teaching
  Jerome R. Walton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2004
• 2004 Faculty Member of the Year, Siena College History Club
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College History Club, 2004
• 2003 Professor of the Year, Siena College Student Senate
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College Student Senate, 2003

Books & Book Chapters

• The Routledge History of the American South
  Routledge
  2017
• The Southern Middle Class in the Nineteenth Century
  Louisiana State University Press
  2011
• Entrepreneurs in the Southern Upcountry: Commercial Culture in Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1845-1880
  University of Georgia Press
  2008

Presentations

• Free Speech or Treason?: The Democratic Press and Lincoln's Assassination
  2011
  Symposium on the Civil War, 19th Century Press, and Free Expression, Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Malice toward Many: Vengeance and Violence following Lincoln's Assassination
  2010
  Great Lakes History Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Technology and Rural Culture in the Reconstruction-Era Southern Upcountry
  2008
  Society for History of Technology, Lisbon, Portugal
• The Opposition Press and Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
  2008
  Southwestern Historical Association Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Springs, Shoals and Southern Prosperity: The Business of Water in Nineteenth-Century Spartanburg, South Carolina
  2004
  Society for History of Technology, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• 'The Timely and Judicious Administration of the Laws': Law, Vigilantism, and the Business Community of Reconstruction-Era Spartanburg, South Carolina
  2003
  American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois
• Old South or New?: The Pre-1880 Mill and Town Campaign in Spartanburg, South Carolina
  2003
  Southern Industrialization Project Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee
• Railroads and Textiles in Reconstruction Spartanburg
  2003
  Hub City Writer's Project, Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Southern Connections
  2003
  Researching New York Conference, Albany, New York
• The Homefront
  2003
  World War 2 Conference, Loudonville, New York
• From Community Development to Corporate Control: Business Policy in Reconstruction-Era Spartanburg, SC
  2002
  Business History Conference, Wilmington, Delaware
• War, Drama, and the Movies
  2002
  World War 2 Conference, Loudonville, New York