Winter family

Jeffrey W. Sommers, PhD

Assistant Professor of History
Humanities, Social Sciences, & Education Department

Office: S-329
Phone:  908-526-1200 x8526
Email:  jsommers@raritanval.edu

"I consider it important, indeed urgently necessary, for intellectual workers to get together, both to protect their own economic status and also, generally speaking, to secure their influence in the political field."

Albert Einstein
Charter Member, Princeton Chapter
American Federation of Teachers, 1938
 

EDUCATION:

  • PhD, History, World History Center, Northeastern University, 2001
  • MA, History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1994
  • BA, History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1991

Educational Philosophy:

I have taught both in the U.S. and abroad. Teachers must inspire students, but also be inspired by them. I find this easiest when surrounded by students of different ages and backgrounds. Indeed, I began my education as a non- traditional student, working third shift while attending classes during the day.

With my survey courses I provide a thematic thread that links material together rather than merely using the “parade of history” approach that deluges students with disparate data. For example, my World History and American History courses I focus on globalization and the construction of a global economy and its cultural, environmental, political, and social consequences. Together, with my students, we try to determine how global forces have created the world we inhabit. This process empowers students by making them see their role in an ongoing history comprised of the past, present, and future with themselves positioned to interact with it, rather than merely being acted upon.

 

Credit Courses Taught:

  • United States History: Beginnings to 1877
  • United States History: 1877 to Present
  • World Civilization II



 

 
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