Faculty

Allan W. Austin, Ph.D
Professor of History
Email: aaustin@misericordia.edu
Phone: 570 674-6793

B.A., M.A., Bowling Green State University
Ph.D., University of Cincinnati

Classes taught: Immigration and American Ethnic History/Post-1945 United States History/Film and History/Race and Graphic Narrative in United States History/Seminar on History (Twentieth-Century United States Historiography)/Research Seminar/National Security History/United States History survey

Allan Austin is an immigration historian primarily interested in investigating the contested meanings of race and American identity, especially in the 20th-century United States. He has explored these issues in his book, From Concentration Camp to Campus: Japanese American Students and World War II (University of Illinois Press, 2004), as well as in articles in various scholarly journals and anthologies. In his book, which blends institutional histories and personal stories, Dr. Austin examines how resettled Japanese American college students created their own meanings for their wartime experiences, working both to integrate themselves into the wider American society and to maintain strong connections to their ethnic community as well as their cultural heritage. Dr. Austin has also published Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia (M.E. Sharpe, 2010, with Huping Ling) and Space and Time: Essays on Visions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television (McFarland, 2010, with David Wright Jr.).

Dr. Austin received the Louis and Barbara Alesi Excellence in Scholarship Award in 2006, and he continues to pursue a number of research interests. He is currently researching and writing two projects, Quaker Brotherhood: Interracial Activism and the American Friends Service Committee, 1917-1950, which is under contract with the University of Illinois Press, and All New, All Different?: A Graphic History of Race and the American Super Hero, which examines comic books and other forms of popular culture in exploring how Americans have struggled in the past and continue to wrestle today with vexed issues of race, ethnicity, and multiculturalism.

The recipient of the Max and Tillie Rosenn Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008, Dr. Austin teaches a variety of courses at Misericordia, with an emphasis on hands-on learning at all levels. Dr. Austin has encouraged students to develop historical skills through on-site experiences in Service Learning courses at Misericordia. He has also received several grants that allowed undergraduates to serve as research assistants on his AFSC project, providing important opportunities for students to enhance their research skills. Dr. Austin’s past work as Book Review Editor for the Journal of American Ethnic History also opened additional opportunities for students to get first-hand experience in the field of United States history.

Dr. Austin’s office is located at 319 Mercy Hall. He can also be reached by phone at (570) 674-6793 or via email at aaustin@misericordia.edu.

For Dr. Austin’s complete CV, click here.

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Brian F. Carso Jr., Ph.D
Assistant Professor of History
and Pre-law Program Director
Email: bcarso@misericordia.edu
Phone: 570 674-6395

B.A., M.A., University of Rochester
J.D., SUNY Buffalo School of Law
Ph.D., Boston University

Classes taught: The American Founding, 1620-1789/ The Presidency/ The Civil War/ The American West/ Constitutional Law I & II/ Introduction to American Law/ The Trial in American Life/ U.S. History survey

Brian Carso is interested in how political, intellectual, and legal ideas developed throughout the American experience, and in how these ideas came to be expressed in broadly accessible political discourse and popular American culture. In his book, “Whom Can We Trust Now?”: The Meaning of Treason in the United States, from the Revolution through the Civil War (Lexington Books, 2006), Dr. Carso examines notions of loyalty and allegiance in a democratic republic and their legal manifestation in the law of treason. While this necessarily involves criminal statutes and court cases, Dr. Carso is interested not only in how treason is conceived by lawyers and judges within the courthouse, but also in how treason is perceived outside the courthouse by citizens in all walks of life. Accordingly, he studies treason not only as it appears in legal doctrine but also in literature, sermons, political cartoons, orations, editorials, and artwork.

Dr. Carso’s interests spread throughout the American experience and incorporate legal, intellectual, political, and cultural history. He is currently working on two projects: one concerns espionage during the American Revolution (a natural offshoot of his treason research), while another involves 20th century war photography. Dr. Carso is also keenly interested in American government and politics, from the first partisan presidential election of 1796 through today’s political campaigns.

In addition to teaching classes in history, Dr. Carso directs MU’s Pre-law program for those students interested in a career in law, government, or a related field. Dr. Carso brings a wealth of legal and governmental experience to MU that he is happy to share with his students. He has worked as an attorney at a large New York law firm, as well as running his own private practice, and he is admitted to the bar in the State of New York and before the United States Supreme Court. In addition, he has been twice elected to public office and most recently served in the administration of former New York Governor George Pataki.

Dr. Carso’s office is located at 363 Mercy Hall. His office phone number is (570) 674-6395, and his email address is bcarso@misericordia.edu.

For Dr. Carso’s complete CV, click here.