By Jesse Goodwin, Staff Writer
After two years of inactivity, the UMass Dartmouth’s History Club has been reinstated with a whole new group of students.
Abigail Field, a first-year history major and the club’s president, is looking to recruit new members.
Field has restarted the club to find like-minded friends who share her passion for history. She mentioned that discussions in her history classes have remained confined to an academic setting. “We’re not really discussing a lot outside of class.”
In history, Field said, “real things happen to real people, and getting more into it with other people makes it feel more realistic,” rather than reading about it.
To that end, Field wants the History Club to be an “intellectual space for debate and historical understanding.”
She continued, saying “History is the story of people and their place in time. Some biographies of historical figures are more interesting than any fiction.”
At the club’s weekly meetings, held every Friday at 5 p.m. in room 333 in the Liberal Arts building, members debate historical topics of interest and watch history movies.
Additionally, members have begun hosting their own lectures during meetings this semester.
At this Friday’s meeting, Aaron Rawly, a junior history major, will discuss the Soviet-Afghan War and the Iraq War.
The club also plans on hosting speakers from the university’s history faculty, including the club’s advisor, Professor Matthew Sneider.
Over winter break, the club sponsored a field trip to Salem and visited neighboring landmarks such as Battleship Cove.
Members plan to continue sponsoring trips and begin sponsoring historical reenactments, but none have been determined.
These events will provide additional opportunities for members to bond over their shared interest.
Christopher McGuiness, a first-year history major, said that he wants the club to encourage “people with varying mutual interests to meet up with people who share those interests.”
“Everybody has a different type of history that they like,” said Alannah Mellon, a junior history major.
The club is open to students of all majors. Members can have a “moderate interest all the way up to a healthy passion” for history, said Field.
For more information, email Field or visit the club’s MyOrgs page.