New Faculty Profiles
I hope that, in my own small way, I can trigger excitement in students regarding the social studies, so that they can see the connections between the past and the present.
Carl Mirra
Associate Professor, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education
mirra@adelphi.edu
Please give us a brief overview of your background, area of expertise, research, and teaching.
My background is in social studies and I hold a Ph.D. from Columbia University in history and education. I am interested in how we might teach controversial subjects without instigating adversarial debate or slipping into indoctrination. My first foray into this area was a study called “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Prospects for Peace Education.” At the same time, educators need to build the depoliticized relationships between people that allow for genuine dialogue regarding the larger issues that we confront.
What led you to decide on Adelphi?
I was favorably impressed by the School of Education’s many initiatives, such as the Peace Studies and [U.N.] Peace Boat plans that Dean [Ronald] Feingold explained to me during the interview process. It seems to me that Adelphi is taking a lead in this area and will be a place where I can grow intellectually. I have also worked here as an adjunct for many years and always cherished my time on this campus. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but there is a certain vibrancy and energy from the students, staff, and faculty.
How would you describe your experience so far?
My experience has been wonderful. Many people have reached out to me, shared their research, and asked to read mine. This type of collegial exchange is important. The students seem eager to learn and the environment has been most pleasant.
What do you want to contribute? What do you feel strongly about in terms of teaching or your specialization?
I hope that, in my own small way, I can trigger excitement in students regarding the social studies, so that they can see the connections between the past and the present. There is great value in studying where we have been as a people; historians 40 years ago talked ceaselessly about recovering a “usable past.” Indeed, when we see connections between what we are reading in a text and the present moment, social studies comes alive.
What do you hope to impart to your students?
At the risk of sounding a bit melodramatic, I wish to encourage my students to trust their own voice. The rigorous process of reading, studying, and analyzing material is really a window into one’s voice. As we read and write, we have the opportunity to reflect on our thinking and on our feelings. Education is much more meaningful if one approaches it from the perspective of learning more about oneself, not in an egotistical way but in such a way as to develop the intellectual tools and moral capacities to be a successful person. Gandhi once said that we should be the change we wish to see in the world. In the ‘60s, activists would say let’s work locally to build community so as to “stop the seventh war from now.” Taken together, these two approaches combine individual growth with a concern for society. I like to think that Dr. [Robert] Scott’s State of the University address reaches in the same direction; he quoted the great Eleanor Roosevelt, who said that human rights begin in small places, close to home, which pretty much sums it up. 
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