Position  
Academic Background   
Sample Courses     
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests    
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights     
Selected Scholarly Presentations    
                                                                          
                                                                           View Other Faculty Profiles

Dr. Manchester is headed back to her native country of Hungary after being awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Read her blog: Greetings from Hungary.

• Assistant Professor of History

Academic Background            

• Clark University
  Ph.D. in American History, 1994
• Providence College
  MA in American History, 1987
• Georgetown University
  BS of Foreign Service, School of Foreign Service, 1975

Sample Courses Taught at Providence College        

• US History to 1865
• Women and the American Experience
• History of Modern Middle East
• War and the American Family
• The West in the American Imagination
•  Strangers in the Land: The American Immigrant Experience

 I have three basic beliefs about the teaching of history.  I believe in active learning, studying about history must have relevance for students, and good teaching means helping students to develop skills such as being able to read critically, analyze carefully, and articulate one's ideas clearly both verbally and in writing.  Students learn by doing.  In history, this means that students must wrestle with the problems of history, understanding not only the facts and personalities involved, but also the underlying causes, interrelationships, and influences.  We cannot understand ourselves and our society unless we come to terms with our past; certainly it's the best hope for the future.

Ultimately, I am convinced this will allow students to start understanding themselves and their own beliefs better.  As a teacher of history, my job is to introduce students to the different sources (and voices) of the past, to the methodologies specific to the discipline, and to help them gain an understanding of the different and changing interpretations of the past (historiography). 

I strive to create a learning community both in and out of the classroom. My teaching is interactive.  I use the Socratic method extensively.  Students deserve respect for trying to find the answers for themselves and they need to realize they can learn from these efforts as much, if not more, as they can from more passive learning.  I seek balance and integration between different teaching and learning styles: my classes combine mini-lectures using PowerPoint and film clips, structured discussion, and small group work.  There is a direct connection between relevance and retention.  Students who are actively involved in forming their own conclusions about the historical facts and comparing their conclusions with those of other historians will, I believe, learn better and retain their knowledge in the form of a "usable past."
 

• The Verins: Religion, Marriage, and Liberty of Conscience in 17th century New England
• Challenging the Cold War Paradigm:  Three Case Studies in Non-Alignment (in collaboration with  Rajiv Khanna and Rinna Kullaa)

• Joseph R. Accinno Excellence in Teaching Award, Providence College, 2007.
• Providence College Committee on Aid to Faculty Research (CAFR) Grant for project entitled, "The Verin Case: Marriage, Religion and Liberty of Conscience in 17th Century Rhode Island," 2007.
• Davis Grant, "Integrating Multimedia into the History Classroom," 2002.
• Winner of Walter Craddock European/Asian/Middle Eastern Paper Prize awarded at annual  meeting of Southwest Historical Association, New Orleans, 1995.

Publication Highlights

• “From Containment to Accommodation:  Eisenhower Confronts Communism and Radical Arab Nationalism in the Middle East ,” Journal of Cold War Studies, (under review).
• “Camp David Accords,” The Oxford Companion to United States History, Oxford University Press, 2002.
• “The Cold War on the Web,” History Highway 2000, Dennis Trinkle, ed., ME Sharpe, 2000.
• “‘Doing History’: Evaluating Technologies that Promote Active Learning in the History Classroom,” in History.Edu: Essays on Teaching with Technology, Dennis Trinkle, ed., ME Sharpe, 2000.
• Review, The Collapse of the Soviet Military by William Odom, in Providence :  Journal of Western Civilization,   Spring 1999.

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• Conference papers delivered at annual meetings of:
  • American Historical Association
  • Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
  • American Studies Association
  • New England American Studies Association
  • American Association of Historians and Computing
  • Mississippi Valley Historical Association

View Other Faculty Profiles