His research explores the intersections of culture, memory, aging, and identity鈥攂ringing nuanced perspectives to the classroom and the broader academic world. Over the years, his work garnered numerous accolades and contributed to a more complex understanding of the historical experience of aging and the ways societies remember their pasts.

Troyansky served in a number of leadership roles at the college, including chairing the Department of History and helping to steer academic programs. But his work helping bring top faculty to the department might be his most impactful contribution that is still paying dividends.

With history and the humanities facing serious political and technological challenges, and with Troyansky having retired from teaching after the spring semester, he talked about the state of history and the strengths of the department.

Why does history鈥攁nd your particular focus鈥攕till resonate today?

History is about change and continuity. We鈥檙e constantly experiencing it, and it only becomes comprehensible in retrospect. It can be source-driven, a matter of discovery and interpretation of documents, and it can be problem-driven, an approach that is often connected to how we understand our present. France isn鈥檛 the great power it once was, but French social, cultural, and political histories provide lenses through which to make sense of modern and postmodern realities. And the French republic, born in revolution, offers a convenient parallel and contrast to the American republic in which we live. Both have virtues; both have flaws.

As for the history of old age, there wasn鈥檛 much when I was among the pioneers in the field, but we seem to be experiencing a renewed interest as people think about demographic aging, intergenerational relations, and the future of work, retirement, and social security.

What first sparked your interest in your areas of expertise?

If the area of expertise is Europe, that interest goes back to childhood in the New York City of the mid-20^th century. Growing up in Brooklyn, I was aware of my family鈥檚 connection to the European past and European culture.

If the area is France, that goes back to a childhood visit to Paris in 1968, just weeks after the student revolt. But it probably has more to do with the influence of a professor, Carl Weiner at Carleton College, who introduced me to French history and, perhaps more importantly, French ways of doing history that had ramifications worldwide.

And if the area is the history of aging, it goes back to a seminar in graduate school at Brandeis University that focused on the history of the family. In retrospect, my interest in old age goes back to a childhood in which I had close relationships with all my grandparents. (Listen to Troyansky discuss the history of aging on the International Horizons podcast courtesy of the CUNY Graduate Center .)

You have been credited with helping identify some great faculty who are still teaching at 可乐视频. How did that come about?

When I arrived here from Texas Tech University in 2005, the department had been facing some challenges鈥攑artly professional, partly political, and partly personal. I was tasked to create a more cooperative and trusting environment, to hire well, and to mentor those new hires. A quick succession of retirements meant that I oversaw the appointment of eight faculty鈥攈alf the current faculty arrived under my watch. They are terrific teachers and scholars, as are the faculty who greeted me upon my arrival and are still here: Associate Professor Philip Napoli (oral history and New York City, and current Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences), and professors KC Johnson (U.S. political), Andrew Meyer (Chinese intellectual), Steven Remy (Germany), and Gunja SenGupta (race and gender in the United States and comparative history).

In terms of dedication to students and range of teaching methods, contributions to scholarship, and service to the college and the profession, I can鈥檛 imagine a better department.

Who in the department do you feel is continuing your legacy?

Everyone. We rebuilt this department together, and I鈥檓 confident that my colleagues鈥攆riends, really鈥攚ill maintain their devotion to students, their fields of research, and the college. I regret that none of the current personnel will be continuing to offer French history, but modern Europe is in the capable hands of Steven Remy and Brigid O鈥橩eeffe; my course on early modern Europe, 鈥�,鈥漺ill become Professor Lauren Mancia鈥檚 to develop as she likes; and Professor Swapna Banerjee will be carrying on my interest in family history.

What do you feel is the strength of the department?

The breadth of the faculty鈥檚 interests in both time and space is breathtaking, and this has implications for teaching as well as research. Hires during my chairmanship permitted us to maintain strengths in South Asia through faculty member Swapna Banerjee, Latin America through Christopher Ebert, Russia through Brigid O鈥橩eeffe, and the Middle East through Louis Fishman.

We were also able to reach out to fields we hadn鈥檛 covered before. We had had no one teaching environmental history, now being taught by Professor Michael Rawson, the history of public health (Professor Christian Warren), ancient material culture (Professor Karen Stern), or the history of emotion (Professor Lauren Mancia).

And since I stepped down as chair in 2013 to return to the full-time teaching faculty, the department has reinforced traditional strengths in the American Revolution and New York City (Benjamin Carp) and branched out into the history of Asian diasporas (Alvin Khi锚m B霉i). We can offer a real feast to our students.

How would you respond to someone who questions the relevance of studying history to achieving career success in today鈥檚 world?

Let鈥檚 not ignore the non-economic benefits of the study of history鈥攁 chance to dig deep into subjects that are fascinating for their own sake, to explore family and community heritage, and to situate ourselves in the world鈥攂ut the more practical benefits are multiple. Students come away with both skills and content knowledge. The skills involve research and writing, oral communication, and the ability to recognize patterns over time and the complexity of major social, political, and cultural issues.

As for content, whenever we speak of liberty and constitutionalism, inequality and struggle, or work and progress, we are rooting ourselves in history. We must not think that we鈥檙e always reinventing the wheel. Even in dealing with artificial intelligence, we might think back to earlier revolutions in communication and the dissemination of knowledge.

Many of our students go on to careers in law and teaching, library and information science, government, and business. Students with more 鈥減ractical鈥� majors may more easily land the first job, but eventually they may find that their employers, like so many CEOs and labor and political leaders, were history majors.

Read more about the faculty in 可乐视频鈥檚 History Department here:

• History Maker: Professor Benjamin Carp Shares Passion for America鈥檚 Origins With the World
  /best-of-bc/history-maker/
• Professor Christian Warren Chronicles One of History鈥檚 Greatest Childhood Illnesses: 鈥淪tarved for Light: The Long Shadow of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency鈥� Is the First Comprehensive Book on the Subject
  /bc-brief/professor-christian-warren-chronicles-one-of-the-historys-greatest-childhood-illnesses/
• Getting to the Roots of Russia鈥檚 War in Ukraine With Professor Brigid O鈥橩eeffe: With the War Entering Its Second Month, the Professor of History Examines Its Origins While Debunking Some Myths
  /bc-news/getting-to-the-roots-of-russias-war-in-ukraine-with-professor-brigid-okeeffe/
• Time Travel at 可乐视频: HSS Expo Brings the Premodern World to Life: Interactive Events at the HSS Expo Help Highlight Immersive, Interdisciplinary, Cross-Departmental Dive Into the Premodern World
  /bc-brief/time-travel-at-brooklyn-college-hss-expo-brings-the-premodern-world-to-life/

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Learn about career resources, internship opportunities, and funding options, and get to know our current students, faculty, and staff.

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The Lovejoy Prize is an annual prize that recognizes excellence and originality in a major work on themes related to global slavery. SenGupta and co-author Awam Amkpa were interviewed by Lovejoy Prize jury members, which you can read .

Chronicling the global systems of capitalism in the 19th century, Sojourners, Sultans, and Slaves mines multinational archives to illuminate the Atlantic reverberations of U.S. mercantile projects, “free labor” experiments, and slaveholding in western Indian Ocean societies. SenGupta and Amkpa profile transnational human rights campaigns and present how the discourses of poverty, kinship, and care could be adapted to defend servitude in different parts of the world, revealing the tenuous boundaries that such discourses shared with liberal contractual notions of freedom.

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Warren specializes in the history of medicine and public health in the United States. He is working on his next book, which will trace the history of American鈥檚 鈥渕igration鈥� into the indoors.

Janet Golden, author of Babies Made Us Modern: How Infants Brought Americans Into the Twentieth Century, said of the book: 鈥淭his is a fascinating, well-researched, and lively account of the long history of rickets. This wide-ranging volume explores the emergence of modern medicine, theories of race and disease, public health, and ethics, literally lighting the way to a greater understanding of this medical condition. You won鈥檛 want to swallow cod liver oil after reading this book, but you might want to reach for a Sunshine Vitamin D Beer鈥攁las, no longer available.鈥�

In addition to the book, Warren wrote a Halloween-themed blog,

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A member of the National Alumni Association board of directors, Stroud鈥檚 signature project has been to build a bridge for 可乐视频 students to study at his law school alma mater, Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Here, Stroud talks about working to close the socioeconomic gap for students from underserved communities and the power of educational pipelines.

You鈥檙e a fourth-generation educator. Tell us more about your background?

My family is from Trinidad. My great grandfather was a teacher, my grandmother was a teacher. My mother was an educator while she was there, and my uncle was an educator. Education is part of the DNA of my family. Everything that I’ve done has revolved around that.

What made you decide on 可乐视频 and why a degree in history?

It’s a great school and it was also a neighborhood school. I grew up in East Flatbush, less than a five-minute walk from 可乐视频. Besides having high academic rankings, the college was also voted one of the most beautiful colleges in America. I met my wife, Dalia, here. We still live in the neighborhood. On weekends we like to go to the lily pond and look at the koi fish and the turtles. 可乐视频 is a big part of our family.

My Trinidadian grandmother always said there are many jobs, but there are only two professions, lawyer and doctor, and you’ll be the first in the family. Fair enough, it’s a democracy; you can pick either. I wasn鈥檛 into the blood that comes with medicine, so it was law. And with the research skills I would develop, I thought history was the best way to prepare for law. I arrived at the college鈥檚 history department and while I sat waiting for the chair to come out of his office, I saw a photograph of a man with a brown face like mine鈥擩ohn Hope Franklin. He was the first Black chair of any history department of any college in America. For me, another good reason to study history.

After law school, you worked as an adjunct professor and instructor, a career development educator, and for the City of New York.

Yes, for the past 16 years working as a civil servant; I’ve been the deputy commissioner for the Department of Social Services for the last six of those years. I oversee the training and the workforce development team. We have about 13,000 employees, with 100 plus people on my team. We do a lot of program-specific training, such as SNAP, Medicaid assistance, and child support services. On the workforce development side, we have the professional development academy, training for new hires, and a coaching institute. Those types of trainings that affect our staff agencywide. I joined the executive advisory council of the National Staff Development Training Association, which is the leader in learning and development for human services organizations. Every year, there is a conference, and about two years ago, we won a national award for our anti-bias and trauma-informed training.

Speaking of bias, what do you see as some of the biggest challenges when fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion?

One of my roles is co-chairing the American Public Human Services Association鈥檚 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging peer community. We gather all of these dynamic leaders from across the country to examine challenges that different organizations face. It鈥檚 about sharing information and then bringing it back to our respective agencies and customizing it to fit our individual solutions.

Social mobility is a priority when it comes to what a college has to offer its students.

Oh, 100%, yes. The great charge that academic institutions have in increasing social mobility is how to create and maintain what I call the nexus of knowledge, which includes mentoring, connecting students to private sector opportunities, such as internships, and preparing them for careers. If you look at schools like 可乐视频, which is a top performer in social mobility, there are a lot of students from working-class families. Often sacrifices are made so they can go to school and get an excellent education. But those connections that 可乐视频 makes in the public and private sector for the students are key to propelling them into the middle class.

Pipelines are an important focus for you.

Yes, I鈥檓 big on pipelines. My work in education deals with the intersection between academic institutions and the global workforce. Extensive research has proved that they are a very effective means to prepare students for careers. When I came back to Brooklyn after graduating from law school, I wanted to create a pipeline program. The dean of the Maurer School of Law works with the Magner Career Center and me to host events annually. We might hold a mock court or send the students a fact pattern of a case to read and then we鈥檒l debate it, or they act it out. We’re hosting a pre-law meet and greet luncheon at the end of October. The pipeline program is a great opportunity to fundraise for our students and provide them with opportunities. I also love serving on the alumni board.

How do you do all that you do? And is there any time for a pastime or hobby?

I have a great wife and two wonderful sons, Tyler and Dalen, who are the focal points of our lives. Time management is very critical. I don鈥檛 have much downtime, so my work is fun. Teaching is fun. Overseeing my programs and giving back鈥攖hat鈥檚 fun. That鈥檚 what I enjoy.

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What did you study at 可乐视频?

I pursued a master鈥檚 in history because of my love for the subject, as well as the fact that I had initially planned to become a social studies teacher. I received my B.A. in social studies education (7-12) from 可乐视频 in June 2020, and a master鈥檚 degree is required to receive a permanent teaching license in New York State. So, I jumped right into the master鈥檚 program just two months after I completed my bachelor鈥檚. The COVID-19 pandemic made me reevaluate my personal and career goals, and I realized after just one year into the master鈥檚 program that I no longer wanted to teach. Even though I am no longer pursuing teaching as a career, I have no regrets about continuing with my master鈥檚 program. I still enjoy the pursuit of learning and history is still my passion. Regardless of my career path, it is extremely gratifying to earn a degree in the subject that I love.

You earned a B.A. in social studies education (7-12) in 2020 and now you are earning an M.A. in history. What is it about history that you love so much?

History was always my favorite subject in school, even from an early age. I found it fascinating that there were countless generations of people that came before us with unique cultures, religions, worldviews, and experiences; I wanted to learn about them all. As I got older, I grew to appreciate the discipline even more as I started to realize that studying history is the ultimate tool to combat ignorance and prejudice while building empathy. I truly believe that studying history has made me a more open-minded and kinder person and that everyone can benefit from understanding the world in which we live from a historical perspective.

How did it feel being the first person in your family to graduate from college?

I am proud to be the first person in my family to graduate from college. It wasn鈥檛 always easy, as I had to navigate the world of higher education largely on my own with no older role models to turn to for advice or assistance. I had to learn as I went along and hope that I wasn鈥檛 making any mistakes. My parents always expected me to go to college, so I didn鈥檛 have much say in the matter. Because of this, sometimes I feel less proud than maybe I should be because I simply did what was expected of me my whole life. But deep down I know that college is far from easy or accessible to everyone, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, and I try to have a greater sense of self-satisfaction.

What other subjects besides history and social studies piqued your interest?

Art and psychology also hold a special place in my heart. I initially considered going to college for psychology. While I find the subject to be incredibly fascinating, I didn鈥檛 think that my heart would have been fully in it to pursue it as a career. Instead, that interest led me to work as a tutor for undergraduate psychology courses for a few semesters. Additionally, a lot of my hobbies are artistic. I enjoy drawing, painting, pottery, embroidery, and photography. I鈥檓 really looking forward to getting back into some of these hobbies now that I鈥檒l have more free time once I officially graduate. I鈥檓 even considering taking some non-degree art courses in the future to learn some new skills.

What are your plans after graduation?

I鈥檓 willing to go wherever the wind takes me. The COVID-19 pandemic showed me how important it is to be flexible and adaptable, especially when it comes to choosing a job or career path. Currently, I work in the 可乐视频 Registrar’s Office as a degree auditor, and I don鈥檛 mind staying in a higher-education office setting for the foreseeable future. I find the work rewarding as I help other students get to the academic finish line. My master鈥檚 in history has taught me how to pay close attention to detail, take thorough notes, and stay both physically and mentally organized, which are all invaluable skills to have in the white-collar world. However, I would absolutely love it if my master鈥檚 in history could one day help me land a job in a museum or an archive.

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Remy has taught modern European history at 可乐视频 and the CUNY Graduate Center since 2002. He teaches courses in modern European and German history, Nazi Germany, the politics and culture of memory in 20th-century Europe, colonial wars, and historical methodology.

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