History Grad Profiles

Jeff Barraclough, Class of 2003
After completing an honors thesis and concentration in Public History, Jeff graduated from Gordon with a degree in History. He currently works as the Director of the Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum in Manchester, NH, maintaining a large collection of Boy Scout memorabilia. Jeff is employed by the Daniel Webster Council and oversees a staff of 15-20 volunteers. He has worked to develop a flow in the exhibits that tells a story, and as the sole employee, Jeff is fully responsible for the museum's administration.

"Working in a museum gives me the opportunity to teach history in a non-traditional setting using collections and exhibits as educational tools. Through Gordon's history program, I received the training and experience necessary to begin my career in the museum field."

Jennifer Fry, Class of 2003
As a Pike scholar Jennifer studied art and cultural history at Gordon. She wrote a senior honors thesis on religious and cultural exchange between Byzantium and Anglo-Saxon England in the seventh century. After graduation she earned a master's degree in Byzantine Art History at Oxford University and was awarded distinction for her thesis on the physical setting of baptism in early Byzantium. She has returned to her home state of California where she is working at a gallery that sells fine art and antiques from all over the world.

"Part of my job is to do research on the artwork, which is fun because we have such a wide array of pieces. I haven't ruled out doing a Ph.D. at some point in the future, but for now I'm enjoying putting my knowledge and skills to use and having an excuse to study different kinds of art from all different periods of history."

Christine Lindner, Class of 2002
Christine completed her master's degree at the University of Durham and is currently working on her doctorate in the University of Edinburgh's Department of Islamic and Middle East Studies. Her dissertation focuses on Christianity, gender, and cultural exchanges in Ottoman Syria. Christine recently presented a paper on American perceptions of Arab women at the Middle East Studies Association's Annual Meeting in Boston.

"Through this research, I strive to delve deeper and to synthesise the methodological and theoretical insights of Post-Colonial, Feminist and Social Theories, cut with an understanding of the theological and spiritual aspects of cross-cultural relationships. Since graduating from Gordon College, I have found myself upon a path that demands the investigation onto a historical reality, one that focuses not only upon agents from the past, but one that is also inherently linked with the lived realities of the present."

Megan MacNeil, Class of 2000
Megan graduated from Gordon with a major in history and a minor in music, then received a Certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University in 2002. While at Gordon she began working at The Stephen Phillips House, a small, historic house museum in Salem, Massachusetts, that is a property of Historic New England. As the Registrar, she is currently responsible for maintaining the collections, keeping track of loans and insurance policies, opening and closing the house for the tourist season, and a wide variety of other tasks.

"Working in an historic house museum provides opportunities to connect with history in a tangible way. The letters, photographs, and three-dimensional objects that have been left behind can connect people (visitors and staff) with actual historical events, bringing history to life in a way that a textbook cannot."

Hiromu Nagahara, Class of 2003
After completing a senior honors thesis at Gordon on music education and nationalism in late 19th-century Japan, Hiromu began his Ph.D. work in Japanese history at Harvard University.  His dissertation focuses on the emergence of the Japanese music industry and seeks to trace the ways in which media and entertainment industries became an inescapable part of everyday Japanese life.  At Harvard Hiromu has enjoyed teaching a survey course on Japanese history, as well as a course on the history of samurai. After three semesters as a teaching fellow, Hiromu plans to return to Japan to continue his research and develop connections with scholars there.

Andrew Shriver, Class of 1995
During the past year Andrew served as chaplain at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He conducted funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and was appointed the Air Operations Group Chaplain for the Military District of Washington. Andrew will soon be heading to Afghanistan with the 864th Combat Engineer Battalion to build roads and runways, and is looking forward to seeing the country's beauty and learning more of its rich history. Ordained in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Andrew studied late antique history at Gordon, then continued his education at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Oxford University, and Wheaton College Graduate School.

"Gordon was a great school that allowed me to learn ancient history and be close to Boston. I also enjoyed being able to take classes at Gordon-Conwell Seminary while attending Gordon. I loved the New England towns, beaches and history too.  Gordon helped prepare me to be an Army Chaplain and share God's love with soldiers."