Sabbaticals cause angst among history majors

COURTESY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS HISTORY HIATUS: Professor Jonathan Spence, SY '61, GRD '65, is one of the five history professors who will be on leave next term.

Victoria Hammond, CC '00, like many history majors, recently approached a professor, in hopes of recruiting him as her senior essay adviser. But Hammond was in for a cruel surprise. The professor she approached, Latin America specialist Gilbert Joseph, GRD '78, will be on leave next semester. "I have no idea who to ask now. He seemed like the dream adviser," she lamented.

Next year Yale's world-renowned history department will lose five professors in the fields of Asian and Latin American history, as several of its senior professors take temporary leave. While history Department Chair Robin Winks said that these types of changes are not atypical, juniors like Hammond who are looking for senior essay advisers in these areas may have to reconsider their choices.

Professor Valerie Hansen, who teaches courses in Indian and Chinese history, will be away for the entire year, while Professor Jonathan Spence, SY '61, GRD '65, who specializes in Chinese history, will not return from his current leave until next spring. In addition, the future plans of History Professor Ben Kiernan, a Southeast Asia specialist, are still uncertain. On Wed., Feb. 18, Winks said Kiernan will be "on leave for one term" next year, but Kiernan is also said to have a teaching offer from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

For students in the Latin American Studies major or for history majors concentrating in Latin America, the absences of Professors Gilbert Joseph and Stuart Schwartz next spring may present an even greater problem. Joseph and Schwartz are the only two senior history faculty members who are scholars of Latin America. "I definitely think that the course offerings in Latin American history will suffer a serious blow next spring," said David Flechner, PC '00, a Latin American Studies major and publisher of the Yale Latin America Review. "While the junior faculty in Latin American history has improved this year with the addition of Greg Grandin, the absence of Joseph and Schwartz will create a glaring hole in Latin American history offerings."

Winks said the history department is currently focusing on finding temporary professors to teach Chinese and Southeast Asian history in the extra semester to prepare for the leaves of Joseph and Schwartz. Winks submitted a proposal to Provost Alison Richard this week requesting funding to begin the search for an assistant professor who would offer "at least two courses on China, since that is the greatest hit, and someone else who can offer one or perhaps two courses on Southeast Asia, and either the same person or someone else to offer one course on South Asia."

Although their numbers are relatively small, juniors majoring in Latin American or East Asian studies will most likely be the group that is the hardest hit by the temporary absences of these senior professors. The announcement of the departures comes at a time when juniors are planning their final year of academic study and choosing their senior essay advisors. Argyro Caminis, BR '00, an East Asian studies major, explained, "My faculty adviser has been Jonathan Spence for the past two years, so his absence during this crucial time in my studies here is unfortunate."

Andrew Elwell, BK '00, a Latin American Studies major, was disturbed that the Latin American Studies department made no effort to notify its majors of such a significant change. "Nobody told us," he said. "I get e-mails up, down, and sideways about Latin American events on campus, but nobody found it important enough to mention that the two most prestigious professors specializing in Latin America aren't going to be around next spring."

Although these temporary absences will be a disappointment for some students, the professors defend their decisions, and the history department sees such periodic leaves as beneficial to the department in the long-run. "The University doesn't operate haphazardly; it doesn't just say because two professors are on leave then we won't have four courses," Joseph explained. "We are making a strong effort to cover our majors and our senior advising system. [Schwartz and I] are very aware that it's an unusual situation that has never happened before." Joseph said he has not taken leave since 1995, and Schwartz is choosing to stay next fall even though he is entitled to a full year's leave.

Winks added that when professors take leaves to conduct research, the department experiences a net gain. "Yale students deserve teachers who are on the cutting edge of their field," he said. "This requires periodic leaves for reading, field work, and writing." History Professor Beatrice Barltett, GRD '80, supports her colleagues' decisions to take leaves. "Going overseas puts us directly in touch with the various local situations that we teach about," she said.

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