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Joanne Schneider

Craig-Lee Hall (464)
(401) 456-8039
jschneider@ric.edu

Academic Background

Minnesota native Joanne Schneider received her B.A. in History and German, summa cum laude, from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. She earned her M.A. and Ph. D. at Brown University in Modern European History. Her dissertation examined girls' schools and education reform in early 19th century Bavaria. That research yielded several articles which appeared in scholarly monographs. Subsequent research interests focused on the Enlightenment and everyday life history in southern Germany. She has presented several papers based on that scholarship. Her current research involves the experiences of ordinary Bavarians at the hands of a marauding Austrian and French armies during the decade of the 1790s.

Schneider's most recognized publication is Women in Western European History, a three volume bibliography co-edited with Linda and Marsha Frey. The first volume of the bibliography received the Choice Outstanding Scholarly Book Award. She published The Age of Romanticism in 2007, as part of Greenwood Press's "Guides to Historic Events, 1500 to 1900."

Reference & Research Book News had the following to say about the book:

"Plume ready? Finger on forehead? Focused on nature? Is that all we need to know about Romanticism? Not by a long shot, according to Schneider, who gives high-school and general readers contexts and background so they can better understand the tenets of the movement, the players, and the repercussions of Romanticism. She describes how the Enlightenment and eighteenth-century responses to it built into a coherent aesthetic and agenda; how Romanticism expressed itself in poetry, prose, drama, painting and music; and how Romanticism shaped such concepts as environmentalism and nationalism. She includes a chronology of publications and life events, biographies of key actors, a bundle of original documents and a small but telling set of illustrations. They and the references bring this a step above the usual first contact with the likes of Keats, Shelley and Byron.

Schneider has also been involved in the field of Public History. From 1999-2001, she worked for the Smithsonian as a lecturer on tours in Austria. She also serves as a tour guide to the First Baptist Church’s Meeting House, in Providence. (The largest wooden framed structure standing in the United States, that dates from the Colonial Era, in this case 1775.) In 2017, she completed a project, begun during her Fall 2016 sabbatical, that resulted in a twenty minute video “Forced Worship Stinks in God’s Nostrils” about Roger Williams and the founding of the First Baptist Church in America. She designed the production, wrote the script for the narrative, and collaborated with the editing of the project. The video is available for viewing to anyone who visits the historic Meeting House in Providence.

Schneider taught at the University of Montana, Stonehill College, Wheaton College and Brown University before coming to Rhode Island College in a full-time position in 1991. At R.I.C., she has taught Western Civilization, the Nature of Historical Inquiry, The Age of Enlightenment, The Age of Nationalism, Europe in the 20th century and Beyond, European Women's History, Everyday Life History and the Reading Seminar. She created and teaches the Workshop in Leading Effective Field Trips, designed with Elementary Education/Social Studies majors and students in the department's Certificate Program in Public History in mind. She worked on several independent studies, which focused on German history and has also directed three honors theses. She was also involved in General Education Honors for many years, teaching iterations of its Western History seminar and has also taught two First Year Seminars under the most recent General Education program. Her teaching interests focus on social and cultural history with a special preference for teaching history through literature and memoirs.

Schneider, former Chair of the History Department (2002-2008) and former Director of Women’s Studies (1999-2001), is deeply involved with the Shinn Study Abroad Fund Scholarship Program, having served as the Chair of the Awards Committee since 1996. She is a past President of the New England Historical Association and has held the post of President of the Humanities Forum of Rhode Island. She is a member of the First Baptist Church in America and works as a volunteer tour guide for that National Historic Trust site. When not involved with academic and related interests especially those involving travels in Europe, Joanne is an avid sports fan (Yankees, Patriots and the Celtics) and has been an active sportswoman herself, water skiing, sailing and snow skiing. She resides with her husband Arthur Bone in Lincoln, Rhode Island, along with her two cats, Olivia and Brady.

Courses Taught

FYS 100 The Holocaust: Reaching Beyond Anne Frank
FYS 100 Loving Nature, Protecting Nation: Romanticism’s Legacy to the Environment
HIST 104 Multiple Voices: Europe in the World since 1600
HIST 161 Western History
HIST 200 Nature of Historical Inquiry
HIST 307 Europe in Age of Enlightenment
HIST 309 Europe in the Age of Nationalism
HIST 310 Twentieth Century Europe and Beyond
HIST 314 Women in European History
HIST 355 Everyday Life History
HIST 381 Workshop: Leading Effective Fieldtrips
HONR 162 Seminar in Western History

Page last updated: February 10, 2020