The Department of History is thrilled to congratulate Michaela Granger (A.B.D. Ph.D. student in medieval history), who has accepted a tenure-track appointment at Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch, New Jersey. Michaela will join the Department of Humanities, Social Science, Social Work and Education. She notes: “I am excited to be a part of an academically diverse, talented, and passionate department! Within the department, there are two historians (including myself) and I will be the only premodernist. I was hired to be the in-house ‘World Historian.’ My responsibilities include teaching and designing survey courses that cover the history of the premodern world, with a particular focus on the premodern Mediterranean and the global Middle Ages.”
During the 2024-2025 academic year, Michaela will teach Hist 101: World Civilizations I and Hist 102: World Civilizations II. The first course covers the ancient and the medieval eras, with a focus on emerging civilizations, empire building, the rise of monotheistic religions, and globalization during the Middle Ages. The second course covers the early modern through the modern period, with a focus on exploration and encounter, the rise of capitalism and industrialization, epistemological and scientific revolutions, and the consequences of colonization. During the same academic year, she will also be working with her department to develop elective courses which will be offered to students beginning in the fall of 2025. She looks forward to developing a course on women, gender, and the family in the premodern period, as well as a course on religious innovation, expression, and conflict in the medieval world.
Michaela reflects: “One of the things that most excite me about working at Raritan Valley is the opportunity to serve a diverse and motivated student population. In addition, the faculty and administration at RVCC work diligently to ensure that their students have as many educational and career opportunities as possible. Raritan Valley Community College serves students from Somerset and Hunterdon counties in Northern New Jersey. The student population at RVCC is ethnically, religiously, and socio-economically diverse. After teaching for many years in Catholic higher and secondary education, I am really looking forward to teaching and serving a more diverse student body. In fact, RVCC was recently named a Hispanic Serving Institution; a federal recognition that honors the great work RVCC has done to serve minority students. RVCC offers terminal Associates of Art degrees and works with students who plan to transfer to traditional four year undergraduate universities. The majority of RVCC students transfer to Rutgers University, the nearest state university. In addition, RVCC has partner programs with nearby universities, such as Princeton, which prepare our students to succeed in competitive academic programs after leaving our college. Finally, RVCC has a competitive honors program, which allows academically inclined students to take more academically challenging and rigorous courses than would typically be offered in a two-year degree program.
“In this current economic climate, I think it is essential that institutions of higher learning prepare students for a successful economic future and meaningful vocation, while ensuring that the students incur minimal debt. I admire the work that RVCC is doing to ensure that students continue to have access to a liberal arts education, even if they do not come from families of economic privilege. I am excited to teach at a college whose mission aligns with my own values and even more excited to be able to continue teaching medieval history in that context. Teaching in this context will allow me to introduce the premodern and medieval world to students that may have not yet had, nor have in the future, the opportunity to think deeply about these historical periods.”
Professor Katherine Jansen (who is directing Michaela’s dissertation) adds: “I am delighted for Michaela. She has worked hard for this opportunity and this position suits her toolkit perfectly. To land a tenure-track job in the humanities in this challenging environment is a major feat in itself and it speaks to Michaela's great strengths as a teacher, scholar, mentor, and colleague.”