Mannion Society

The Mannion Society

The Mannion Society was created by the Department of History to identify particularly impressive history majors and offer them an intensive introduction to research and writing history papers. Each year, around ten students are invited by the Department to work in a small group with a faculty member. Invitations are extended during the second semester of sophomore or junior year to participate in the following year.

Members of the Society develop a research question, work intensively to research that question of their own choosing, and then develop that research into a persuasive argument. Mannion Society members thus gain an exceptional introduction to the historian’s art as well as an outstanding foundation when they apply for jobs, graduate schools, or prestigious fellowships. Members of the Society take two courses over two semesters. In the fall, members enroll in HIST 2070, a one-semester course that meets intermittently and is intended to familiarize students with research methods and guide them to develop a specific research question.  In the next semester, members take HIST 3070, a three-credit course during which students complete work on the research question by writing a substantial paper.

The Society is named for Professor Anne Mannion, a dynamic and much-admired teacher who taught in the History Department at Fordham for 53 years.

The History Blog wrote an article, interviewing the students of the Mannion Society about their research. Read The Students of the Mannion Society.