History professor Erika Lee studies xenophobia, and asserts that American immigration laws don’t have to be drawn from a place of fear or hatred. “We needed to have an honest, brave conversation about the democratic values on which the country was founded,” she says.

Professor Daniel Schroeter holds the Amos S. Deinard Memorial Chair in Jewish History. He studies Muslim-Jewish relations from early modern times to the present in the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on Morocco. "In an age when all the public hears about is intercommunal violence and intractable conflict in the Middle East, it is instructive to learn that amid the interfaith tensions there is a long history of coexistence between Muslims and Jews, a shared culture and experience that can be the foundation for mutual understanding and peace."

John Little, PhD student in history and American Indian Studies, explores what Native American veterans' experiences were like during and after the Vietnam War. "They were fighting on two fronts: they were battling racism and stereotypes, while also fighting for the US Army,” he says.

Kathryn Reyerson teaches her students how to “think like a pirate.” Her course, Piracy in the Mediterranean: The World of Merchants and Pirates, explores cross-cultural interaction, global connections, and the identities of people who set out to sea during the Middle Ages.