William Rogers has been Associate Dean of the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies at Drew University in Madison, NJ since July, 1995.  Prior to that he spent over 13 years with the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in New Jersey in a variety of capacities. Rogers earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Hartwick College and a master’s in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Rogers has a master’s in political science and a doctorate in intellectual history from the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies at Drew University. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in 19th century American history (particularly the Civil War), the impact of war on American society, and Irish/Irish-American history and literature.
 His publications include “The Great Hunger: Act of God or Acts of Man,” in Ireland’s Great Hunger: Silence, Memory and Commemoration, “We Are All Together Now,” Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and The Prophetic Tradition, (1995); “Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and the Prophetic Tradition in Nineteenth Century America,” in Let Justice Roll, (1996); “Thomas Jefferson,” in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Politics, (1998); and several contributions to the Encyclopedia of World War II in the Pacific (2000). He has presented numerous papers on topics such as “Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and the Press”; “The Catholic Response to the New Science of the 19th Century”; “Abraham Lincoln and Prophetic Politics”; and “The Literature of the Civil War.” He is currently working with Christine Kinealy on the development of Irish-American identity in the 19th century. His lifetime project is a book that explores American history, using his family–Irish, Dutch and Native American–as the unifying focus.

Teaching

 Member graduate faculty, Drew University. Courses taught include Literature of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln in American Memory, World War I in Modern Memory, War Comes Again: The Civil War and World War II, An Gorta Mor: The Great Irish Famine, Irish History and Literature, and The Irish in America. College courses taught include Contemporary American Catholicism and Ireland Since 1600.

Publications:

 Books/Chapters:
 “The Great Hunger: Act of God or Acts of Man,” in Ireland’s Great Hunger: Silence, Memory and Commemoration, David A. Valone and Christine Kinealy, eds., University Press of America, 2002
 “Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and the Prophetic Tradition in America” in Let Justice Roll: Prophetic Challenges in Religion, Politics, and Society, Neal Riemer, ed., Rowman, Littlefield, 1996.
 “We Are All Together Now”: Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and the Prophetic Tradition, Garland Press, 1995.

 Encyclopedia Entries:
  "Guam," in the Encyclopedia of World War II, 2004.
  "Latvia," and "Roger Casement," in the Encyclopedia of World War I, 2004.
  Contributed to “Yank Magazine,”and “The Russell Islands,” in The Encyclopedia of World War II in the Pacific, Garland Press, 2000.
 “Thomas Jefferson and Religion,” in The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, Congressional Quarterly Books, 1997
 

Scholarly/Professional Presentations:
"As Irish As They Want To Be: Irish and Irish-American Identity as Portrayed in "Coffee Table Books," Mid-Atlantic Conference of Irish Studies, University of Maryland, (October 2003);
“Religion and the Civil War Soldier,” Lincoln Symposium, Drew University, (March 2003);
 “The Great Hunger: A Reassessment,” Irish Heritage Series, Brookdale Community College, (October, 2002)
 “Ireland and America: The Next Parish to the West,” Ireland and America: Past, Present, and Future, Drew University, (March 2001);
 “The Great Hunger: Act of God or Acts of Man,” An Gorta Mor–An Interdisciplinary Assessment, Quinnipiac University, (September, 2000)
 “Lincoln and the Abolitionists,” Lincoln Symposium, Drew University, (February 2000);
 “Lincoln, Washington and the Popular Press,” Lincoln Symposium, Drew University, (February 1999);
 “Abraham Lincoln and Prophetic Politics,” Lincoln Symposium, Drew University, (February 1998);
 “Abraham Lincoln and the Prophetic Tradition,” Annual Meeting of American Culture Association, (April 1997);
 “Frederick Douglass and Prophetic Criticism,” Annual Meeting of the National Association of African-American Studies (February 18, 1995);
 “What the Higher Education Acts of 1992 Mean for New Jersey Colleges and Universities,” New Jersey Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Spring Meeting (June 1994);
 “Does Higher Education Have a Future in New Jersey?” at Annual Meeting of New Jersey Library Association, College and University Section (May 7, 1992);
 “Ethics and Evolution in a Post-Darwinian World”, at Barry University Conference on The Global Village: Ethics and Values (February, 1990);
 “The Catholic Response to the New Science of The Nineteenth Century,” at St. Anselm's College Centennial Symposium (April, 1989);
 “Reauthorization of the Higher Education Acts: What Does it Really Mean?” at New Jersey Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Annual Meeting (October, 1990);
 “Independent Higher Education in New Jersey Since the Passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965,” at the 1988 New Jersey Political Science Association Annual Meeting;
 In the past, he has testified before state and federal legislative and regulatory committees and  made numerous public presentations, including the 1986, 1989, 1990 and 1993 State Association Executive Council Summer Workshops and the 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 Hartwick College Annual Alumni Gala.

Research Interests

 Recently, my interests have focused on memory and commemoration of history, particularly in relation to major events in American history, such as the Civil War and World War II. I am also fascinated by this process in Ireland, where history, memory and commemoration have traditionally played a significant role in shaping political and social developments.
 

Most Recent Publication
“The Great Hunger: Act of God or Acts of Man,” in Ireland’s Great Hunger: Silence, Memory and Commemoration, David A. Valone and Christine Kinealy, eds., University Press of America, 2002

 Many historians believe that The Great Hunger is the defining event in all of Irish history. This claim, like most every aspect of the Famine (including the years of the Famine, the number of dead, the lasting impact, how it should be remembered and even its name), is debatable, but there can be no doubt that the Great Hunger had profound effects on Ireland, Britain and the United States. Another significant question surrounding The Famine is whether or not it should be considered an example of government supported genocide. The Famine has been included in the New Jersey State curriculum on genocide and the Holocaust both because some see a clear record of government complicity in this tragedy and because of the political power of Irish Americans in New Jersey.  However, unlike the Armenian Genocide, there is relatively little debate in academic circles about whether or not the Famine should be considered an act of genocide, or simply the unfortunate confluence of demographic, economic, political and natural forces.  In other words, was it an act of God or the acts of humans that resulted in this catastrophe?
 This essay examines the current definitions of genocide in order to better illuminate whether or not the causes of the Famine, the policies and response by the British government, and the actions of Irish landlords should lead us to classify The Great Hunger as a genocidal event. The purpose is to develop an assessment that goes beyond a mere polemic. It seemed an investigation of this question utilizing the current definitions of genocide might prove fruitful in engaging the profound question of whether or not this horrible event can be properly classified as genocide as understood in the modern period.