New Jersey Studies Initiative
The New Jersey Studies Initiative is an exciting cluster of courses that explore the history, culture, and social narratives of the Garden State through interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from the Humanities and Social Sciences. Across the collection, students investigate the state as both a geographic location and a cultural framework for understanding how local places, events, traditions, and media representations shape collective memory, cultural identity, and public discourse within New Jersey.
Professor: Professor Dan Loughran
This course examines the life, music, and cultural influence of Bruce Springsteen as a lens for understanding American identity, civic responsibility, and social justice. Through close engagement with song lyrics, performances, and public statements, students consider how his work reflects ongoing tensions between national ideals and lived realities.
The course situates Springsteen within broader traditions of American cultural expression, drawing connections to writers, poets, and thinkers who have shaped public conversations about community, agency, and moral accountability. Particular attention is given to recurring themes in his work, including labor, place, belonging, and the relationship between individual experience and collective life.
Course activities combine textual and media analysis with opportunities for applied and reflective work. Students connect the ideas explored in Springsteen’s music to contemporary social issues and to their own experiences, considering how artistic expression can inform civic engagement and personal responsibility. Projects emphasize critical interpretation, interdisciplinary inquiry, and the role of music and storytelling in shaping public understanding of American values.
Prerequisites: 200-Level History/Humanities GER.
Professor: Professor Kenneth DeStefano
This course explores the development of the true crime genre through notable cases connected to New Jersey. Using the state as a geographic and cultural framework, students analyze how crime stories are documented, interpreted, and retold across multiple forms of media, including journalism, literature, podcasts, documentary film, and television.
The class traces the evolution of crime narratives from early sensational reporting and penny-press journalism to contemporary long-form documentaries and serialized podcasts. Particular attention is paid to the narrative strategies that influence public understanding of crime and justice, as well as to the ethical questions surrounding the representation of victims, perpetrators, and communities.
Students work with historical records, literary texts, and media portrayals to consider the boundary between documented fact and narrative interpretation. Presentations and research projects centered on specific New Jersey cases highlight how crime stories enter cultural memory and how repeated retellings shape public perceptions of justice, responsibility, and history.
Prerequisites: 200-level History/Humanities GER.
Professor: Professor Ed Johnson
This course examines the evolution, structure, and future direction of political decision-making and public policy in the Garden State. Situating New Jersey within regional, national, and global contexts, it highlights the state’s distinctive political culture, complex governmental institutions, and ongoing fiscal challenges. Students consider how historical developments and contemporary forces shape governance in one of the nation’s most densely populated and economically diverse states.
The course provides a detailed overview of New Jersey’s system of state, county, and municipal government, with attention to the constitutional framework and the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Particular focus is given to state-local relations and the practical implications of the state’s strong tradition of home rule. Fiscal foundations of policymaking—including tax structures, budgetary constraints, and long-term debt—are examined in relation to affordability and policy outcomes across the state.
Key policy areas—including transportation and infrastructure, education finance, land-use planning, and sustainable economic development—serve as focal points for understanding how competing priorities are negotiated and resolved. The course also addresses ethical governance, transparency, accountability, and the influence of campaign finance, lobbying, and interest groups.
Through case studies, policy analysis, and applied discussion, students develop the tools needed to interpret New Jersey’s political system and to evaluate how informed citizens and leaders can shape its future.
Prerequisites: 200-level History/Humanities GER.
Professor: Kyle Mednick
This course explores the development of the true crime genre through notable cases connected to New Jersey. Using the state as a geographic and cultural framework, students analyze how crime stories are documented, interpreted, and retold across multiple forms of media, including journalism, literature, podcasts, documentary film, and television.
The class traces the evolution of crime narratives from early sensational reporting and penny-press journalism to contemporary long-form documentaries and serialized podcasts. Particular attention is paid to the narrative strategies that influence public understanding of crime and justice, as well as to the ethical questions surrounding the representation of victims, perpetrators, and communities.
Students work with historical records, literary texts, and media portrayals to consider the boundary between documented fact and narrative interpretation. Presentations and research projects centered on specific New Jersey cases highlight how crime stories enter cultural memory and how repeated retellings shape public perceptions of justice, responsibility, and history.
Prerequisites: 200-Level History/Humanities GER.
Professor: Crystal Hamai
This senior-level capstone seminar focuses on the folklore, legends, and unusual historical sites that have become part of New Jersey’s cultural landscape. Using case studies of regional stories and locations, students consider how communities make sense of places, events, and unexplained phenomena, and how certain sites come to be labeled “creepy,” haunted, or mysterious.
Drawing on perspectives from folklore studies, sociology, and cultural history, the course investigates what these narratives reveal about collective anxieties, historical memory, and changing attitudes toward death, spirituality, and the unknown. Topics include well-known regional legends such as the Jersey Devil and the Matawan shark attacks, as well as lesser-known stories, abandoned sites, and roadside attractions across the state.
Coursework centers on research and analysis of regional traditions and narrative forms. Students pursue a legend, site, or local phenomenon of their choosing through archival research, critical interpretation, or multimodal storytelling formats such as documentaries, podcasts, or video essays.
Prerequisites: Six credits of 300-level History/Humanities GER.
Professor: Dr. Risa Gorelick
This senior-level capstone seminar considers the cultural history and contemporary significance of the New Jersey shore as a distinctive regional space shaped by tourism, recreation, and community identity. Extending along the state’s Atlantic coastline, the shore encompasses a wide range of environments and experiences, from historic landmarks such as the Twin Lights to the music scene of Asbury Park, the boardwalk culture of seaside towns, and the resort landscapes of Atlantic City and Cape May.
Attention is devoted to how the shore has been imagined, experienced, and represented over time, with emphasis on its social traditions, local economies, and evolving meanings. Topics include seasonal tourism, regional foodways, entertainment and music cultures, and the boardwalk’s role as both a social gathering place and a symbolic space. Students also examine how environmental change, development, and preservation continue to shape shore communities.
Work in the course includes analysis of literature, film, television, and other media, alongside opportunities for independent exploration. Projects invite students to focus on particular towns, traditions, or themes—such as local histories, small businesses, environmental concerns, or regional folklore—linking personal interests to broader questions about place, memory, and representation.
Prerequisites: Six credits of 300-level History/Humanities GER.