Heather Morrison, the assistant professor of Early Modern Europe in the History Department, received her Ph.D. in 2005 from Louisiana State University. She also holds an M.A. from the University of Toronto, and a B.A. from Indiana University. Her work focuses on the European Enlightenment and how that movement manifested itself in the city of Vienna in the late eighteenth century during a time of extensive political change. She writes on the ways that intellectuals sought to promote the Enlightenment through print and association. One major focus of her work is a group of freemasons who sought to transform the intellectual culture of Vienna into an academic center rivaling other capitals of the Republic of Letters.
At SUNY New Paltz, Professor Morrison teaches classes on Early Modern Europe, starting with the Renaissance and Reformation and ending with the French Revolution. She has taught on the experiences of Early Modern city life and on the intellectual and cultural history of the Enlightenment. She also regularly offers a section of the Modern Europe history survey. Upon returning from a research leave in Vienna, she will offer two new courses: one on “Science, Magic, and Religion in the 17th Century” and another on the history of youth culture in Europe that will be one of the Freshman Interest Group (FIG) seminars.