Daniel O’Neil: A Professor Who Refuses to Shy Away From Controversy

When I walked into my Modern Middle East class last semester, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was the only class that I, an unhappy Biology major at the time, was really looking forward to. Any expectations that I did have were completely overshadowed by the reality of the well-organized, fascinating, relevant, and important course that followed. I never had to sit in class and wonder why the material mattered, because the connection to today’s world and current events was almost always immediantly discernable. Even with the rich content, without the amazing professor who taught the class, it wouldn’t have been half as meaningful.

Professor O’Neil is an adjunct professor at Saint Michael’s, and he is an intriguing lecturer who all his students appreciate. He goes beyond the call of duty to fully support and advise his pupils on everything from valid sources for your final paper in his class, to whether or not you are in the major that is right for you. Speaking from personal experience, Professor O’Neil has literally changed the direction of my entire college career (and beyond). He convinced me that I didn’t have to suffer through a major that I couldn’t fully commit myself to, and helped me to realize that if you are in a field that you are passionate about, you have the potential to excel. I went from an unhappy Biology major to a thoroughly intrigued Political Science / History major by the end of the class. Suffice it to say, he is a pretty interesting and intelligent guy who specializes in very multifaceted topics. 

(Professor O’Neil is pictured second from the right, directly next to Mickey Mouse)

Her Campus: What topics do you specialize in?

Daniel O’Neil: I specialize in history of the Modern Middle East. My focus has been on Iranian history and the Arab / Israeli conflict. I also focus on the history of everyday life and material culture, and public history.

HC: What do you teach at SMC?

DON: I only teach history of the Modern Middle East (HI-121), which is a history of the region from the downfall of the Ottoman Empire to as close to the present as we are able to make it in a semester. We deal with contemporary issues as well.

HC: What are some things that you like to do in your (I’m sure quite limited) spare time?

DON: Well, I have a hobby that has hobbies within the hobby. I am an avid historical reenactor, and so I can be found at historical sites throughout New England, dressed in eighteenth century clothing, reenacting. Within that hobby (my daughter comes with me to do it), I have several other things. I enjoy leather work. I make things out of leather, I’ve made her shoes [gestures to his daughter who is coloring in the corner of the room], and I do a lot of wood carving as well. So, I do a lot of leather work and wood carving, but historical reenacting is a real passion. I’ve been doing it in different iterations since I was fifteen.

HC: What has your experience teaching at St. Mike’s been like? I know that you have taught at other colleges as well, so how would you compare that experience ot St. Mike’s?

DON: St. Mike’s really is incredibly dedicated to its students, and that is really apparent from your first few days teaching here. It’s an expectation for the instructors that you dedicate your time to helping your students learn, helping them expand their intellectual boundaries, and that is really something that St Mike’s really has going for it. I went to a small school in the middle of New Hampshire and everything was really intimate. You got to know your professors really well, and they actually cared that you did well, and St Mike’s is the same way.

HC: How do you feel that being an adjunct at St. Mike’s has impacted your experiences here?

DON: I can’t speak for all departments, however in the history department, I have never been treated any different being an adjunct. My colleagues have treated me as if I were a full-fledged member of the department. They value my input on things, I value their input on things, and they really have made me feel like I was a part of the family, so to speak, and I have always felt that my contributions have been respected and appreciated here.

HC: If you could create a course at SMC, what would it be?

DON: Oh goodness [chuckles]. I wish I could say just one but there are dozens. I’d love to do a course just on the Arab / Israeli conflict, because the Arab / Israeli conflict has really been at the center of so much turmoil in the Middle East in the 20th century, and it’s unfortunately so oversimplified by sources that you find here in the West, and it’s an incredibly complex issue that brings into account several nations, several cultures, religious traditions, and I’d love to be able to explore that really in depth. The other one would be the Iranian Revolution, which is another fascinating, incredibly nuanced, revolution that often gets oversimplified by other sources.

HC: You teach what could be considered a pretty controversial topic. How do you deal wih this potential controversy in the classroom?

DON: Controversy… well, I decide that we’re not going to run away from it, we’re going to run towards it. Controversy is part of it. You can’t avoid these things, so let’s run toward the controversy and let’s deal with it. But, I take very seriously the fact that my course may be some of the first experience that some of the students have with the Middle East, and that they are dealing with a lot of misconceptions that may have been promoted throughout most of their lives, and I have a big responsibility to represent a very critical region of the world.

HC: Yeah, especially in Vermont, which is such a bubble.

DON: Well, even though Vermont is a bubble, you can still experience culture. Vermont actually has a very vibrant Muslim community from all around the world, and it’s incredibly diverse, and they are very active in the community, doing really wonderful things.

HC: There is a lot of misinformation floating around (especially in some corners of the internet) about the region and topics that you teach. How do you deal with this both with students, and in the world outside of the classroom?

DON: [Chuckles] It requires a great deal of patience, I will say that. Unfortunately, people have misconceptions about the Middle East, and unfortunately they won’t go away, no matter how much education is provided. So, I try to provide an atmosphere where we look at the preconceptions, we look at the stereotypes, we try to deconstruct them and look at them from a different angle. One of the things I really try to impress upon people both in class and out in the community is when you look at the Middle East, you cannot look at the stereotype, you can’t look at the image presented in the media. You really have to remind yourself and remember that these are people, and in fact while they may speak a different language, live in a different region of the world, ultimately their hopes, their desires, their lives, are very similar to ours. They want their children to go to good schools, they want their children to have happy lives, they want to live in a country that’s safe, they want to be able to have economic opportunities. These are all things that are endemic in the human race, and you can’t just paint them with a broad brush. These are incredibly complex, sophisticated societies, and one thing that really bothers me is when people grossly oversimplify it, and say “well, all Arabs believe this”, or “all Muslims believe this.” I say, “well, that’s not fair”, because you can’t say all Americans believe something. They have just as sophisticated a society as any other on the planet, and that’s worthy of at least some respect.

HC: What is one piece of advice that you would give to a St Mike’s student?

DON: One leads into the other. I’d say, learn a foreign language. You must learn a second language. Americans are actually notorious the world over for only be able to speak one language, and part of it is our geography, but learn to speak another language because it opens up so many doors to you. It opens up doors for you to expand your cultural knowledge, it opens up employment opportunities for you. The other thing is, get the opportunity to study abroad. Experience the world beyond our shores, because really it’s your life experiences that will help you succeed, and having those skills for success will be really critical.

HC: Finally, please pick three words to describe yourself.

DON: Eccentric, dedicated, and inquisitive.