Herbert Fischer
Adjunct Lecturer
Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice
EMAIL: hfischer@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office:
Office Hours: Fridays, 10 am-11 am
Phone:
Herbert Fischer, a professor of history and political science at BMCC, was a finalist during the Spring 2019 semester for a Distinguished Teaching Award at BMCC, an honor selected for excellent, dynamic teaching in the college classroom. When teaching, Fischer likes to employ a humorous, engaging teaching style that employs humor and rigorous pedagogy.
In addition to his role as a professor, Fischer served as an award-winning social studies teacher at Evander Childs High School in the Bronx during the 1990s, then at Teaneck High School in the early 2000s, and finally at Manhattan’s Wadleigh High School in Manhattan for 14 years until 2016. At all three schools, Fischer developed first-ever law programs while there, developing law-related curriculum and inviting world-famous, FBI, DEA agents, and attorneys to address class. He also arranged his students to serve on the set of Peoples’ Court and to render decisions as jurors in mock criminal trials performed by college law students.
When not teaching, Fischer is a licensed NYC tour guide, delivering two-hour walking tours to arcane neighborhoods on the lower east side of Manhattan and arcane neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. He uses the experiences of these tours to deliver interactive lectures at libraries on the history of NYC and the history of NYC baseball.
Before becoming a teacher and professor, Fischer began his career as an investigative reporter on the Elizabeth Daily Journal in the 1980s, then as an editor on a series of Bergen County, NJ weeklies. As an editor there, he developed his own baseball column called “Mr. Baseball,” where he would lend personal insight about the Mets and Yankees.
Expertise
History, Political Science, Economics.
MA in History from New York University (1992)
MA in Social Studies Education from New York University (1992)
BA in Journalism and Political Science from Lehigh University (1984)
Degrees
MA and BA
Courses Taught
- The history, development, and intellectual origin of American government are studied and analyzed. Special consideration is given to the structure and operation of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches, and the role of government and politics in a modern industrial society.
- This course analyzes the societies of Western civilization from their origin to early modern times. The major social, economic, political, religious and intellectual developments are examined and their impact on the development of modern Western civilization is traced.
- In this historical survey of the emergence and development of a recognizable science and technology, the interrelationships between science and technology will be brought out. Some of the principal topics considered include science and technology in prehistory; ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek science and culture; Medieval medical technology and science; the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century; Darwinian evolution; the conquest of epidemic diseases; and the development of nuclear weapons. Critical analysis will cover the nature of scientific ideas, the scientific method and scientific change; the structure of scientific communities; relations between science, technology, and medicine; and the place of science in modern society.
- This course traces the growth of the modern Western world to the present. It surveys the political, economic and social foundations of contemporary civilization.
- In this course, the history of the United States from the Colonial period to the Civil War is studied and the major political, economic, and social problems of the new nation are analyzed.
- This continued study of American history emphasizes the emergence of an industrial economy, an urban society, world responsibility and the expanded federal government.
Research and Projects
- Professional journalist and editor
- High school program coordinator
- Licensed NYC tour guide.
Publications
- How Much of a Role Should Technology Play In the Classroom? By Herbert Fischer
- A Compendium of Poems on Current Events
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
- Distinguished Teaching Finalist
