About
Clarence Jefferson Hall Jr., known by his lifelong nickname, Jeff, grew up in the wilds of Northern New York State. Childhood hiking, camping, skiing, and cycling excursions fueled an undying love for the outdoors. Living amidst the rich collection of historical monuments, museums, and roadside markers that dot New York’s North Country, Jeff also developed a love of history so deep that from a very young age he was determined to make it his career.
After graduating from Saranac High School in 1997, Jeff studied for a year at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh before transferring to the SUNY campus in Binghamton. As a first generation college student, Jeff took his studies seriously, graduating with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa from Binghamton in 2001. Jeff stayed on at Binghamton to complete a master’s degree in history. He was fortunate to work with scholars such as Melvyn Dubofsky, Sarah Elbert, Richard Lindstrom, Brendan McConville, and Tiffany Patterson. Their wisdom and guidance serve him well to this day.
Studying Environmental History and Prisons
Jeff gratefully accepted an offer to study in the Ph.D. program in History at Stony Brook University. Widely known and respected for its focus on environmental history and the history of public health and medicine, Stony Brook provided Jeff all the tools and resources he would need to begin his career as a historian.
As a student, Jeff learned in seminars led by a group of highly accomplished scholars, including Elizabeth Garber, Thomas Klubock, April Masten, Bill Miller, Donna Rilling, Joel Rosenthal, Chris Sellers, Nancy Tomes, and Kathleen Wilson. Jeff was also fortunate to learn the art of teaching history working with Susan Hinely, Helen Rodnite Lemay, April Masten, and Wolf Schafer. The History Department also afforded Jeff many opportunities to design and teach courses of his own. This experience proved invaluable once Jeff completed his studies and moved on to the next chapter of his professional life.
With the careful guidance of his advisor, Chris Sellers, and Ph.D. committee members Robert Chase, Connie Chiang, Donna Rilling, and Nancy Tomes, Jeff embarked on a project that, at the time, seemed unusual: an environmental history of incarceration. While researching and writing, Jeff also had the great of honor of presenting his work and forging new professional ties at the Conference on New York State History and annual meetings of the American Society for Environmental History and Organization of American Historians, among others. After years spent chasing down sources (including more than a few dead ends), thinking, writing, rethinking, and rewriting, Jeff completed his dissertation–entitled “Prisonland: Environment, Society, and Mass Incarceration on New York’s Northern Frontier, 1845-1999”–and earned a Ph.D. in History in May 2014.
Teacher and Scholar
Jeff received his first full-time teaching appointment less than six weeks after completing his Ph.D. In August 2014, he began a two-year stint as a substitute assistant professor (equivalent to a visiting assistant professor) in the Department of History at Queensborough Community College / CUNY in Bayside, Queens, New York. From 2014 to 2016, Hall gained valuable experience teaching both halves of the U.S. History survey course (five to six sections per semester!) while simultaneously learning the ins and outs of working full-time in an academic department. Jeff was both fortunate and honored to receive a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor of U.S. History in August 2016.
Freshly arrived copies of A Prison in the Woods being unboxed, November 2020.
College and University Service
Hall is an active member of the Queensborough community. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, Hall serves on a variety of departmental and college committees, and has been elected by his peers to serve on the college’s Academic Senate, the History Department’s Personnel & Budget Committee, and to represent Queensborough as a member of the union’s (Professional Staff Congress) Delegate Assembly. Jeff is particularly interested in initiatives and projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and in 2020 founded a first-of-its-kind Faculty and Staff Association for LGBTQ Faculty and Staff at Queensborough.
Public Engagement
Public engagement is also an important component of Jeff’s career as a teacher and scholar. Jeff has presented his work at academic conferences hosted by the American Society for Environmental History, New York State Historical Association, and Organization of American Historians. He has also introduced his research to general audiences across New York and the U.S. in public talks and news media interviews with outlets including CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, CTV News Channel, and others. Finally, Jeff also provides pro bono consulting to students and scholars working at the intersection of carceral and environmental studies. To schedule a public talk or interview, please send Jeff a message using the Contact section of this website.
