Johnathan Thayer

Johnathan Thayer, Assistant Professor 

Rosenthal Library, Room 249

Graduate School of Library and Information Studies

Queens College, City University of New York

Phone: (718) 997-3757

E-mail: jthayer@qc.cuny.edu


Education


Work Experience

Former Senior Archivist, Seamen’s Church Institute (NY, NY) (2010-2021)

Academic Positions : 


Courses Taught: 


Research & Professional Interests

I teach classes based on my experiences in the field of professional archival and public history work, with a focus on fundamentals of archival practice, including archival appraisal and documentation, access systems, digitization, local history, public history, and the preservation of cultural materials. My approach to teaching archival theory focuses on answering the question “Why do archives matter?” and translating the discussions that follow into opportunities for archival advocacy. My approach to teaching public history draws on fundamentals and best practices in library science and archival studies.

I am interested in local history as a liberatory daily practice, and the ways in which history can be activated toward deeper, progressive engagement with community and citizenship. I seek to contribute to a theory of public history practice that draws on philosophies of history, archives, and memory.

My research interests include intersections between maritime and urban history; maritime cultural heritage; and critical approaches to archival education and the practice of public history.

I interpret my role as a faculty member as that of a facilitator whose primary task is to ensure that archival education and public history at GSLIS is as inclusive and diverse as possible. To that end, I seek collaboration with like-minded practitioners, academics, institutions, and professional organizations.

In addition to work on publications and conference presentations, I have coordinated student-led collaborations with Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground and Documentation Services at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. I am also the lead researcher on Mapping New York City's Sailortown, which uses digitized archival material and data visualization to represent the cultural palimpsests of New York's historical waterfront. Other projects include the Seamen’s Church Institute’s American Merchant Marine Veterans Oral History Project, a publicly accessible digital archive consisting of over 800 audio clips from interviews with more than 70 veteran merchant mariners. Beginning in 2010, I have been the lead archivist for the Seamen’s Church Institute’s Digital Archives, which hosts more than 12,000 digital archival items. I am a partner with Queens Memory.


Selected Publications

Books

 Thayer, Johnathan. Citizenship, Subversion, and Surveillance in U.S. Ports: Sailors Ashore. Global Studies in Social and Cultural Maritime History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023. https://link.springer.com/book/9783031456176

 Downing, Karen, Thayer, Johnathan, and Begiato, Joanne, eds. Negotiating Masculinities and Modernity in the Maritime World, 1815-1940. Global Studies in Social and Cultural Maritime History. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-77946-7


Journal Articles

Thayer, Johnathan and Wallach, Lori DiBella. “Intergenerational Public History at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground.” Public Historian 47, no. 4 (2025). (special issue proposal accepted)

Thayer, Johnathan. “”Fugitive Slave / Fugitive Sailor”: Mobility and the Rhetoric of Emancipation in U.S. Progressive Era Maritime Reform.” Northern Mariner 35, no. 1 (2024). (in press)

Thayer, Johnathan and Dreisbach-Williams, Stefan. "Early Innovations in Maritime Telemedical Services: The KDKF Radio Medico Station." Journal of the Medical Library Association 111, no. ½ (2023): 625-629. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2023.1567 

Williams, Constance B. and Thayer, Johnathan. "Connecting Community College Students to Primary Source Archival Materials." College and Undergraduate Libraries, (2020): 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2020.1739585 

Thayer, Johnathan. "Mythmaking and the Archival Record: The Titanic Disaster as Documented in the Archives of the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey." The American Archivist 75, no. 2 (2012): 393-421. https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.75.2.0qh07764615770x4 


Chapters in Books

Thayer, Johnathan and Pagan, Erik. “Accommodating and Enabling Anxiety Disorders and Agoraphobia in Digital Access Systems for Cultural Heritage.” in Curating Access: Disability Art Activism and Creative Accommodations. London: Routledge, 2022. https://www.routledge.com/Curating-Access-Disability-Art-Activism-and-Creative-Accommodation/Cachia/p/book/9780367775230 

Thayer, Johnathan. “Sailors’ Homes”: Sailors’ Boardinghouses, Maritime Reform, and Contested Masculinities in New York’s Sailortown." In Negotiating Masculinities and Modernity in the Maritime World, 1815-1940, edited by Karen Downing, Johnathan Thayer, and Joanne Begiato. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-77946-7 

Downing, Karen., Thayer, Johnathan, Begiato, Joanne. "Introduction: A Sailor's Progress?" In Negotiating Masculinities and Modernity in the Maritime World, 1815-1940, edited by Karen Downing, Johnathan Thayer, and Joanne Begiato. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-77946-7 

Fontánez Rodríguez, Cristina, Hernández, Pedro Juan, and Thayer, Johnathan. “Connecting Graduate Library and Information Studies Students with Ethnic Studies Archives: Towards a Community-Centered Model for Archival Education.” In Ethnic Studies in Academic and Research Libraries, edited by Ray Pun, Melissa Cardenas-Dow, and Kenya S. Flash. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2021. https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/ethnic-studies-academic-and-research-libraries 

Thayer, Johnathan. "Sailors Ashore in New York’s Sailortown." In City of Labor, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York, edited by Joshua B. Freeman. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019. http://cup.columbia.edu/book/city-of-workers-city-of-struggle/9780231191937 

Thayer, Johnathan. "Merchant Seamen, Sailortowns, and the Philanthropic Encounter in New York City’s Sailortown." In The New Coastal History: Cultural, Urban and Environmental Perspectives, edited by David Worthington. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-64090-7 


Editorial Board


Peer Reviewer


Book Reviews

Thayer. Johnathan. "Review of Miller, R. H. W.. One Firm Anchor: The Church and the Merchant Seafarer." The International Journal of Maritime History XXV, 1 (2013): 404-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/084387141302500162 


Public Writing

Thayer, Johnathan. (2020). “Gabe: A Tribute to the U.S. Merchant Mariner Veterans of WWII.” Gotham: A Blog for Scholars of New York City History (https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/gabe-a-tribute-to-the-us-merchant-mariner-veterans-of-world-war-ii) 

Thayer, Johnathan. (2016). “Is Coastal History Public History?,” Firths and Fjords: Comparative Historical Perspectives on Adjacent Coasts (https://firthsandfjords.com/2016/05/02/is-coastal-history-public-history/) 

Thayer, Johnathan. (2016). “On Records and Recognition.” The Seamen’s Church Institute Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20200729113758/https://seamenschurch.org/article/on-records-and-recognition-follow-up-on-women-and-children-coastwise-mariners-of-wwii 

Thayer, Johnathan. (2015). “Twenty-Four Hours On the Charles W. Morgan: Thoughts on the Maritime History of the Oil Industry.” The Seamen’s Church Institute Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20200729103716/https://seamenschurch.org/article/twenty-four-hours-on-the-charles-w-morgan-thoughts-on-the-maritime-history-of-the-oil 

Thayer, Johnathan. (2014). “Living History at Sea: Recording Oral Histories on the SS John W. Brown.” The Seamen’s Church Institute Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928052822/https://seamenschurch.org/article/living-history-at-sea-recording-oral-histories-on-the-ss-john-w-brown 

Thayer, Johnathan. (2014). “Seafarers and the Thirteenth Amendment.” The Seamen’s Church Institute Archives. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928045603/https://seamenschurch.org/article/seafarers-and-the-thirteenth-amendment  

Thayer, Johnathan. “For the Gallant Men of the Merchant Marine: The Merchant Marine and Seamen's Church Institute during World War II,” Sea History 114 (2013): 24-27. https://issuu.com/seahistory/docs/sh_144_autumn-2013/27 

Thayer, Johnathan and Parker, Christine. “Collaboration and Digitization: Transitions in Collections Access at the Seamen’s Church Institute Archives.” Metropolitan Archivist 18, 2 (2012): 15-16. https://www.nycarchivists.org/resources/Pictures/Metropolitan_Archivist/Metropolitan-Archivist-Vol-18-No-2.pdf 


Conference Presentations: 

Agish, Meral, Anderson, Kalli, Fontánez Rodríguez, Cristina, Martinez, Mariado, Thayer, Johnathan, Wallach, Lori. (2023). “Good for Everyone: Developing Student Projects for Long-Term Benefits.” Paper presented at the Oral History Association conference, Baltimore, MD. 

Thayer, Johnathan (2023). “Merchant Seamen and the Parameters of Involuntary Servitude.” Paper presented at the Canadian Nautical Research Society conference, St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Thayer, Johnathan (2023). “The Specter of “Alien Seamen” in the U.S. Maritime Imagination.” Paper presented at the North American Society for Oceanic History conference, San Diego, CA.

Thayer, Johnathan (2022). “Oral History as Platform for Rhizomatic Documentation of Cultural Heritage: The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground." Paper presented at the Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI) conference, digital.

Thayer, Johnathan and Dreisbach-Williams, Stefan (2021). “Early Innovations in Maritime Telemedical Services: The Seamen’s Church Institute of New York’s KDKF Radio Medico Station.” Paper presented at the McMullen Naval History Symposium conference, Annapolis, MD.

Thayer, Johnathan (2021). “Deserters, Stowaways, and Malafide Seamen: The Records Life-Cycle of the 1930 Merchant Seamen Census." Paper presented at the Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI) conference, digital.

Thayer, Johnathan (2021). “Towards a Digital Coastal History of New York City.” Paper presented at the Institute of Historical Research Coastal Connections “Digital Coasts” seminar, digital.

Litvin, Sarah and Thayer, Johnathan. (2019). "Problems in Partnerships: Addressing Institutional Difference in a Collaborative World.” Paper presented at the American Association for State and Local History and International Coalition of Sites of Conscience conference, Philadelphia PA.

Thayer, Johnathan and Tummino, Annie. (2019). "A Community-Centered Model for Archival Education: A Proposal-in-Progress for an Embedded Fellowship Program for Archival Studies Students." Paper presented at the Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI) conference, Liverpool, UK.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2019) "Sailors Ashore: Sailortowns as Portals to National and Global Reckonings." Paper presented at the North American Society for Oceanic History, “Connecting the Global and the Local: The Sea and Maritime Cities,” New Bedford, MA.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2019). "Andrew Furuseth, the International Seamen's Union, and the Political Ideology of Maritime Masculinity." Paper presented at the Global Maritime History conference “Maritime Toxic Masculinity,” digital.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2019)."A 101-Introduction to Digitization of (Maritime) Cultural Materials." Paper presented at the Floating Conference on Digital Maritime Heritage, Brooklyn, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan and Cirasella, Jill. (co-Moderators). (2017). "Preparing Graduate Students for Careers in Academic Librarianship." Panel at the LACUNY Institute, Queens, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2016). "Mapping Masculinites in New York City’s Sailortown." Paper presented at the “Maritime Masculinities” conference, Oxford, UK.

Thayer, Johnathan, Wallach, Lori, Hartmann, Rudy, Garrison, Robbie, Fontánez Rodriguez, Cristina, Delgado, Jeffrey, and Carra, Regina. (2016). "Resurrecting Local Public History at the Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground." Paper presented at the CUNY Public History Conference, “Afterlives: Place, Memory, Story,” NY, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (Chair). (2016). "Reaching New Audiences, Repurposing Old Materials." Panel at the CUNY Public History Collective Conference, “Afterlives: Place, Memory, Story,” NY, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2016). "Text Mining, Data Visualization, and Archival Theory and Practice." Paper presented at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, PIttsburgh, PA.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2016). "Merchant Seamen, Masculinity, and the Philanthropic Encounter in New York City’s Sailortown." Paper presented at the “Firths and Fjords: A Coastal History Conference,” University of the Highlands and Islands, Dornoch, Scotland.

Breir, Stephen., Vazquez, Andrea., Battistella, Marcos, and Thayer. Johnathan. (2015) "Technical and Conceptual Challenges of Developing the CUNY Digital History Archive (CDHA)". Paper presented at the CUNY IT Conference, NY, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (Moderator). (2015). "Alternative Career Paths for Archivists." Panel at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, Roanoke, VA.

Litvin, Sarah and Thayer, Johnathan. (2015). "Oral History as Living History: Archives, Documentaries, Advocacy, Historical Interpretation, and Tours of Historical Sites." Paper presented at the New England Regional Conference of the Association for Living History, Farm, and Agricultural Museums, Mystic, CT.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2015). "The Haystack: Who Controls the Archive in the Age of Big Data?" Paper presented at the CUNY Graduate History Conference, “Identities, Ideologies, and Interactions: Conceptualizing New Histories,” NY, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2015). "The Seamen’s Church Institute’s American Merchant Marine Veterans Oral History Project: An Archival Intervention." Paper presented at the American Historical Association Annual Meeting, NY, NY.

Thayer, Johnathan. (2014). "Shore Leave Denial in Historical Context: A Timeline of Restricted Mobility and Unfree Labor at Sea and in Port." Paper presented at the “Health and Welfare of Seafarers Conference.” Paper presented at "The Health and Welfare of Seafarers" conference at the Maritime Historical Studies Centre, University of Hull, UK.