David Contosta, Ph.D. Professor of History History and Political Science Department Office Location:  St. Joseph Hall, Room 217 Office Phone:  215.248.7190 E-Mail:  contosta@chc.edu

Educational Background 

• Ph.D., History, Miami University of Ohio, 1973
• Fulbright Scholar to France
• Visiting Scholar, Cambridge University

Courses Taught 

• History of Chestnut Hill
• U.S. in the 20th Century
• America and the 1960's
• Progressive America
• Philadelphia and Pennsylvania History
• United States History Surveys
• Cities and Suburbs
• Civil War
• The Presidency

Selected Publications 

Author of approximately 100 articles, reviews, and scholarly papers, including:

• "Philadelphia's Miniature Williamsburg: The Colonial Revival and Germantown's Market Square, "Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (October 1996), pp. 1-39
• "Suburban Quasi Government in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (July 1992), pp. 259-293
  "Architecture and the American Survey," The History Teacher (November, 1984), pp. 17-43
• "Origins of Early Domestic Architecture in Lancaster, Ohio, "The Old Northwest (Full 1981), pp. 201-216
• Charles Peguy, critique du monde moderne, "Feuillets Mensuels de l'Amitie Charles Peguy," 209 (April 1976), pp. 11-18
• "John Ruskin on Pollution and Moral Responsibility, "Phi Kappa Phi Journal (Fall 1972), pp. 64-69

Author of 20 books, including:

• Henry Adams and the American Experiment. Boston: Litle, Brown, 1980. (hardcover and paper).
• America in the Twentieth Century. New York: HarperCollins, 1988.
• A Philadelphia Family. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988. (hardcover and paper).
• Lancaster, Ohio: Frontier Town to Edge City, 1800-2000. 1999.
• Saint Joseph's: Philadelphia's Jesuit University: 150 Years. 2000.
• Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill Philadelphia. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1992. (hardcover and paper).
• Villanova University: America--Catholic--Augustinian.1842-1992. University Park, PA.: Penn State University Press, 1995.
• Pennsylvania's Progressive Orphanage: The Carson Valley School 1918-1993 (Penn State Press, 1997).
• Rebel Giants The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books 2008.
• Metropolitan Paradise: The Struggle for Nature in the City: Philadelphia's Wissahickon Valley, 1620-2020., Philadelphia: St. Joseph's University Press, 2010.
• Dr. Contosta is currently working on a documentary film based on his book, Metropolitan Paradise.

Honors and Awards 

• Nanjing University, Nanjing China, 2008
• Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2006
• Chestnut Hill Community Association Award, 2005
• Eli Lilly Endowment, Writer for Yale Project on Colleges Founded by Catholic Women's Religious, 1983-87.
• Commonwealth Speaker, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, 1983-84, 1998-99.
• American Philosophical Society, Travel Grant, 1982
• Fulbright Scholar, to France, 1972-73
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1967
• Who's Who in the World
• Who's Who in American Education
• Who's Who in the East
• Contemporary Authors