History Professor Sam Mitrani earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2009, joined the COD history faculty in 2011 and wrote a book, “The Rise of the Chicago Police Department Class and Conflict, 1850-1894,” in 2014. Teaching is where he wants to be, and he encourages students to select a history class of interest to them.
Mitrani’s personal story shaped his professional life. He grew up on the East Coast, living part time with his hippie father in the Vermont woods with no electricity or running water—a lifestyle he grew to love—and part time with his mother in New York.
“It was the contrast between those two lives that made me interested in history and also made me critical of the idea that the way we live is the way we have to live,” Mitrani said. “It’s not just that some people get to live well because they have money and other people live terribly because they don’t. It’s not that simple.”
Contact Mitrani at mitraniv@cod.edu or (630) 942-3131.
Areas of Expertise
- History of Israel and Palestine
- History of Chicago Police Department
- History of Work and Workers
- African American History
- Chicago History