Author: William J. Connell

William J. Connell (b. 1958) is a professor of history at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He specializes in Italian history. His works explore the connections between Medieval and early modern Italy and modern society, politics, and culture. Connell has authored and contributed to a number of books on Italian and Italian American history, including Florentine Tuscany: Structures and Practices of Power (2000), Society and Individual in Renaissance Florence (2002), and Anti-Italianism: Essays on a Prejudice (2010). 

What Columbus Day Really Means

William J. Connell

In the face of growing public criticisms of Columbus and objections to celebrating Columbus Day, American historian and educator William J. Connell (b. 1958), writing in 2010, undertakes a defense of the holiday.