CSULA History Department

Congratulations to the history department's Professor Dawn Dennis and to Department of Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies Professor Lani Cupchoy on the publication of their co-authored article, "Watts Teach-In: “Restorative Histories” through Activist-Led Scholarship," California History, 99 (4): 82-97.

Watts Teach-In: “Restorative Histories” through Activist-Led Scholarship This article explores the practice of community-based projects emerging from Los Angeles, specifically Watts. We argue for activist-led scholarship rooted in “restorative histories” to shift the power relationship back into the hands of BIPOC communities. In this essay, we join the existing rich...

Congratulations to Professor Angela Vergara on the publication of her new article on Chinchilla Breeding and Domestication!!

From Wilderness to Breeding Farms: The Domestication of the Chinchilla lanigera When Mathias Chapman opened his first chinchilla breeding farm in Southern California, he also saved the fur trade industry.

Immensely proud that the American Historical Association has awarded the Cal State LA History Department its 2022 Equity Award for excellence in recruiting and retaining underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the historical disciplineII

American Historical Association Announces 2022 Prize Winners The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 prizes.

It's late notice, but if you are on campus please join us for the following event at 12:15:

Please join Phi Alpha Theta on Tuesday afternoon for this event featuring the department's own Afshin Matin-Asgari:

Please join us for this event on the life and times of Mikhail Gorbachev:

Please join us on Zoom for "Environmental Landscapes: The Indigenous Garden at Cal State LA" on September 22 from 6-8. More details, and the names of the Cal State LA history department students and alumni on the event panel, are on the flier below:

Please join us for this lecture by the history department's own amazing Stan Burstein - details below!!

Join us tomorrow from 4-6 for "Resistance and Empowerment through the Work of Mervyn M. Dymally" at the Library Innovation Hub. The event is sponsored by the American Communities Program.

Please join us for this in-person American Communities Program event tomorrow night at 6 pm, featuring History Professors Birte Pfleger and Sara Pugach, as well as Music Professor John Kennedy.

It's late notice, I know, but we hope you can join us for this event on with faculty today from 3-4 pm.

Join us on November 17 at 11:30 a.m. PST for Professor Angela Vergara's talk on Politics in Contemporary Chile and the Historical Background to the country's Social Upheaval in 2019. Open to the Public; Zoom details below:

https://calendar.richmond.edu/page.html?eventid=19537&informationid=casData,startdate:2021-11-17,enddate:2021-11-17,starttime:143000,endtime:151500

Social and Labor Struggles in Neoliberal Chile Visiting scholar Dr. Ángela Vergara explores current politics in Chile by providing the historical context for Chile's 2019 social upheaval and push to rewrite the constitution. The session will also feature an account of student movements given by Dr. Nicolás Valenzuela, one of the founding membe...

Please join us tomorrow, November 9, from 5-7 p.m. for the launch of "The Public Memory Project" Exhibit on Narratives of the Incarcerated and formerly Incarcerated. Zoom link details provided on the flier below:

Join us for this event at the Historical Society of Southern California on 10/29, featuring CSULA History Department Professor Lani Cupchoy and CSULA Archivist Azalea Camacho!!

Please join us on October 14 for this exciting event with Dawn Amber and Jorge Muñoz!

California State University, Los Angeles has honored Professor Choi Chatterjee with the President’s Distinguished Professor Award, which “goes to a previous outstanding professor recipient, acknowledges the faculty member’s superlative teaching and exceptional commitment to students, as well as professional accomplishments and services.” Congratulations to Professor Chatterjee! Read all about it here:

https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/cal-state-la-history-department-chair-choi-chatterjee-honored-with-president-s-distinguished-professor-award/article_47fb65f8-0179-11ec-b865-d76653012f6e.html

Cal State LA History Department Chair Choi Chatterjee Honored with President’s Distinguished Professor Award Prof. Choi Chatterjee of Cal State LA, and chair of the Department of History, was recognized for her excellence in teaching and outstanding achievements during the university convocation held Aug.

Cal State LA History Department Alumnus John Gripentrog is also now the Chair of the Department of History, Political Science, and Religion/Philosophy at Mars Hill University:

https://www.mhu.edu/staff/gripentrog-john/

Gripentrog, John - Mars Hill University John Gripentrog (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006) specializes in U.S. history, with particular emphasis on United States foreign relations. His teaching and scholarly interests range widely, from the political, social, and cultural aspects of the American experience to the history of US...

Some good news from history department alum John Gripentrog! After getting his PhD from UW Madison, he became a Professor at Mars Hill University in NC, and has now published his first book! Check it out!

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538149430/Prelude-to-Pearl-Harbor-Ideology-and-Culture-in-US-Japan-Relations-1919–1941

Prelude to Pearl Harbor: Ideology and Culture in US-Japan Relations, 1919–1941 Reconsidering the origins of WWII in Asia and the Pacific, this book focuses on interactions between the United States and Japan during the interwar period. Challenging and amplifying accepted int...

Please join us on September 16 for a book talk with Professor Angela Vergara!!

https://twitter.com/DavidMacMarqui1/status/1435971524792569856

Dave "Mac" Marquis on Twitter “Mark your calendar for 's upcoming book talk. We'll discuss 's new book, *Fighting Unemployment in Twentieth Century Chile* Sept 16, 7PM EDT Register:https://t.co/GpbVHH3nSM”

Dear Students,
The History Department at Cal State LA is delighted to welcome you to back to campus. Despite the problems created by the covid-19 pandemic, please know that your Professors are dedicated to your welfare and want to help you meet your academic goals. Please contact the History Department if you have questions about your program. We hope that 2021-2022 will be a better year for everyone.
With my very best wishes,
Dr. Choi Chatterjee
Chair, History Department,
California State University, Los Angeles

Please check out the entire Mervyn M. Dymally Online Exhibit, curated and processed with a Cal Humanities Grant awarded to Dawn Amber!

https://calstatela-exhibits.libraryhost.com/exhibits/show/mervyn-m--dymally-bridgebuilde

Mervyn M. Dymally: The Bridge-Builder of Los Angeles · California State University - Los Angeles Mervyn M. Dymally: The Bridge-Builder of Los Angeles This exhibition features public educator, California State University, Los Angeles alumni, and politician Mervyn M. Dymally (1926 -2012), a Trinidadian immigrant who became the first Black Lt. Governor of California. Dymally emigrated from Trinida...

Professor Sara Pugach's Public History class gave Zoom presentations on the research they have done for the online Exhibit. They did an incredible job discussing the foreign policy achievements of Dymally, California's first Black Lieutenant Governor (1975-1979) and a member of the US House of Representatives (1981-1993). Thanks also go to Dawn Amber, who invited the class to participate. Cal State LA History students are amazing!!

Fascinating story about the oldest burial site found in Africa:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/science/earliest-human-burial-africa.html?action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage

Child’s Grave Is Earliest Known Burial Site in Africa A child laid to rest 78,000 years ago yields clues to early human burials in East Africa.

Tomorrow (May 6) Professor Pugach will be participating in this online discussion about German Colonialism and its Aftermaths through the Wiener Holocaust Library in London; the event runs from 11 am to 12 pm PST:

https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/event/virtual-talk-german-colonialism-and-its-aftermaths/

Virtual Talk: German Colonialism and its Aftermaths - The Wiener Holocaust Library This virtual event will reflect upon the connections between German colonialism and later periods and its impact on ex-colonies and Germany in the twentieth century and today.

Here's the latest article by Angela Vergara, written in Spanish: https://observatoriohp.cl/2021/04/19/la-lucha-por-un-trabajo-digno-y-estable-fragmentos-de-una-historia-del-desempleo/

La lucha por un trabajo digno y estable: Fragmentos de una historia del desempleo | Observatorio de Historia y Política Un antiguo dirigente recordaba, que en los campamentos del cobre, «el gr**go daba un grito, y el trabajador quedaba tiritando». Este abuso de autoridad refleja la profunda desigualdad que definía las relaciones laborales en el Chile de mediados del siglo XX, un exceso de poder que se expresaba en...

Join the library at 12:30 today for an author panel about Migrant Justice and Political Activism in Children's Literature, in honor of Día del Niñe:

The History Department now has a Twitter feed!! Follow us .