The History Department is proud to announce that Marissa Hull has been awarded a 2026 ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship. The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Leading Edge Fellowship Program supports outstanding early-career PhDs in the humanities and social sciences as they join the work of mission-driven nonprofit organizations. The program is made possible by...
On April 23, 2025, Hailee Menchaca, a Ph.D. candidate in History, received the highly competitive UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Fellowship at the University of California, Riverside, at the Graduate Division Award Ceremony. Hailee will receive a full year of support from this fellowship, allowing her to dedicate herself entirely to her research, releasing her from teaching...
What happens when you let your curiosity guide your course catalog? In this episode, Cabe Cano, Quân Bùi, and Carson Clark share how studying the past reshaped the way they understand the present— asking how, when, and by whom events get recorded. Their stories make the case for exploring widely and seeing just how diverse...
Georg Michels, a professor of history at UC Riverside, has won the 2026 Richard F. Gustafson Guggenheim Fellowship in Slavic Studies, one of only three named fellowships awarded by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. “I am overjoyed and deeply honored to receive this award,” said Michels, a historian of early modern Russia and Ukraine...
Nathan Ayala, a fourth-year student double majoring in History and Russian Studies, has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Kyrgyzstan. The Fulbright Program is a major flagship international exchange initiative of the U.S. government. As an English Teaching Assistant, Nathan will teach English at a Kyrgyz university. During his four years at UCR...
Xiao Chen, Assistant Professor of History, has received a Luce/ACLS Early Career Long-Term Fellowship in China Studies to support the completion of his first book manuscript, Punishment, Frontier, and Ethnicity in the Making of the Qing Empire (1636–1912). The project examines how the Qing Empire used convict transportation, penal labor, and coerced migration to govern...
UCR history students continue to pursue ambitious and innovative research, investigating everything from tourism and colonialism in Panama to nuclear energy diplomacy in Chile, from ancient Roman political dynamics to the digital histories of video games and film. These compelling investigations represent just some of the work History students presented at the 2026 Undergraduate Research...
Nolan Taylor, Devin Conston, and Alana Vazquez, three UCR students majoring in History, discuss the way the discipline has transformed how they see the world around them. From questioning the infrastructures we take for granted to examining how and when events get recorded (and by whom!) these students use history to challenge assumptions and imagine...
Two UCR students majoring in History discuss their archival research and hands-on approaches to history. They also detail their favorite classes and how history has challenged them to see the world differently Highlander Historians Podcast
History Professor Fariba Zarinebaf has assembled an online forum on Monday, February 9th at 4:30 pm PST on the recent protests and civil unrest in Iran. For more information, please see https://events.ucr.edu/event/crisis-in-iran.
Over 50 students joined the History Department's Spring Course Preview! Faculty pitched their upcoming spring quarter courses, students networked with fellow History majors, and attendees learned about internship and research opportunities—all while enjoying food and the chance to win raffle prizes.
Three UCR seniors majoring in History discuss their favorite classes, their best UCR experiences, and the possibilities of history. Along the way, they give shout-outs to UCDC and the McNair Scholars Program while reflecting on what draws them to the study of the past—and where it might take them next! Highlander Historians Podcast
Where does a history major go? In this episode, we take you beyond the classroom—from study abroad experiences to the UCDC and even Comic Con. Hear from history majors about the adventures that shaped their scholarship and expanded their understanding of the past. We highlight the power and voices of women's histories and explore the...
Ever wonder what makes someone choose to study history in 2025? In our debut episode, we sit down with three UCR history students to talk about favorite classes, unforgettable readings, and which historical figure they'd like to meet. Plus: time travel lightning round. Highlander Historians Podcast
The Department honored 4 undergraduate students at our Spring Banquet who won awards for their research. Anastasia Manvelyan won the Cornerstone Award for a paper entitled “ ‘Well! Burn me, or hang me, I will stand in the truth of Christ!’: Defiance in the Salem Witch Trials.” Manvelyan’s essay brought to life a group of...
Dead bodies hadn’t been all that common at Boy Scout Camp Matulia. Nestled in the rugged, forested, relentlessly hilly southwestern corner of Missouri, it was an accident waiting to happen. Consider the odds. Four hundred and fifty young teenagers arriving every other Monday for a twelve-night camping session. Of course, mishaps occurred. The death of...
Professor Emeritus James Brennan's book Argentina's Missing Bones was recently featured in a review by The Village Voice on " The Disappeared: MAGA's Performative Cruelty is a Warning to Us All."
At the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) April 3-6, 2025, two UCR History graduate students were recognized for their important work. The OAH, which met in Chicago this year, is the largest professional society dedicated to United States history, guided by the principles of advocacy, professional integrity, and the advancement of...
UCR history students are diving deep into diverse and compelling research, exploring everything from Native Hawaiian resistance and Soviet cultural diplomacy to Armenian survival narratives and Revolutionary War music parodies. These dynamic investigations were just some of the topics History students presented at the 2025 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Symposium. The symposium, held...
This year over twenty History students, supported by twelve History faculty members, presented their research at the 2024 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Symposium. The symposium provides an opportunity for undergraduate students from all disciplines to share their research and creative activities with the UCR community. Over two hundred undergraduate students presented their emerging...
