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Opportunities and Events:
Phi Alpha Theta Applications
If you would like to join the history honors society, Phi Alpha Theta will be accepting applications until Feb 24th.
PAT is "an academic honor society for colleges and universities whose mission is to promote the study of History through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among Historians.” Membership gives you a line on your resume, a subscription to their magazine, The Historian, and the ability to apply to their awards and attend their conferences. For more see their website:
https://phialphatheta.org
Eligibility: You must have a 3.1 GPA in History, and a 3.0 GPA overall and have taken four history courses (AP and transfer courses count).
To apply: Please fill out the google form: https://forms.gle/mDucQw77rov2zRm47 and drop off $50 for membership fees to my box in SOS 153. Cash in an envelope with your name on it or a check made out to the University of Southern California is fine. The department will pay the fees for students who write an essay of around 500 words explaining how studying history has altered how they perceive the world. Email this to Prof. O'Neill (ljoneill@usc.edu) by the deadline.
Deadline: Feb 24th at 5pm. We will initiate new members on our History Honors Day at the end of the semester.
Survey on Community and Mentorship!
Wish you knew more majors? Wish you knew more faculty? Let us know what we can do better by filling out this short survey.
Link to Survey: https://forms.gle/FbhmKjhWgYqvoEcf6
Van Hunnick History Department Writing Tutor for Undergraduates
This semester the department is trying out a new program by having a graduate student serve as a writing tutor for anyone taking a History department course. This semester the writing tutor is Issay Matsumoto whose research focuses on migration and labor in Honolulu and urban Hawaiʻi. He has in-person office hours in SOS 163 on Monday and Tuesday from 9-12 pm and Zoom office hours Thursday and Friday from 9-12 pm. To set up an appointment follow this link: bit.ly/HistoryCoach. For more information see this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SdcEKbjzO3_OWoW_x1CP7mihYCd7IZ_2PfIxj2pt6-8/edit?usp=sharing.
The Catto-Lecount Fellows Program for Equity and Inclusion
This fellowship accepts students from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the discipline of history and has them join a three-day Zoom seminar to talk about what the historical profession is like and how to get into graduate school. Course expenses are covered and you get a $250 stipend.
https://richardscenter.la.psu.edu/fellowships/catto-lecount-fellows-program/
Providence Island: Institute for Field Research School
If you are interested in archeology and community-based ethnography think about joining this project. A number of history students have done this in the past and enjoyed their time. Often you can get funding through SURF/SHURE (https://dornsife.usc.edu/surf-shure/). It is run by USC professor Dr. Tracie Mayfield (traciemayfield@me.com). Here is a link to the field school website: https://ifrglobal.org/program/colombia-providence-island/.
Upcoming Conferences and Talks:
Feb 9 @ 12 pm: Mobilizing the Past: Collective Memory and Indigenous Resistance in Guatemala
In-person: Taper Hall (THH) 309K, Virtual
Join the Center for Advanced Genocide Research in person or virtually Thursday, February 9th, 12:00 pm PST for a public lecture by Vaclav Masek (PhD student in Sociology, University of Southern California), the 2022 Beth and Arthur Lev Student Research Fellow about his ethnographic work in Guatemala, and the work of Indigenous environmental activists as they turn to the past to draw on memories of victory and resilience in the face of struggle.
RSVP here!
Feb 10 @ 10-12 pm: CSAS Futures Bangladesh, Third World Solidarity, and the Global Politics of Feminism
Virtual
Join the UCSC Center of South Asian Studies for their Futures: Lecture Series! The speaker will be Professor Elora Shehabuddin of Gender and Women’s Studies and Global Studies from UC Berkeley!
Register here!
Feb 10 - Feb 11: Iberian Voices Annual Symposium: "Sound and Vision in Early Modern Spain & Beyond"
In-person: Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA, Stewart R. Smith Board Room
Come to the Huntington for a conference on Early Modern Iberian Music complete with a live performance! Speakers include Marta Albalá Pelegrín (Cal Poly Pomona), Michael Armstrong-Roche (Wesleyan University), Catherine Infante (Amherst College) Heather Kopelson (University of Alabama), Mary Quinn (University of New Mexico), Guillermo Rodríguez (Santa Clara University), Felipe Valencia (Utah State University) with Sherry Velasco (USC), Natalia Pérez (USC), and Sonia Velázquez (Indiana University) as our organizers.
RSVP here!
Feb 11 @ 12-4:45 pm: A Farewell Program in honor of retiring professors from the Department of History Karen Halttunen (Professor of History, USC), Richard Fox (Professor of History, USC)
In-person: Doheny Memorial Library, Room 241
This event is co-sponsored by the University of Southern California Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, the USC Van Hunnick Department of History, and the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute to hold a farewell to our esteemed Professors of History Dr. Karen Halttunen and Dr. Richard Fox.
Feb 13 @ 12 pm: The Vienna Philharmonic, National Socialism and Beyond
Doheny Memorial Library, DML 240. 3550 Trousdale Pkwy
The German Reich's other flagship orchestra? Come to Doheny Library for lecture by Dr. Silvia Kargl (Historical Archives of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) and PD Dr. Friedemann Pestel (UC Berkeley).
Email kade@usc.edu to rsvp!
King Wamba of the Visigoths, 680 CE
King Wamba fell ill one night and received the sacrament of penance, which meant that when he recovered, he could no longer be king. Wamba left his position after this coup occured to a monastery, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was replaced by King Erving. Some scholars believe that the coup was an opportunistic decision that took advantage of Wamba’s temporary incapacitation and old age.
That is all for the coup of the week; read the next newsletter to learn about a new coup!
Have a Paper to Submit?
Check out these journals if you’ve got history or law research papers you’re interested in publishing!
The Scroll USC Undergraduate History Journal: link here
Peace and love ❤️✌️💙 Check your emails next week for more History Department content!
-Lili Grace Adkins and Liam Rafaty