Uncommon People
The Maya K. Peterson Memorial Endowment
December 6, 2021
To honor the memory of Maya Karin Peterson’s intellectual spirit and passion for the study of history, the History Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz invites colleagues, students, family and friends of Maya Peterson to contribute to the Maya K. Peterson Memorial Endowment.
Shelly Chan
September 1, 2020
The History Department is delighted to welcome Associate Professor Shelly Chan to UCSC!
Aims McGuinness
September 1, 2020
The History Department is delighted to welcome Associate Professor Aims McGuinness to UCSC!
Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez
September 1, 2020
The History Department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez to UCSC!
Elaine Sullivan
March 4, 2020
Associate Professor of History Elaine Sullivan takes a fresh look at the ancient Egyptian burial site of Saqqara to demonstrate how the site has evolved over more than 2,500 years.
Undergraduate with a love for politics eager to give back
May 14, 2019
Thomas, a third-year history major, travels to UC Regents meetings, presents student issues to UC Office of the President, travels to Sacramento to lobby California lawmakers on behalf of the student body, and has even led a delegation to Washington D.C. to help bring awareness of student issues to the federal level.
Juliet Carpenter
April 16, 2019
The History Department is thrilled to welcome Juliet Carpenter, a UCSC history major graduate, back to campus as this year's Undergraduate Showcase keynote speaker.
THI Public Scholarship Profile: Wyatt Young
February 21, 2019
Wyatt Young is a second-year History PhD at UC Santa Cruz. He is currently a year-long Public Fellow at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, where he works as a professional public humanist and local historian.
THI Graduate Profile: Sarah Chang
February 15, 2019
History Doctoral Student Sarah Chang investigates the lifecycle of the postwar factory in China, and the shift for women workers from the home to paid industrial work during the socialist period.
Greg O'Malley
July 31, 2018
This year's featured article in Inquiry, titled "Beyond the Middle Passage: Intra-American trafficking magnified slavery’s impact," highlights the valuable contributions Associate Professor Greg O'Malley has made to the study of the Atlantic slave trade.
Joe Gabent
April 10, 2018
The History Department is thrilled to welcome Joe Gabent, a UCSC history major graduate, back to campus as this year's Spring Showcase keynote speaker.
Benjamin Breen
November 6, 2017
The History Department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Benjamin Breen to our program.
Erin Wright
May 3, 2017
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2017 Undergraduate History Showcase, Erin Wright is now the Director of Community Relations for the Oakland Raiders.
Muriam Haleh Davis
October 6, 2016
The History Department is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Muriam Haleh Davis.
3D Saqqara Project Interns: Cori Hoover and Sophie Short
April 6, 2016
Two history undergraduates, Cori Hoover and Sophie Short interned with Assistant Professor Elaine Sullivan this year, working on her 3D Saqqara project in the Archaeological Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab on campus.
Alma Heckman
March 18, 2016
The History Department is pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Alma Heckman.
Brian Mathias
March 7, 2016
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2016 Undergraduate History Showcase, Brian Mathias is now an attorney and a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Monterey College of Law.
Sara Mederos
October 7, 2015
Alumna Sara Mederos is currently a Ph.D. student in medieval history at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.
Tyler Spencer
October 7, 2015
History major and Everett Program fellow, Tyler Spencer spent last summer in South Africa working on a digital mapping project that helps hold mining companies more accountable for actions that negatively impact the community.
Eryn Brennan
May 4, 2015
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2015 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Eryn Brennan is now an Architectural Historian and Urban Planner.
Tom Beckett
December 18, 2014
Tom Beckett 13', along with his partner Bar Smith launched a Kickstarter campaign for their CNC (Computer Numerical Control) router and won second place in UCSC's Entrepreneurship Showcase.
Cary Joji Fukunaga
August 26, 2014
Cary Joji Fukunaga, acclaimed director of the HBO series "True Detective", "Jane Eyre" (2011), and "Sin Nombre" (2009), graduated from UCSC in 1999 with a History degree.
Ian Sherr
April 30, 2014
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2014 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Ian Sherr '05 is now a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Grace Peña Delgado
March 15, 2014
The department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Grace Peña Delgado.
Lia Winfield
October 28, 2013
Alumni Lia Winfield recently graduated with her Ph.D. from UC Davis.
Juned Shaikh
October 11, 2013
The History Department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Juned Shaikh
Mark Cioc
October 4, 2013
Professor and Co-Director of German Studies, Mark Cioc, has been appointed as Chair of the History Department
Michael Jin
June 24, 2013
Michael Jin, a recent graduate of the Ph.D. program, has recently accepted a position at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
James Dustin Wright
May 31, 2013
James Dustin Wright, a History Ph.D. student, won the prestigious Fulbright-Hays award in the fall of 2012.
Anna E. von Gehr
April 29, 2013
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2013 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Anna E. von Gehr '99 is now Director of University Arts Development, University of Virginia.
Assistant Professor Jennifer Derr
April 5, 2013
The department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Jennifer Derr. Her research explores the contemporary history of the modern Middle East.
Rhiannon Schade
March 27, 2013
Rhiannon Schade '11 is now an admission counselor for Sweet Briar College in Virginia and enjoys traveling around the country helping perspective students with their college search process.
Assistant Professor Peterson
January 3, 2013
The Department of History is delighted to welcome to our faculty Professor Maya Peterson, whose research explores Russian and Soviet history.
Assistant Professor Catherine Jones
November 7, 2012
Assistant Professor Catherine Jones delivered congratulatory remarks to the graduating class of 2012 at the 1st Annual History Graduation Celebration on June 15th, 2012.
Distinguished Professor Hershatter
October 15, 2012
The UCSC Academic Senate bestowed their highest honor by selecting Hershatter to give the 47th annual Faculty Research Lecture.
Assistant Professor Matera
September 28, 2012
The Department of History is delighted to welcome to our faculty Professor Marc Matera, whose research explores gender and race in imperial Britain and the British Empire, especially colonial Africa and the Caribbean.
Assistant Professor Greg O'Malley
June 14, 2012
Teacher of Atlantic History, winner of the Douglass Adair Memorial Award, and soon-to-be author of a cutting-edge new book.
Associate Professor Alan Christy
May 17, 2012
Alan Christy is an Associate Professor of History, Undergraduate Director of East Asian Studies, the leader of the ROUTES project, and winner of the 2012 John Dizikes Teaching Award.
Gregg Herken: Unraveling history's mysteries
April 2, 2012
Gregg Herken '69 tackles in his research one of the great unresolved controversies of the Cold War: whether American physicist Robert Oppenheimer-–the “father of the atomic bomb”–-was, in fact, a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.
Jeffrey Wasserstrom
March 6, 2012
Keynote speaker at the 2010 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Jeffrey Wasserstrom '82 is now a Professor of History at UC Irvine, specializing in East Asian Studies.
Matthew Bokovoy
March 6, 2012
Keynote speaker at the 2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Matthew Bokovoy '91 is now senior acquisitions editor for Native American and Indigenous Studies and the History of the American West for the University of Nebraska Press.
Anthony Barbieri-Low
March 6, 2012
Invited Keynote Speaker for the 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Anthony Barbieri-Low '94 is now Associate Professor of History at UC Santa Barbara, specializing in the Social, Economic, Legal, and Material Culture History of Ancient China.
Paul Freedman
March 5, 2012
Keynote speaker at the 2009 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Paul Freedman '71 is now Professor of History at Yale University.
Carla Hesse
March 4, 2012
Keynote speaker at the 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium, Carla Hesse '78 is now the Peder Sather Professor of History at UC Berkeley, specializing in modern European history.
Kenneth Feingold: UCSC's fourth alumni Regent
January 11, 2012
This week, Kenneth A. Feingold (Cowell, ’71, history) was named the fourth UCSC alumnus to represent the campus on the Board of Regents.
Professor Lisbeth Haas
November 4, 2011
For over a decade, Professor Lisbeth Haas has been doing research on Indian societies in California. Her most recent project has yielded her not one, but two publications, to be published this year and next.
Richard Warner
September 8, 2011
Richard Warner earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in history from UC-Santa Cruz. Warner recently has been named the Daniel F. Evans Associate Professor in the Social Sciences at Wabash University.
Paula Daccarett, a fresh face in Jewish Studies
August 23, 2011
Paula Daccarett is currently a visiting assistant Professor in Jewish Studies here at UCSC. Her history courses shed new light onto different aspects of Jewish culture.
Keith Christiansen
July 12, 2011
Once a UCSC History and French Literature student, Keith Christiansen went on to have a rich and successful career as an art curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Mark Teague
July 10, 2011
Mark Teague graduated from UCSC in 1985 with a History B.A. Now, he is a best-selling author and illustrator of children's books.
Cynthia Thickpenny
July 8, 2011
HUGRA recipient, History Alum, and now, Marshall Scholar!
Jayne Ann Krentz
July 7, 2011
Popular, prolific fiction author Jayne Ann Krentz graduated from UCSC in 1970 with a B.A. in History. She says it was at UCSC that she "learned how to learn."
Richard White
June 23, 2011
UCSC alumnus Richard White graduated in 1969 with a B.A. in History. Now, he is considered one of the nation's leading scholars.
Nathaniel Deutsch, IHR Director
February 8, 2011
Nathaniel Deutsch appointed as the director of the Institute for Humanities Research
