Thesis Projects

Gabriel Suarez

Project Title: 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment (US Army) Community Oral History Project

This community oral history project captured the narratives of Army veterans from the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment (3-61 Cav) who deployed to Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007 and participated in the Surge Campaign. The project addresses a gap in Iraq War historiography by focusing on tactical-level unit operations. Eight in-depth interviews with seven 3-61 Cav veterans were conducted, showing the unique social and structural dynamics among enlisted soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers in a frontline combat unit deployed to Baghdad during the height of the conflict. The author brings a unique perspective to the project as he is an original member of 3-61 Cav and combat veteran of the unit's deployment to Iraq. This project is a successful example of the feasibility of conducting a military unit-focused community oral history project.

Alyssa Garcia

Thesis Title: Lessons Set in Stone: Mildred Lewis Rutherford, Collective Memory, and the Classroom.

This thesis explores Rutherford's scope of influence on educational suppression and her promotion of the Lost Cause narrative through her activism with the UDC, Stone Mountain, and Southern schools. I conducted research at the Hargrett Library and connected her activism to modern issues such as book bans and curriculum restrictions. I also interviewed Jonathan Zimmerman, author of Whose America?, on how today's political divisions impact the call to address intellectual freedom.

Ongoing Projects

National History Day

National History Day’s inquiry-based student-centered program brings project based learning to the History-Social Studies classroom. Adaptable to all educational settings, History Day supports critical thinking with authentic research and historical inquiry skills. At its core, History Day is about student choice and voice. Students choose their research topic, they drive their research, and they choose their project format.

Grad Slam

Grad Slam is an academic research communication competition that challenges graduate students to present a compelling speech about their research and its significance to non-academic persons in just three minutes using only one presentation image. The goal is to not only support our students but also to raise the profile of graduate education in the CSU system. The winner of the Sac State Grad Slam competition will go on to represent the campus at the CSU Grad Slam competition.

Michael Vann- New Books Podcast

https://newbooksnetwork.com/hosts/profile/e8f83620-35a0-4a2d-a49d-49c6a15fd1c9

Course Projects

A History of Japanese Archecture

Jeffrey Dym Asia 190 Faculty Led Study Abroad to Japan: A History of Japanese Architecture. Online May 27-June 9, in Japan June 10-26. (Summer 2025)

Publications

Student Publications

Bria (Pua) Tennyson “Te Kānaka of New Helvetia: 19th Century Native Hawaiian Migrant Labor in Sacramento, California”

Ettienne LeFebre “Twisting a Treaty: The Dispossession of Californio Land after the Mexican-American War”

Sayre Borden “Fire Prevention Plan for William B. Ide State Historic Park”

Faculty Publications

Dr. Chris Castañeda, Americanized Spanish Culture: Stories and Storytellers of Dislocated Empires

Maria Quintana Contracting Freedom: Race, Empire, and U.S. Guestworker Programs

Rebekkah Mulholland Conversing with the Past: Primary Documents and Modern Prospectives in African American History

Rebekkah Mulholland “Denial of Equality of Opportunity Is Immoral”: The Black Queer Radical Feminism of Ernestine Eckstein

Upcoming Projects and Events

COVID-19 Archive with SCUA

Our public history program is working with the Special Collections and University Archives to create an archive of COVID-19. More information coming soon!