2024 History Symposium Showcases Undergrads' Original Research

Earlier this spring, more than 30 undergraduate students, primarily from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, gathered at the University of Arizona’s Main Library to present their original historical research to an audience of their peers, university faculty, friends and families at “Prospecting the Past: The Arizona Undergraduate History Research Symposium.”

The symposium featured conference panels grouped by shared themes, which presented research topics such as "Of Camptowns and Salons: Impacts of the Pacific Theatre on the Oversexualization of Asian Women Today,” “When the River Runs Green: The Intersection Between Tribal Sovereignty, Economy, and Environmental Stewardship,” “Homeland and Hegemony: Accounts of Struggle, Identity, and Resilience in Central Eurasia,” and “From Tournaments to Trials: Immersive “Maker Projects” on Medieval Europe.”
  
Panel chairs included professors Beth Plummer, Fabio Lanza and Susan Crane from the Department of History, who asked questions of presenters and guided audience discussion to facilitate further exploration of student projects.

David Pietz, Regents Professor in the Department of History and symposium organizer, spoke on behalf of the Symposium Steering Committee. 

“We couldn't be more thrilled with the success of the inaugural year of our symposium,” Pietz said. “The quality of the research projects and the enthusiasm of both participants and attendees exceeded all our expectations.”
 
Guest scholar and keynote speaker Trevor Getz from San Francisco State University offered inspiration to undergraduate presenters, encouraging them to explore alternative ways to engage with the public when sharing historical research. Getz used his graphic history book, Abina and the Important Men, along with his work with high school students in Ghana, as examples to showcase various possibilities for democratizing knowledge and connecting with different audiences.

The Arizona Undergrad History Research Symposium is a professionally organized conference that offers undergraduate students an opportunity to present original research that explores the historical dimensions of virtually any topic – science and technology, food, migrations, environmental change, racial/gender/sexual identities, politics, animal, economics, and more. This event is made possible by a grant from the UArizona Provost's Investment Fund.

The next symposium will be held during the 2025 spring semester.

This announcement was adapted from a piece originally written by Angela Corsa, a graduate assistant in the Department of History.