Historical explanation is the explanation of outcomes in terms of causal antecedents. All too often however the causal account becomes indistinguishable from a vindicatory narrative, the tale of outcomes told as a version of winners’ history, especially rampant in ideologies of modernity and modernization. Counterfactual thinking--the sphere of the might-have-been--is, in suitably rigorous and disciplined […]

Do you love history? Does thinking about Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon or the Siege of Boston give you goose bumps? Come check us out! The club is open to both history and non history majors. Some of the activities we do are:trivia nights movie nights guest speakers field trips study sessions Questions? Email Celina. […]

This paper presents some initial research and reflections on the social use of hot springs in Mexico and California, and suggests that cultures of water at hot springs offer possibilities of managing water demand that could be useful for dealing with the current water crisis. Walsh discusses the cultural dimensions of the water crisis, and […]

Exploring Tristán de Luna’s Lost Galleon Discovery of a well-preserved early Spanish shipwreck in Pensacola Bay, Florida, has reopened a long forgotten chapter of Latin-American history. Assembled by the Viceroy of New Spain, a fleet of eleven ships under the command of Tristán de Luna embarked from Mexico in 1559 to establish a colony on […]

STEPHEN PYNE is the world's foremost historian of fire. A Regents' Professor at Arizona State University, and the author of twenty books on environmental history and the histories of science and exploration, Pyne is a brilliant and irreverent commentator on the role of fire in societies around the world. On October 7th, from 3:30-4:45 PM, […]

The historic actions, protests and strikes of last fall and spring showed our state and the nation that students, teachers, staff, and our communities are determined to fight against the cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the shrinking access to public education and services. However, our fight is far from over. On October 7th, supporters of […]

Matthew Garcia is Associate Professor of American Civilization, Ethnic Studies and History at Brown University. Part of the History 294: Colloquium in Work, Labor, and Political Economy, 2010-2011 lecture series. hm 9/9/10; jwil 14.ix.10

Say “Lompoc” and most people think of Vandenberg Air Force Base and flower farms, or maybe the prison. But our neighbor to the north has a fascinating history, preserved in its many Victorian houses and murals. We will assemble at the city parking lot at Ocean Ave. and I Street at 10:15 (parking is free), […]

John Borsos, Vice President, National Union of Health Care Workers, is our guest at the next meeting of the Colloquium on Work, Labor, and Political Economy. Just last week one of the largest union election contests in modern U.S. history culminated in a large Service Employees International Union victory at the Kaiser hospital chain. Nearly […]

The establishment of direct sea contact between the Mediterranean and South Asia in the first century CE is one of the most remarkable developments in ancient history. Scholarship has focused overwhelmingly on the impact of the Indian Ocean trade on the economy of the Roman Empire and its significance for the spread of Greco-Roman influence […]

This roundtable will address the rapid growth of Islamist political parties, the expanding Turkish economy and the rise of the "Anatolian Tigers," and new cultural trends in Turkey. Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served Sponsored by the Center for Middle east Studies, UCSB hm 10/19/10

Please join us next Tuesday, October 26, for a talk by Shigeru "Shig" Yabu, a Japanese American who was interned at the Heart Mountain Concentration Camp from 1942-1945. He is the author of 2 books, A Boy of Heart Mountain and Hello, Maggie!,  both of which describe his experience at the camp as a young […]

This talk is about an American Arabist organization that received clandestine support from the CIA. In 1967, it was revealed that the CIA had secretly funded the American Friends of the Middle East, an apparently private group of pro-Arab, anti-Zionist U.S. citizens. In this talk, Professor Wilford reveals the hitherto hidden history of the American […]

Critical Issues in America "'God Made Marriage but the White Man Made the Law': Slavery and Marriage in the Nineteenth Century" Tera Hunter, Professor of History and African-American Studies, Princeton University Hull Lecture, co-sponsored by UCSB New Racial Studies, Women's Center, and the Departments of Black Studies and History What did it mean for a […]

The African Studies Research Focus Group will hold its first research seminar for the 2010-2011 academic year on October 28 in HSSB 6020 (McCune Conference Room), focused on the theme of Usable Pasts: Memory and Self-Craft Through History, Song and Clothwork in Zimbabwe and among the Ainu (Japan). Presenters will include: Mhoze Chikowero (Assistant Professor, […]

Please join us for a talk by Cassandra Engeman on "The Dynamics of Social Movement Unionism: Local Union Involvement in Immigrants’ Rights Movements in Los Angeles." Engeman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology. Her work focuses on social movements and social movement outcomes, union-community coalitions in the United States, and union strategy. […]

Prof. Hasegawa's Faculty Research Lecture will be on Friday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 pm at the McCune Conference Room (6th floor HSSB). A reception will follow. The Faculty Research Lectureship is the highest honor the UCSB Academic Senate gives to one of its members. An expert in modern Russian/Soviet history and the Cold War, Hasegawa […]

What are some effective practices of feminist pedagogy?What is your teaching metaphor? What are some difficulties or obstacles facing instructors who advocate feminisms? Please come with examples of difficult situations that you manage in classrooms, strategies you implement to build feminist classrooms, and any other tools and techniques you use as an instructor. Suggested reading: […]

Gonda Van Steen is Cassas Professor of Greek Studies at the University of Florida. She earned a BA degree in Classics in her native Belgium and a PhD degree in Classics and Hellenic Studies from Princeton University. As the Cassas Chair in Greek Studies at the University of Florida, Professor Van Steen teaches courses in […]

This discussion concerns the recent controversies surrounding the proposed building of a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan and the threatened burning of the Qur'an in Gainesville, FL. America's Muslims have become a flashpoint for public debate about freedom of religion, freedom of speech, civil rights, and U.S. relations with Muslim majority countries in the […]

Robert Gottlieb will be discussing his new book Food Justice: A New Social Movement Takes Root at 11:30 am in HSSB 1233. Sponsored by the Food Studies Research Focus Group. hm 11/1/10

Please join us for a talk by Andrew Ross of New York University. Ross has published 17 books, including No Respect: Intellectuals and Popular Culture (1989), Fast Boat to China: Corporate Flight and the Consequences of Free Trade (2006), The University Against Itself: The NYU Strike and the Future of the Academic Workplace (2007), and […]

Gonda Van Steen is Cassas Professor of Greek Studies at the University of Florida. She earned a BA degree in Classics in her native Belgium and a PhD degree in Classics and Hellenic Studies from Princeton University. As the Cassas Chair in Greek Studies at the University of Florida, Professor Van Steen teaches courses in […]