2025 Phi Alpha Theta Southern California Regional Conference

Southern California Regional Student Paper Conference for undergraduate and graduate students hosted by the Psi-Zeta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at California State University, Bakersfield on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Welcome to Phi Alpha Theta’s annual Southern California Regional Student Paper Conference! The CSU Bakersfield History Department and our Phi Alpha Theta chapter, Psi-Zeta, are delighted to host this year’s event. We look forward to meeting you and hearing your research presentations in an encouraging and supportive environment.

 

Research papers of no more than 10 pages of text (no limit on endnotes) may cover any field and time period. Please see our Guidelines for Paper Submissions before emailing your paper to Prof. Miriam Raub Vivian (mvivian@csub.edu). Members of Phi Alpha Theta are eligible to win book awards for their papers; these will be presented at the luncheon. Non-members are also welcome to submit papers , though are not eligible for awards. The title page of your paper should indicate both your level in school (undergraduate or graduate) at the time you wrote the paper, as well as whether or not you are a member of Phi Alpha Theta.

 

Registration is required for all attendees; those not presenting papers are also welcome to attend. Once you have registered, please submit payment online through our payment portal. (CSU Bakersfield students who are presenting papers—and not simply attending—will not be required to pay the registration fee.)

 

There is a map of the CSUB campus accessible here, as well as the address of the campus. To avoid ticketing, please park in Lot A, which is off of Stockdale Hwy. near Don Hart Dr. WEST (where there is no traffic signal). Check-in and breakfast will be easily accessible from this lot, which abuts the Humanities Complex, which includes the Humanities Office Building (HOB), where the day will begin.

 

Please fill out the registration form below and click to pay the $50.00 registration fee.  

 

Registration

Please complete the registration form and submit your $50 payment.
Register Here

Click to Pay

 

 

Call for Papers/Submission Guidelines

The Psi-Zeta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at California State University, Bakersfield, invites graduate and undergraduate students to submit strong research papers for presentation at the Phi Alpha Theta annual student regional paper conference. All papers must conform to the following format:

A single Word document file that includes the following (in this order):

title page with
  • paper title
  • student name
  • academic standing at the time the paper was written (undergraduate, graduate)
  • member of Phi Alpha Theta (yes/no)*
the body of the paper should be
  • no longer than ten (10) pages (minus endnotes, for which there is no page limit)
  • double-spaced
  • standard font and margins
  • endnotes, single-spaced

Submission Deadline is Monday, March 3, 2025, via email to Prof. Miriam Raub Vivian, PAT Advisor, mvivian@csub.edu. Please indicate “PAT Regional paper submission” in the subject line.

More Information

Location and Directions
California State University, Bakersfield
9001 Stockdale Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93311

Campus Map

Registration and Check-In will be in the Humanities Complex

Paper Presentations will be in Science III.
Contact Us

Miriam Raub Vivian
History Professor
Phi Alpha Theta Advisor
mvivian@csub.edu


Charlotte Ziegler
History Department
Administrative Support Coordinator
cziegler@csub.edu

Conference Keynote Address

Dr. Kate Mulry, CSUB History Professor

"the first fruits of her handyworke”: Vere Lynch, Science, and Archival Erasures in Early Jamaica

Dr. Kate Luce Mulry is an associate professor of history at California State University, Bakersfield, and is the author of An Empire Transformed: Remolding Bodies and Landscapes in the Restoration Atlantic (New York University Press, 2021). She is a historian of science and medicine, food, the body, and the environment in the early modern Atlantic world. Her work has recently appeared in Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal and Labor: Studies in Working-Class History.

Conference Schedule

Humanities Complex

Includes contential breakfast.

Science Building III

9:10-10:25: Session I

 

Panel A:  The World of 19th-Century Medicine                                                Room 101
                               Dr. Kate Mulry, Chair                                                             Science III Bldg.

“’To the Annoyance of Others’: Mental Health in 19th-Century America”
         Emma Barnes, CSU Bakersfield (graduate)
          
“HYSTERIA! Institutionalization as a Weapon Against Feminism”
         Rebecca Thomas, Point Loma Nazarene University (undergraduate)

“Transmitting Knowledge: British Imperial Medicine in the 19th Century”
         Carmen Avila-Marquez, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (graduate)

 

Panel B:  American Stories: from Segregation and Protest to Women’s
Achievements                                                                                                      Room 102 
                             Dr. Steve Allen, Chair                                                               Science III Bldg.                                                                                                                                                              


“The Dragon Lady’s Triumph: Aileen Eaton’s Legacy in Boxing Promotion in the 1960s”
           Kat Gontijo, CSU Bakersfield (undergraduate)       

“Remembering Kent State: A Historical Study of College Student Protests on U.S. Campuses since the 1970s”
            Ignacio Linares, Cal Poly Pomona (undergraduate)

 “The Legacy of Segregated Education: American Amnesia and How it Remains with Us”
            Richard Gonzalez, Cal Poly Pomona (undergraduate)


 

Panel C:  From Asia to America: Analyzing Military Success                              Room 103
                                    Dr. John Chen, Chair                                                              Science III Bldg.

 

“The Significance and Evolution of Admiral Yi Soon Shin’s Turtle Ship During the Imjin War (1592-1598)”
         Yong Choi, CSU Fullerton (graduate)

 

“A State on Horseback: How the Mongol Empire Almost Conquered the East Asian World”
         David Arnold, CSU Bakersfield (undergraduate)


 “Setting the Tone: The Story and Legacy of Captain A.V. Fraser and C.W. Lawrence”
         Sarah Pearson, Point Loma Nazarene University (undergraduate)



 

Science Building III

10:30-11:45: Session II

Panel D: Local Histories of California                                                              Room 101
                               Dr. Rick Kennedy, Chair                                                    Science III Bldg.

 
“From Regional Dynamics to Global Connections: A History of the Ontario International Airport in the 21st Century”
               Charles “CJ” Henigan, Cal Poly Pomona (undergraduate)

“Sowing Seeds for Kern County’s Sexual Health: Conservative Opposition to Public-School Sex Education Programs, 1960s-1980s”
               Kayla Kiefer, CSU Bakersfield (undergraduate)

 “The Watts Riots through Different Eyes”
              Reed Peterson, Chapman University (undergraduate)

 

Panel E:  Gender and Religion in Early Modern Europe                                Room 102
                              Dr. David Nelson, Chair                                                         Science III Bldg


“The Case of Male Witches in Britain”
             Amelia Thomas, Point Loma Nazarene University (undergraduate)

“The Birthing Art: The Parturition Chair and Midwifery in Early Modern Germany”
             Beatriz Avila-Marquez, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (graduate)

 “Between Two Worlds: The Sephardic Jews Connection to the Dutch Colonial Project”
             Natalya Rowe, CSU Fullerton (undergraduate)

 

 

Panel F: Women in Revolution and Resistance                                               Room 103
                               Dr. Jeff Koerber, Chair                                                            Science III Bldg.

 

“"Diary Narratives of Women in Pre-Revolutionary America: Religion, Status, and Identity”
           Marina Karapetian, California Lutheran University (undergraduate)

 “Resistance and Gender Equality Pioneers: The Role of French Women in the Resistance Movements during World War II”
           Eleri Irons, University of San Diego (undergraduate)         

 “Allons, à Versailles! How Parisian Street Matrons Closed the 12-Mile Gap
and Started the Revolution”
           Tyron Cooper-Maysami, Chapman University (undergraduate)

Stockdale Room (Behind Runner Cafe)

            Welcome

                        Prof. Miriam Raub Vivian, Psi-Zeta Chapter Advisor
                        Dr. Alicia Rodriquez, Interim Dean, College of Arts and Humanities
                        

            Paper Awards

 

            Keynote Address 
                        Dr. Kate Mulry
                                    Prof. of Early American and Atlantic World History


Chapter Advisors will meet briefly immediately after lunch

Science Building III

1:30-2:45: Session III

      Panel G: United States’ Involvement Abroad                                                Room 101
                                   Dr. Fernando Amador II, Chair                                              Science III Bldg.

 

            “Coca-Cola’s Takeover of Chiapas, Mexico: 1994-Present”
                       Guadalupe Herrera, CSU Bakersfield (undergraduate)

             “American Collusion with the Republic of South Africa during the Angolan Civil War”
                       Stuart William Ledbetter, Chapman University (undergraduate)

             “Mother India and her Children: Gender and National Identity in Katherine Mayo’s Mother India”
                        Amala Rajagopal, Chapman University (undergraduate)

           

Panel H:  The Role and Power of Media                                             Room 102 
                  Dr. Stefan Cristian Ionescu, Chair                              Science III Bldg.

           “Representation in Hollywood: Industry Accolades, Chinese Investments, and the
             Asian Film Sector”
                      Christine Frazier, CSU San Marcos (graduate)                                                                         

           “Tuned In: Radio Broadcasting within Nazi Germany”
                     Moriah Esquivel Narang, CSU Fullerton (graduate)

            “Death, Violence, and Condemnation: The News Media Coverage of the 1981
             Prisoners’ Hunger Strike in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland”
                     Tyler Coker, Chapman University (undergraduate)

                                   

Panel I:  Culture and Religion in History                                                        Room  103  
                              Dr. Bill Wood, Chair                                                              Science III Bldg.

                                                                                                                                   

            “Acting Religion: Analyzing the AIDS Crisis through a Religious Lens
                         Anya Nguyenkhoa, Chapman University (undergraduate)

            “Blessed Among Women: The Role of Mary in the Bible and the Quran”
                          A.G. Hoyt, Point Loma Nazarene University (undergraduate)