UGH: A Newsletter, (Winter 2025).
History Here (upcoming events) – Free for students!
- UCSB History Club Kickoff – January 14th, 7-8 pm
- Join your pals at the History Club Winter Welcome in HS SB 4020! Wear cozy winter clothes and make some fun winter arts and crafts. Pizza and drinks will be provided, so stop by!
- The Lawrence Badash Memorial Lecture Series: The Human Factor: Work as Science in Twentieth-Century China – January 15th, 4-5:30 pm
- Harvard University’s Professor Victor Seow will present on the history of industrial psychology in China from the 1930s to the 1990s, exploring how the meaning of work changed the way labor was valued over time. The event will be held in the McCune Conference Room, HSSB room 6020.
- Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, “The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs” – January 22nd – 4-5:30pm
- Learn from UCSB Professor of History Tsuyoshi Hasegawa and Michigan State Professor Lewis Siegelbaum discussing Hasegawa’s new book, The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs. The book reveals Nicholas II’s resistance to reform and the fall of the Russian Empire. This event will take place in HSSB 4020.
- “California Avocados: A Delicious History” – January 15th, 5:30-7 pm
- The Santa Barbara Historical Museum will host Rob Crisell, avocado farmer and author of California Avocados: A Delicious History, to dive into how the humble avocado became a global sensation, from battling the best varieties to crafting irresistible recipes. A tasty tale of California’s iconic contribution to food culture!
- Silent on the Island: Silent Movies on the Channel Islands – January 29th, 5:30-7 pm
- Join local author and historian Betsy J. Green at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum for an exciting talk on her latest book, Silents on the Islands: Silent Movies Filmed on California’s Channel Islands! Discover how the Channel Islands served as the backdrop for daring silent film adventures, featuring thrilling cliff dives to epic pirate battles!
- Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library Open House – February 1st, 9:30-12 pm
- Check out the Mission’s archival collection of books, artifacts, artwork, and more!
The Latest (research spotlight)
Our Fall 2024 issue saw the works of nine incredible writers! In “The Latest,” we celebrate them and all of their hard work.
Today’s spotlight explores the work of Audrey Landis, a History of Public Policy major and Religious Studies minor, and her article, “Challenges and Impact: Federal Initiatives in Desegregating Rural Mississippi Schools during the Great Society.”
In her abstract, Audrey wrote, “My research aims to better understand the federal government’s role in addressing educational disparities by studying the impact of two of LBJ’s Great Society policy programs, The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Elementary and Secondary Education Act, on the desegregation of public schools in Rural Mississippi. It examines the state’s resistance to integration from Brown v. Board of Education to the mid-1960s to analyze the structural factors that delayed integration. It then studies the motives behind the policies and their implementation in Rural Mississippi. Ultimately, I found that the desegregation plans the federal government prescribed, many of which only called for “Freedom of Choice” or only desegregated two grades, were incapable of overcoming the deeply entrenched legacy of segregation in the state. A lack of manpower in Washington, D.C., to enforce integration and too much delegation of authority to the Mississippi State Office of Education resulted in the misallocation and misuse of millions of dollars that were intended to substantively address rural poverty, especially among Mississippi’s black community. While these Great Society programs began the process of desegregation in rural Mississippi schools after years of delays, which was no small feat, they were largely unsuccessful in achieving their goals, and educational disparities still dominate education in the state today.” Watch her explain it in her own words here!
You can follow Audrey on her LinkedIn page to keep up with her adventures.
Honors Course Crashing (thesis corner)
UCSB is home to an incredible history department, and these students are hard at work on their History Honors Theses. Let’s find out what they are working on.
Jessianne’s thesis will focus on how the Vrba-Wetzler Report changed what Allied and neutral countries knew about the Holocaust. The Vrba-Wetzler Report, a 33-page document also known as the Auschwitz Report, was written by Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler and shocked the world with its detailed description of the horrific genocide taking place inside Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. Written in April 1944 after the pair escaped Auschwitz, the report includes diagrams of both camps and detailed prisoner descriptions, outlining who was at Auschwitz, who survived, and who did not. It also exposed the Nazis’ use of gas chambers for mass genocide.
Jessianne’s research will explore how the media covered the report’s publication and how the Allied governments reacted. She is also examining how Vrba and Wetzler, along with their report, were used as witnesses and evidence of Nazi crimes in post-war trials. Additionally, her thesis will investigate how Holocaust deniers have engaged with the report and explore the post-escape lives of Vrba and Wetzler. Jessianne’s honors thesis will ultimately analyze the consequences of governments and media failing to listen to survivors.
When it comes to being part of the History department here at UCSB, her favorite thing is the faculty. Each and every professor cares deeply and is genuinely excited to teach all of them about their expertise. She appreciates how they are always there to answer questions and offer support. Jessianne told us she wouldn’t be getting through her thesis without the support of Professor Marcuse and Professor Henderson. For those interested in joining the History/HPPL major, Jessianne recommends connecting with as many professors and fellow history majors as possible. She found that College and UCSB felt much less overwhelming when she had the support of amazing history professors and students! It also makes it a lot more fun.
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Jessianne plans to earn a Master’s in Education and her teaching credential. Then, she wants to return home to San Luis Obispo and teach high school history. Thank you to Jessianne for chatting with us while balancing the challenges of working on your thesis! We’re so impressed by your passion and hard work and wish you all the best as you wrap up this exciting chapter!
Life After UGH (the alums)
Ready for a blast to the past? Our alums are busy making their own histories: Today, we celebrate Victoria Korotchenko! You may have heard of the triple threat, but she’s a quintuple threat! Victoria graduated UCSB in 2023 with a BA in English, History, and Russian and Eastern European Studies and a minor in Professional Writing in the Editing Track.
As an editor, Victoria fondly recalls one of her first papers, The Hierarchy of Dress: Clothing in the Age of Emancipation by Emilia Salcido, which examined fashion expression and rebellion among formerly enslaved people during the post-Civil War period. She found the creative approach to studying this era deeply inspiring. Victoria loved working on Conditions for Successful Relations: Elizabeth I’s Foreign Policy Towards Muslim Rulers by Olivia Bauer. UCSB happened to have the perfect peer reviewer for this topic, a professor she knew from her English department class. For Victoria, this experience felt like a meaningful blend of interdisciplinary and literary work—something she is particularly passionate about. She always appreciated how her last meeting as an UGH Editor involved doing copy edits outside in the sunny HSSB courtyard (very much a vibe)!
After leaving the UGH Editorial Board, she finished her Master’s in History and Literature in September from Columbia University. Victoria studied for a year at their Paris campus and traveled to 12 countries and 27 cities, including Frankfurt, Germany, for archival work. Her thesis was on the spike in cocaine use during the Russian Revolution and the diverse characterization of its users.
We asked her for advice on joining the editorial board, and her response was to just do it! Victoria had been interested in participating since her freshman year but couldn’t until she was a junior. While she wishes she had joined earlier, her experience as an editor connected her to the history department, professors, and peers and provided invaluable academic publishing and editing experience.
A heartfelt thank you to Victoria for providing us with this amazing update! The UGH Board gives its warmest wishes for your continued success.
It’s Giving Me (editor vibes)
Let’s take a moment to reveal the secrets behind the scenes and introduce you to the editors who bring UGH to life! Today, we’re meeting Kate Erickson, one of our returning editors from Fall 2024!
Kate is a third-year History of Public Policy and Law major with a minor in Museum Studies. We asked her about her Roman Empire – or something she thinks about frequently – and she told us about one of her favorite weird but true fun facts: Tulip Mania. Kate explained that it was a 17th-century craze in the Netherlands where tulip prices skyrocketed so high that people sold everything, including houses, to buy these rare bulbs. It was like the 1600s version of a stock market bubble, except people were betting their fortunes on flowers instead of tech companies. At the height of the demand, a single bulb could go for 2,500 florins when the average laborer might earn around 150 florins a year! Unfortunately, the bubble burst after the prices were too inflated, and many were left with worthless tulip bulbs.
We also wanted to know what has been making her happy lately, and she talked about one of her favorite podcasts, the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor! In each episode, they pick an object from their massive collection and go into its history and significance. She has two episode recommendations in particular: “The ‘Gentle Anarchy’ of the Muppets”, a history of the Jim Henson company, and “Rocket Man”, which takes a look at why jetpacks never took off (literally). Thanks for sharing, Kate!
Don’t miss our next newsletter on Monday of Week 4, in which we will introduce Vanessa Manakova, another awesome member of the UGH crew!