History News
USD GSA-History Newsletter
December 1999

The latest in GSA
Happy Holidays! I hope all of you are enjoying your studies and are learning a lot! It is hard to believe the semester is almost over and finals will be here in a few weeks. However, until then, we have a couple more weeks of classes and wonderful opportunities before the semester ends.

On Tuesday, Nov. 30 fellow graduate student Wayne Donaldson will be Phi Alpha Theta and the Graduate Students Association's guest speaker. Wayne is a local architect who has done extensive work on historical sites. His presentation, "Interpretation of Historic Sites: Rancho Los Cerritos and Leo Carrillo Rancho" will focus on the role of the historian as a team member in the interpretation of historic sites. He will conduct a comparative analysis between Rancho Los Cerritos and Leo Carrillo Rancho and the development of their Master Plans. The presentation will be at 5 p.m. in UC 107. For those of you who have had a class with Wayne, you know he is a very interesting speaker ‹ so the evening should be not only educational, but enjoyable too.

All of you are also invited to attend Phi Alpha Theta's annual Christmas Banquet and Initiation Ceremony. The banquet will be on Friday, Dec. 10 in the UC Faculty/Staff Dining Room. The wine reception will be from 6-7 p.m. followed by dinner from 7-9 p.m. The guest speaker will be Dr. Alice B. Hayes, USD President. She will talk about her Irish heritage, learned from her parents who were born in Ireland. Topics include Irish music, dancing, and language. She will also talk about Baile Aris ("Home Again" in Gaelic); the house she and her sisters built in County Mayo, which preserves their family's connection with their heritage.

RSVP with Maureen Byrnes (History Dept. secretary) or Dr. Molly McClain (Phi Alpha Theta advisor) by Monday, Dec. 6. The dinner costs $16.50 for guests, but is free to all graduate students, since your meal will be paid for by the Graduate Students Association. So come on out and enjoy an evening visiting with fellow classmates and faculty members before finals and the holidays.

Several new opportunities are available for you next semester. They include applying for fellowships and a new thesis class. Please read the articles about them in this newsletter. Also, please note the information I've included about the USD library loan policies. This is in response to a couple of graduate students' questions regarding checkout duration, fines, etc. I hope the information will answer all of your questions. If there are any other issues you would like me to look into, please let me know. I am here to help you and only know what you're interested in or concerned about when you tell me.

At the recent meeting of the Student Affairs Committee for the Board of Trustees, I brought up the issue that while a professional photographer takes pictures of the graduates when they receive their diploma and walk off the stage, no professional video of the ceremony is available, despite a very high interest in the opportunity to purchase one by the families of undergraduate, graduate, and law school graduates. Hopefully this will be implemented for graduation 2000. I'll keep you posted. Once again, I hope you have a very happy holiday season. Good Luck on your finals, and I'll see you on the 30th and 10th.

Elizabeth Himchak
President,
Graduate Students Association in History

New thesis class offered
The Thesis ‹ probably the most dreaded phrase for a graduate student. For those of you who have started, the mixed feelings of dread and excitement have begun. Dread to get it started. Excitement when you're on your final draft, because you can finally see the light at the end of the road. For those of you who have not started yet, don't worry, that time will come soon enough.

However, the thesis doesn't have to be too scary. Millions of students before you have faced the same obstacle and survived. All of USD's professors have done it, and so can you. But to make that time a little less stressful, next semester the history department is offering Thesis Writing. The class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions, so that you can learn the process, discuss problems, and not feel like you're alone in your endeavor.

Dr. Molly McClain, who has written a book on writing the thesis, will teach the class. It will meet on Mondays from 6:15 to 9:05 p.m. It is History 263 for three units. These units will help fulfill half of your six-unit thesis requirement. Students at all stages of their thesis are encouraged to take this class, though it is probably most helpful to students in the beginning stages of the process. It is required for all students joining the department in Fall 1999 or later, and optional for all students who enrolled before then.

Faculty Updates
Prof. Tom Kinnersley
Fall 1999 classes: American West and American Sports
Prof. Kinnersley is an adjunct professor who has taught at USD since 1980. He also teaches at three other institutions. Despite his busy schedule, he still finds time to travel extensively. To date, he has traveled to 35 states and 43 foreign countries. He also loves photographing animals in the wild. A few of the many places he has traveled to in order to take pictures are Africa, Alaska, Belize, and Canada.

Dr. James Otte
Fall 1999 classes: Medieval University, Early Middle Ages, and The Baroque Age
Dr. Otte completed a lengthy article last spring, entitled "Burgundio of Pisa: The Elusive Translator of Aristotle's De generatione et corruptione Revealed at Last." In addition, he has continued to examine the Roman army diet, which resulted in him presenting a paper in a Festschrift for Prof. Bradford Blaine of Scripps College in Claremont, California.

Last summer, Dr. Otte also made his second visit to another segment of a Roman aqueduct built in ca. A.D. 50, which supplied the Roman legions and population at Cologne. This also led to a paper in Festschrift. Finally, he read two papers, "Saint Augustine's Rejection of the Atomic Theory" at Claremont, and "Like Dust Dancing in the Rays of the Sun: The Use of the Ancient Simile in the Attempt to Explain the Atomic Theory," at the Medieval Association of the Pacific.

Dr. Carole Putko
Fall 1999 classes: The Other Woman and Western Civ. II
During the summer, Dr. Putko spent several weeks in France, including some time at Rheims where she researched the Cardinal of Lorraine's tenure as the Archbishop in preparation for publishing a monograph on him. She also reviewed an upcoming textbook for a major publishing company and is working on another editing and reviewing project.

Spring 2000 fellowships
While being a graduate student at USD has a lot to offer ‹ terrific education, friendly and helpful professors, and a beautiful campus ‹ it does have one drawback, the price of tuition. And while USD Financial Aid services does all it can with providing scholarships, grants and loans, a little extra income comes in pretty handy. It is for this reason, the History Department offers graduate fellowships. Students with a fellowship are assigned to work for one professor throughout the semester. Depending on the amount of the fellowship, this usually comes to about five hours per week. In exchange, Student Accounts is given a certain amount of money, which is applied to your tuition.

In the past, the fellowships were given to most students requesting one. However, the system didn't always work, and the time commitment wasn't always fulfilled. Therefore, the Spring 2000 fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis. Students interested in working for the History department will have to fill out an application, which will be reviewed by a committee. Therefore, the most deserving and committed students will get the fellowships.

All graduate students will receive an application in the mail from Dr. Michael Gonzalez. Completed applications are due on Friday, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. Fellowship recipients will be notified in January. Good Luck!

Phi Alpha Theta wants you
The Pi Omega chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the International Honor Society in History, is inviting all Graduate Students who do not already belong to Phi Alpha Theta to join.

To become a member, a graduate student must have completed at least one-third of the residence requirements for the Masters Degree before becoming eligible for election to membership. Averages in all courses completed for graduate credit must be at least midway between the highest and second highest grade on the working scale, and no grade in the graduate record may be "failure" or its equivalent. Undergraduate work in history can also be applied toward fulfilling the membership requirements.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Dr. Molly McClain, Phi Alpha Theta advisor, at mmcclain@sandiego.edu or at 260-4044. If you were already inducted into another chapter please let her know so that you can join in Pi Omega activities. The next Pi Omega induction ceremony will be on Friday, Dec. 10 during the Christmas Banquet.

USD's library policies
Many graduate students have questions regarding their USD library loan privileges. In a nutshell, all current USD students may borrow books from Copley Library as long as they have their student ID activated. To do so, go to the circulation desk and fill out their form. It takes less than five minutes. Copley check out periods are for 28 days. You may renew your books twice. However, during the renew period, books are subject to recall. Fines are $1 per every overdue day. Books may be renewed by calling the library or on the Copley website (a new service this semester.)

The reason for the four week loan period is because the library has a limited collection, and if books were checked out for longer than four weeks, the waiting lists for popular books would prevent students from using the materials they need in a timely manner. Check out limit is 30 books/materials. For more detailed information regarding Copley policies, please read the enclosed materials.

With your USD library card you also have access to books at San Diego State University (SDSU), University of California, San Diego (USCD), and California State University (San Marcos), since USD belongs to the San Diego Library Circuit. In this case, the loan period is 21 days, and the book limit is 10. This limit is not connected to your USD limit; therefore, one could theoretically have 40 books out at one time. While you can request the books at Copley, this semester students also have the option of going to these schools and checking out the books there with their USD ID card.

USD students also have limited loan privileges at the Legal Research Center. They may check out circulating material for two weeks, with two renewals, and check out reserve materials for 3 hours.

Students may also borrow videotapes, laser discs, and other software from the Media Center for one day. Other equipment and materials may also be checked out for limited periods. To get more information, go to the Media Center in Maher Hall or call x4567.

Finally, a new journal service available at Copley is J-Store. This can be accessed over the Internet. If you are off-campus, speak with a librarian to get the access codes. It has the full text of registered journals from their first year up to the last five years. It currently has 20 history journals available.

If you have any questions regarding the library or need help inyour research, contact Tony Harvell, the history reference librarian at Copley Library. He can be reached at 260-2259 or at tharvell@sandiego.edu. He will be glad to help you in your research endeavors.

Important Dates
Phi Alpha Theta and GSA Guest Speaker: Nov. 30 @ 5 p.m. in UC 107
May/August Graduation Petitions due in the Graduate Records office: Dec. 10 @ 5 p.m.
Phi Alpha Theta Christmas Banquet: Dec. 10 @ 6 p.m. (RSVP by Dec. 6)
Fellowship applications due: Dec. 17 @ 5 p.m.
Thesis Meeting: Jan. 28 Time: TBA