History faculty published books and articles; traveled to Spain, Scotland, South Africa, and Washington, DC; and pursued research on a variety of topics.

Dr. Thomas W. Barton presented a paper entitled “Strategies of Litigation and Mediation in Thirteenth-Century Tortosa” at the International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in May 2007. In June, he spent a few weeks researching his book project at various archives in Madrid in June. He writes, “Most of my time I spent at the Archivo Historico Nacional, but I also found some fascinating sources at the Real Academia de Historia and the Biblioteca Nacional. Madrid is such a treasure trove. I've also been telecommuting to the archives: working with the registers of king Jaume II of Aragon at the Arxiu de the Corona d'Aragó in Barcelona now available on-line and in full color via the PARES portal.” He submitted an article to the Journal of Medieval History on tithing and diocesan development and finished an article on Muslim farmers working Christian-owned lands in post-conquest New Catalonia and Valencia which he will submit to Viator, a journal produced by UCLA’s Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

Dr. Jonathan Conant had a successful summer of research in Washington, DC. He is currently working on revising an article, tentatively titled "Europe and the North African Cult of Saints, c. 350-c. 1050," for publication.

Dr. Iris Engstrand has been awarded La Real Orden de Isabel la Católica by Juan Carlos I, King of Spain. The Royal Order recognizes the exemplary merits and exceptional services of Spanish citizens and foreigners who have promoted the good of Spain. She will also address the audience on José Longinos Martínez, Spain's First Naturalist in California.

Dr. Engstrand is presenting a paper in Washington, D.C. on Spanish Reform on New Spain's Northern Frontier: Defense and the Interior Provinces at a symposium on Spain's Legacy in the American War for Independence sponsored by the Spanish government and the Smithsonian Institution on September 27, 2007. She will also be presenting a paper on Spain's Pacific in the Late Eighteenth Century at San Diego's Maritime Museum on October 10. This summer, she organized a panel, “Hollywood Tells It Like It Isn’t: Misrepresenting Women from Pre-Columbian to Modern Times,” for the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in July 2007. Panel participants included USD faculty members Kristin Moran, Yi Sun, and Molly McClain.

Dr. Colin Fisher published a book review of Bruce Baum, The Rise and Fall of the Caucasian Race: A Political History of Racial Identity in the March 2007 issue of The Journal of American History. In July 2007, he delivered a paper entitled the “The Nature of May Day: The Outdoors and Organized Labor in Nineteenth-Century Chicago” at the Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Dr. James Gump traveled to South Africa, The Netherlands, and St. Paul, Minnesota, to research his next book, Third Force Strategy: Counterinsurgency Campaigns in South Dakota and South Africa, 1973-1994. He submitted an article to The Journal of American History and presented a paper at the Southern African Historical Society Conference in Johannesburg in June 2007.

Dr. Molly McClain published two articles: “A Letter from Carolina: French Huguenots in the New World,” William & Mary Quarterly 3rd ser., 64 (April 2007): 377-394 and “ZLAC Rowing Club, 1892-2007,” The Journal of San Diego History 53, no. 3 (2007): 89-116. Another article was accepted for publication by The Journal of British Studies. She also traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to pursue research on the history of the British monarchs William & Mary.

Dr. Ken Serbin was awarded the Book Prize of the Brazil Section of the Latin American Studies Association for Needs of the Heart: A Social and Cultural History of Brazil’s Clergy and Seminaries (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006). He received received two major fellowships this spring, a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship. His research involves an oral history of political prisoners and revolutionaries during the period of military dictatorship in Brazil between 1964 and 1985.

Dr. Kathryn Statler published Replacing France: The Origins of American Intervention in Vietnam (University Press of Kentucky, 2007) and “After Geneva: The French Presence in Vietnam,” in The First Indochina War, eds. Fredrik Logevall and Mark Lawrence (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007).

Dr. Yi Sun published "Changes in Women's Rights to Education in 20th Century China" (in Chinese) in Modern China Studies vol. 4 (2006/07). She also made two conference presentations: "Changes with 'Chinese Characteristics': Women and the New Cultural Landscape during the Reform Era," The Association for Asian Studies Conference, Boston, March 2007; and "History and Reality: The Misrepresentation of Memoirs of a Geisha" (co-presenter), The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association Conference, Honolulu, July 2007. She also has been invited to write a referee report on an essay, "'New Cultural History' in China: The Development of Women's History," for The History Teacher.