Meet some of our history majors.
Cal Kreuter
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Majors: history, group language (Spanish/linguistics)
What was your motivation to major in history?
I’ve always loved to read and write. History appealed to me because it offered the opportunity to engage critically with original sources and learn how to analyze, interpret, and situate them within broader contexts and structures. My first history class at Oxy, “Transpacific Movements and Activisms: Asian and Asian American Connections across the Pacific,” was particularly transformative. As a Filipino American myself, I was fascinated by how the course connected Asian American identity, immigration, and political activism. I specifically remember reading a primary source about Filipino immigration to the U.S. that mentioned a Chicago hospital that employed Filipino immigrant nurses. I realized it was the same exact hospital where my grandparents had found work after immigrating from the Philippines. That moment made history deeply personal. Field trips to local religious sites and neighborhoods further showed me how studying history can help me understand the world around me and my own place within it.
Field trips to local religious sites and neighborhoods showed me how studying history can help me understand the world around me and my own place within it.
Can you describe your working relationships with history professors? Any standout classes you’ve taken?
The history professors are fantastic! I like to joke that I’ve never been to a history professor’s office hours without walking away with a stack of books and journal articles to read. While an exaggeration, I think this reflects both their deep scholarly expertise and their genuine care for your growth as a student. They understand the struggles of learning to read, write, and think like a historian and encourage you to pursue your own intellectual interests while challenging you to discover your own analytical and argumentative voice. Some of my favorite classes have been Prof. Gasper’s course “Imperialism” and Prof. Fett’s course “Race, Rights, and Revolution in the Atlantic World.”
Did you study abroad? How did it enhance your education?
In the fall semester of my junior year, I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, I took an interdisciplinary history class called “The Making of Patagonia,” where we learned about La Conquista del Desierto, colonialism, nationhood, territory, and indigenous political activism. Instructed entirely in Spanish, the course built upon prior Spanish language and cultural studies classes and history classes like “Colonial Latin America” and challenged me to further engage with history across languages and cultures.
The liberal arts approach has also encouraged me to draw connections across disciplines, from history and linguistics to politics and education.
What are your ambitions post-Oxy and how has the liberal arts approach helped to put you on this path?
After Oxy, I hope to pursue a career in education policy, focusing on how research can inform policies that make K-12 education more equitable. My history major has taught me how to examine how history impacts the development of institutions, policies, and popular memory, and has helped me cultivate strong reading, writing, and analytical skills along the way. The liberal arts approach has also encouraged me to draw connections across disciplines, from history and linguistics to politics and education, which has helped me understand educational challenges through multiple perspectives.
Francine Ghazarian
Hometown: Glendale, CA
Majors: history, mathematics
What was your motivation to major in history?
My love for history began in my sophomore year of high school, when I took AP European History. That class made me realize how in depth one can analyze historical phenomena and apply it to the real world. History is a necessity to understanding how the current world works and how humanity arrived to where it is today. Through knowledge of historical events and eras, we can connect them to the present and be able to identify similar patterns, allowing us to approach problems better. Overall, history is also an area of study that can be applied to very diverse fields of practices and careers.
There are so many different subgenres of history: There is political history, economic history, sports history, intellectual history, ancient history, etc. There is something for everyone. Even people who consider history as something very far off from their area of interest will definitely find a subfield that will capture their attention.
History is also an area of study that can be applied to very diverse fields of practices and careers.
Can you describe your working relationships with history professors? Are there any standout classes you’ve taken?
The history professors at Oxy are phenomenal. They all have their own charm and ways of teaching, and they are all very welcoming when approached with questions regarding research projects or anything else. I always brag about the level of expertise that the history professors have to my friends, and it is very inspiring to listen to them talk about the different projects they have done throughout their careers, all the books they have written, and their experience during their college years.
The first ever history class I took at Oxy was Prof. Gasper’s “Diversity Before Multiculturalism: The Ottoman World.” In this class I learned about the diverse communities within the Ottoman Empire and politics within Topkapı palace in Istanbul. This class was also the first class I took that included the history of my Armenian culture and community. This was one of the reasons why I found that class very special.
Another class I took that I found very unique was Prof. Sousa’s “Nahuatl Language, Writing, and Culture.” This class was a history class cross-listed with CSLC. We learned the indigenous Nahuatl language and used our skills to translate primary sources written by the Nahua. Indigenous languages, cultures, and history are often overlooked in many areas of studies, and this class allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the Nahua by reading directly in their language.
I interned at the Colosseum, where my coworkers and I analyzed and catalogued excavations.
Did you study abroad? How did it enhance your education?
In the spring semester of my junior year, I was incredibly fortunate to study abroad in Rome through IES abroad, focusing on their History and Classics program. There, I was immersed in thousands of years’ worth of history, and it was a surreal experience seeing all of the information I had learned about Rome both in high school and college come to life. During my semester abroad, I took a class called “Rome as a Living Museum,” where our professor and peers gave on-site lectures about different historical sites. I also went to other incredible cities like Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Baiae as a part of a class called “The Last Days of Pompeii.” I did not just learn and analyze historical texts, I got to walk through it in person.
Studying abroad also allowed me to experience a field that I had not had the opportunity to before, and that is archeology. I interned at the Colosseum, where my coworkers and I analyzed and catalogued excavations. I learned how to identify what part of a column I was looking at, along with what kind of marble it was. We learned about the inner workings of the architecture of the Colosseum, and how the Romans utilized the amphitheater. The complementary archeological fieldwork class I took for that internship taught me how to capture the layers within Rome’s architecture, each corresponding to a different historical era. It was such an amazing experience getting a private tour of the Colosseum and its underground on the first day of my internship, and being greeted by Cesarina the Colosseum cat when doing work.
By going to Italy, I was also able to visit the island that I had planned to do my senior comps on, San Lazzaro degli Armeni. I had learned about this island-monastery in Venice in my sophomore year of college, and since then, I had kept it in my mind as a topic for my senior comp project. Just a little over a year later, I had the chance to actually go to this place that had only been in my imagination, see all of the historical artifacts, and appreciate the intellectual hub that is a part of my culture’s diaspora. By going abroad, I was able to better prepare for my big project here at Oxy.
Read Francine’s study abroad reflection piece in The Occidental newspaper.
Calvin May
Hometown: Hong Kong and Oakland, CA
Major: history Minor: English
What was your motivation to major in history?
I left high school already engaged in the study of history, at the very least considering it as a potential path for college. What solidified that possibility was my fall semester FYS (First-Year Seminar)—an exceptional eight-credit course on “Transpacific Movements and Activisms.” For a number of reasons (a combination of the class speaking to my interests and the quality of teaching), the course struck a chord and I felt sure enough to commit to the major. My advice for future students is to try out a few majors before committing to one: I later (re)discovered my passion for English literature as both a part of, and a window into studying, history. Fortunately I could take those classes for the minor!
The history professors I've gotten to know have been warm, considerate, and supportive instructors and advisors.
Can you describe your working relationships with history professors? Any standout classes you’ve taken?
The history professors I've gotten to know have been warm, considerate, and supportive instructors and advisors. I have stopped by their offices many times, with or without a reason. The class clown of the professors is without a doubt Prof. Gasper, who, aside from his comedy, also happens to be a fantastic professor; his course on the “Modern Middle East” was no joke!
What is the vibe of the history department?
One or twice a semester, the history department hosts a party or mixer; to me, this is when the vibe of the department as a whole is most on display. Everyone mingles with food in hand, the professors announce their upcoming courses, the nervous seniors (at least I was) talk about their experiences and senior theses. There's always a fun mix of characters and historical interests. But after the party's over, make sure to get started on tomorrow's reading!
To see more Meet Our Majors profiles, visit the main page.
