Phi Alpha Theta Southern California Regional Conference

This last weekend was the Southern California Regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference.  Now I know what you are thinking: that sounds so amazing... I get to hear history students read their different papers.  I know but please hold your excitement back.

A little history on what Phi Alpha Theta is. It is a National History Honors society open to undergraduates and graduate students and even professors of History.  This doesn't mean that an amateur historian without a degree or one that hasn't taken university classes can join.  It is one of the few clubs reserved exclusively for history students.  

Phi Alpha Theta was established on March 17, 1921 at the University of Arkansas by Professor Nels Cleven.  Cleven believed that while at university a collection of scholars, including both men and women, was vital to the study of historical scholarship.  He invited  students to this group starting at the University Historical Society.  This group was officially recognized and the group was granted "fraternity" status and was given the greek letters of Phi Alpha Theta ΦΑΘ.

From the PAT website on the founding:

Nels Andrew N. Cleven established the National Honor Society in History, Phi Alpha Theta, at the University of Arkansas on March 17, 1921.  Nels Andrew Nelson Cleven was born on December 21, 1874 in Lake Mills, Iowa. He began his teaching career in public schools in 1894 before receiving two bachelor’s degrees (PhB and EdB) from the University of Chicago in 1906. Nels Andrew Nelson Cleven earned his PhD from the University of Munich in 1913, and taught at San Diego High School and Junior College until 1918. From 1918 to 1919 he worked as a research assistant for the War Trade Board’s Bureau of Research and Statistics in Washington, D.C.

In September 1919, Dr. Cleven moved to Fayetteville after accepting an assistant professorship from Dr. David Yancey Thomas, Head of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Cleven and his wife Hilma soon found Fayetteville and this unique region of the Ozarks to their liking. They frequently chaperoned the social activities of campus fraternities and sororities, organizations for which Dr. Cleven previously had little regard. These gatherings would inspire what he termed “the Phi Alpha Theta idea.”

The possibility of “diffusing information through socialized avenues,” he wrote later, “was due to the kindly cooperation of my students in Arkansas.” He came to regard fraternities as “an essential spirit of the age…searchers all for Truth in History.” Such societies were crucial because “the human side of scholarship needs to be nurtured and thought made articulate.” Despite the national proliferation of social and professional fraternities during this period, he discovered there were no societies in History, a deficiency he was determined to remedy. In his mind, he envisioned a secret fraternity; open to women as well as men, which would embrace the “entire History of Mankind.” By chance, a painting depicting ancient Assyria and featuring a six-pointed Star of Divinity hung on the wall of his classroom. The star became the central symbol for the History fraternity.
On March 14, 1921, Dr. Cleven presided over a meeting in his classroom with a group of History students. Those present voted to create the University Historical Society. Officers were elected and Constitutional, Program and Membership committees were appointed. Even though Dr. Cleven regarded this meeting as the anniversary date for the founding of Phi Alpha Theta, it was not until a month later that the name Phi Alpha Theta was formally adopted.

The mission of Phi Alpha Theta is "a professional society whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. We seek to bring students and teachers together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist historical research and publication by our members in a variety of ways."

Along with myself and Doris, two other graduate students presented along with four undergraduates from our university.  All of our topics were quite diverse from the "Arabs that attended the Chicago's World's Fair of 1893" to the "Practical Temperance Man" and a "History of the Hard Drive 1975-1995".  

History conferences come in all shapes and sizes.  This was hosted at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego.  I don't know that I could handle the view... I would never get any work done.  Each panel was chaired by professors from different Southern California Schools over seeing four panelists across multiple topics.

Doris and Amanda 

Doris, Zane, Nichol, and Amanda