Published Quarterly
Editor: Miriam Raub Vivian
| Fall Quarter 2006 |
California State University, Bakersfield
|
Volume 15, No. 1
|
All Phi Alpha Theta members who have written a research paper for a CSUB course (and which received some form of an “A”) during calendar year 2006 are eligible to submit one paper to our Psi Zeta chapter’s annual paper competition to compete for the JR Wonderly Memorial Prize. Anywhere from one to three awards will be made. Blue submission forms will be mailed out to members in December, but forms are also available in the rack outside Prof. Vivian’s office door, Faculty Towers 304A. Students are welcome to revise their papers as much as they like before submission, and whereas all papers are accepted, research papers are given priority.
If you are not currently a PAT member, but are interested in the national history honor society, please stop by Faculty Towers and pick up a red application form from the rack outside FT 304A and/or contact one of the advisors: Miriam Raub Vivian (FT 304A; 654-2230; mvivian@csub.edu) or Constance Orliski (FT 301B; 654-2077; corliski@csub.edu). Membership in this national organization has benefits!
Applications for the annual paper competition are due by Friday, January 19. We continue to be grateful to Peter and Patty Wonderly for their generous donation, which makes this annual event possible.
At the fall History Forum on Friday, October 13, Dr. Birger Pearson, professor emeritus of religious studies at UC Santa Barbara, related his expertise in early Christian manuscripts to a standing-room-only crowd. Having produced extensive scholarship on the Nag Hammadi Codices, discovered in Egypt in 1945, Dr. Pearson explained the painstaking process by which such manuscripts are restored and studied. Slides illustrated the huge lacunae in these manuscripts—gaps that leave our understanding decidedly incomplete. These texts are part of the Gnostic tradition in Christianity, a strain of the faith that was condemned as heretical beginning in the 2nd century, in large part because of its denial of Christ’s humanity, as well its emphasis on the secret spiritual knowledge (Greek gnosis) possessed by only its adherents. The recent publicizing of the Gospel of Judas has refocused attention on Gnosticism, and Dr. Pearson offered a fascinating interpretation of what this manuscript—with its several lacunae—tells us about the Gnostic view of Judas, the so-called betrayer of Jesus.
2007 GILDER LEHRMAN HISTORY
SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Gilder Lehrman History Scholars Program, a competitive summer scholarship program in American history for outstanding college sophomores and juniors, is now accepting applications (Deadline: March 1). Based in New York City, the program provides an opportunity for the next generation of historians to conduct primary-source research and to work closely with eminent scholars. The application for the 2007 Gilder Lehrman History Scholars program is now online.
To learn more, visit the program's website.
Coming in Winter 2007
Roman Life at the Outposts of Empire: Games and Baths on the Danube Frontier
On Friday, February 9th (@ 3:30pm in the Albertson Room), Prof. Miriam Raub Vivian will share her expertise in Roman civilization by examining life in a civilian town just south of the Danube River in modern Austria. Carnuntum flourished between the 1st and 4th centuries of our era and has undergone fairly extensive excavations off and on for many decades, with the current project focused on a private home and the city’s bath complex. Last July Prof. Vivian worked for four weeks helping excavate the baths—a typical Roman institution whose advanced technology continues to fascinate scholars and the public alike. The town also had an amphitheater for gladiatorial games, a forum or city square, and impressive homes. A nearby museum houses the best collection of Roman antiquities in Austria, and modern Petronell-Carnuntum attracts tourists with an “Archaeological Park” created to share Roman life with modern visitors. Come join us on February 9th for an exploration of Roman life on the frontier.
|
In this issue
|
|
Spring 2007 Schedule
|
Mark Baker and Mary McCue announce the birth of their son, Jasper Declan Baker-McCue!
Born Monday, July 24, 2006, 6:05 pm 9 lbs., 3 oz., 21 inches.
CONGRATULATIONS!
