Published Quarterly
Editor: Miriam Raub Vivian
| Winter Quarter 2007 |
California State University, Bakersfield
|
Volume 15, No. 2
|
Roman Life on the Outposts of Empire: Games and Baths on the Danube Frontier in Carnuntum
Having spent last July in eastern Austria participating in the excavation of the ancient Roman town of Carnuntum, in February Prof. Miriam Raub Vivian shared some of her experiences in field archaeology, and explained the historical importance of Carnuntum for the Romans--a history that nicely parallels the rise and decline of Rome's imperial fortunes. As a town on Rome's northern frontier, Carnuntum was part of Rome's borderland experience and thus central to its story of expansion and forced abandonment in the face of invading Germanic warriors. Carnuntum was initially established as a military camp in 6 CE, so by a happy coincidence, the current inhabitants of Petronell-Carnuntum were celebrating their 2,000th anniversary during Prof. Vivian's stay. As was typical in the development of Rome's empire, this military camp attracted locals, who traded with Roman soldiers and sometimes intermarried. Thus an established town grew up near the legion's camp. For the full story, click here.
Friday, May 18, 2007, Music Building
Professor Ronald Dolkart
Angela Peralta, El Ruisenor Mexicano
Angela Peralta was one of the more famous Mexicans of the nineteenth century and was known as the Mexican Nightingale. Angela’s song was on the opera stage, the most important international theater of her time. Her tragic life is operatic in itself, but another facet of her career was as a composer. Evidence of this has been much harder to document because of the difficulty of finding the Musical Album Of Angela Peralta, a very rare volume. After much searching Dr. Dolkart has found a copy. What the material shows us today is the important link between the European classical tradition and the spread of Mexican popular music, a connection in which La Peralta, we can theorize, played a prominent role. If she remains mostly obscure now, her album is a record of cultural importance, which speaks to us in lyric terms.
2007 J.R. WONDERLY AWARD WINNERS
Undergraduate Division:
Sharon Gillison: “’Man as God Intended He Should Be’: Slave Men and Their Struggle to Forge a Masculine Identity in the Antebellum South”
Graduate Division:
Christopher Mickols: “British and Russian Rivalry in Asia, the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention”
Congratulations, Sharon and Christopher!
Due to a sabbatical (Orliski), a Fullbright (Meriwether), and no Latin Americanist on our department’s faculty, our upper-division world history offerings will be very limited in 2007-2008. At this point we anticipate only the following two courses: Winter 2008: Hs 426, Modern China (TR 6pm); Spring 2008: Hs 340, Latin America (TR 10:30am). Please plan accordingly.
Two of our majors who just finished their degrees this term are anticipating service in the Peace Corps next year. Luis Valladares has been accepted and is waiting on his assignment. He will leave in November and will be stationed as an English teacher in Sub-Saharan Africa. Jennifer Price is wrapping up her application and expects to be going to Central Asia, probably Kazakhstan. She leaves in late July.
Prof. Jim Meriwether served in Botswana (1985-87) and has advised a number of students about the Peace Corps. Feel free to contact him if you have any questions about this important government service program (FT 304D; 654-2046).