Eugene Lunn served as a professor of history at UC Davis for two decades before his untimely passing in 1990, but his work as a scholar and his deep commitment to his students left a powerful impression that continues to resonate today.
The violence that erupted in Gaza in 2023 changed the political climate of teaching the Middle East in schools across the U.S. The UC Davis California History-Social Science Project has released new materials that teachers everywhere can use to confidently teach the history of both the Middle East and of Arab Americans.
In 2012, the California legislature mandated a more complete representation of everyone who contributed to the state’s and nation’s histories. The UC Davis California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP) brought together leading teachers and scholars to create a LGBTQ+ curriculum that connect all students to a richer history we all share.
Historian Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor’s recent book details how auctions created the foundations for our modern economic system as it made and unmade people and communities by collectively setting a price on anything for sale.
From early Japanese folklore and Dante’s Inferno to post-Soviet film and modern-day scapegoating in the U.S., humanity has long grappled with its fears through storytelling as well as violence. This collection of books traverses these themes, diving deep and analyzing the way these anxieties manifest in our behavior, political decisions and the creative works we produce.
Under the leadership of Cecilia Tsu, associate professor of history at UC Davis, students whose fields included sociology, history and English in 2024 began delving into Yolo County history. Tsu sought with her cohort of students to uncover diverse histories of Yolo County to share with K-12 teachers and their students.
With a frequently playful approach, historian Kathy Stuart invites students to engage deeply with very serious topics like stigma and persecution in early modern Europe. This year, ASUCD, the undergraduate governing body on campus, honored Stuart with its Excellence in Education Award.
The American Dream as both idea and ideal, for all its complications, has had an undeniably powerful role in shaping values and aspirations in the U.S. and far beyond its borders. We spoke with faculty and students in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis who represent a wealth of knowledge and perspectives that help us think about American society’s past, present and continuing potential.
The Davis Humanities Institute (DHI) has awarded two faculty in the College of Letters and Science with Network Collaboration Fellowships that provide $5,000 in support for fellows or their collaborators to travel to connect on a shared project.
For 2025, five of the nine total Lang Prize honors were awarded to students majoring in the College of Letters and Science for their research across the social sciences and humanities.
