Department Highlights

The History Department is delighted to announce that Professor Sonia Gomez has been promoted to Associate Professor.

This fall, Professor Gomez is beginning a Radcliffe Fellowship in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Congratulations, Prof. Gomez!

Professor Gomez spoke on a panel to honor Fred Korematsu Day at the Wesley United Methodist Church in San José in January.  Dr. Gomez also took Santa Clara students on a walking tour of San José’s historic Japantown.

The History Department welcomes our new Assistant Professor, Dr. Héctor Linares-Gonzales in Fall 2026! Héctor specializes in the history of the Iberian empires and the global Iberian world in the early modern period. Héctor comes to us from Suffolk University in Boston, and before that Penn State, where he received his PhD. 

Prof. Linares was elected to the Board of Directors of The Sixteenth Century Society for the 2027-30 term. He has also been awarded a fellowship from the Huntington Library for research at the British Library. Welcome, Dr. Linares! 

The Department is thrilled to announce that Marwan Hanania is our newest Assistant Teaching Professor in History, starting in Fall 2026! In addition to his full course load at SCU, Prof. Hanania has recently taught on Middle Eastern history for the Continuing Studies Program at Stanford and the OLLI Program at SCU, as well as a world history course for Santiago Canyon College.

Prof. Hanania spent a good portion of the summer in Amman, Jordan, working on his book manuscript for submission to Cambridge University Press. 

The History Department is pleased to welcome its History Ambassadors for 2026-27. Congratulations to Noah Bruening; Cash Carrillo; Susanna Martin, and Marcus Taylor! 

The History Club President for 2026-27 is Kaila Castanon. Congratulations, Kaila! 

Co-Presidents of the SCU Chapter of the honor society Phi Alpha Theta for 2026-27 are Leslie Duran Hinojosa & Susanna Martin. Congratulations, Leslie and Susanna!

Mateo Carrillo

Prof. Carrillo presented papers at the American Historical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago on January 11, 2026 and the Latin American Studies Association International Congress in Paris on May 26, 2026. In March he signed a contract to publish his book manuscript with the University of North Carolina Press.

Barbara Molony

Prof. Molony chaired two sessions on “Gender and Agency in Wartime China” and “Communities of Care” at the American Historical Association conference in Chicago in January.

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More news from Jeannette Estruth, Meg Gudgeirsson, Matthew Newsom Kerr, Matthew Specter, Thomas Turley, and Nancy Unger.

History students at Santa Clara have again racked up an impressive record of big university-wide awards for scholarship and leadership.

Francesca Tapper ’26 won the Hoefer Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing. Well done!

Two History majors have taken home the Gracelyn Rillorta Bateman Inclusive Excellence Awards this year. We congratulate Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia ’26 and Dylan Ryu ’26!

History Ambassador and member of the Historical Perspectives Editorial Board, Dylan Ryu ’26, was featured in a story by The Santa Clara newspaper. Congratulations, Dylan!

Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia ’26 was featured in a story about her work and leadership in the Multicultural Center. Congratulations, Jacklyn!

The History Department claimed both winners of the 2026 Helen LeFrance Library Undergraduate Research Award: Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia, for ““Quedándonos Quietos”: Guatemalan Migrants and the Unfulfilled Promise of Safety” and Christina McManus, for “The Atwood Moment: A Microhistory of Cultural Book Banning in the United States.”

This spring, an exciting History Day was enjoyed by all! Prof. Gudgeirsson hosted a successful event, where six SCU students presented their research in a variety of formats.

Phi Alpha Theta

Led by Profs. Mateo Carrillo and Gregory Wigmore, a large delegation of Santa Clara History students presented at the California State History Honor Society Phi Alpha Theta Conference at San José State University.

At the Phi Alpha Theta conference, Class of 2026 History major Zach Agnew’s paper won second place for Best Undergraduate Research Paper! Agnew reflected that “It was a lot of fun, especially seeing all the SCU presenters.” Congratulations, Zach! Agnew’s thesis was advised by Profs. Estruth and Andrews.

Profs. Carrillo and Wigmore also hosted a successful Phi Alpha Theta Induction Event for our many excellent history majors and minors. Congratulations, all!

2026 History Department Student Achievement Awards

The History Department is delighted to announce the winners of our 2026 Student Achievement Awards, below. Massive congratulations to all on these signal accomplishments!

Redwood Prize. Established in 1908 by the executive committee of The Redwood, the Redwood Prize is awarded to the student whose exemplary record in history includes writing the best essay on a historical subject.

Susanna Martin, "Catholic Incompatibility: The Abortion Coverage Debate at Santa Clara University."

Redwood Prize. Established in 1908 by the executive committee of The Redwood, the Redwood Prize is awarded to the student whose exemplary record in history includes writing the best essay on a historical subject.

Grace Martinez, "Eugenics in California: A Stain on the Golden State."

Giacomini Prize. Established in 2017 by Thomas Bender ’66 in honor of SCU alumnus and professor George Giacomini ’56, the Giacomini Prize is awarded to a student who excels in historical research and has written the best paper based on primary sources.

Cash Carrillo, “Nomen-culture: Afrocentric Education and Cultural Conflict in East Palo Alto, 1965-75.”

McPhee Prize. Established in 2007 through the generosity of Lulu and John McPhee, the McPhee Prize is awarded to the History Major or Minor student whose sustained achievement in history includes writing the most outstanding paper in a senior seminar.

Ben Chu, “Addressing the Adversary: How Redress Critics Forced Compromise.”

Mehl Prize. Established in 1993 by the History Department in memory of friend and benefactor Frederick Mehl, the Mehl Prize is awarded to the senior whose exemplary record in history includes writing the best senior thesis.

Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia, "'Quedándonos Quietos': Guatemalan Migrants and the Unfulfilled Promise of Safety

Mehl Prize. Established in 1993 by the History Department in memory of friend and benefactor Frederick Mehl, the Mehl Prize is awarded to the senior whose exemplary record in history includes writing the best senior thesis.

Dylan Ryu, "Relocating the Soul: Robert White, Transplantation Medicine, and the Move from Body to Brain"

Congratulations to all Graduating History Majors.

Zachary Agnew †‡
Jacklyn Alonzo Heredia †‡
Samuel Canales †
Lily Chappell †
Benjamin Chu †‡
Benjamin Kaestner †
Zackery Knight †
Andrew Knox †
Grace Martinez †
Thomas Mathew †
Christina McManus †‡
Jennifer Moore †
Nick Page †
Tyler Pineda †
Nora Pulizzi †‡
Olivia Reifschneider †
Dylan Ryu †‡
Nathaniel Symkowick †‡
Francesca Tapper †‡
Kathryn Temple †
Heyang Wang

Graduating History Minors

Madison Craig
Natalie Graham †
Samuel Hallstrom †
Isabelle Keppler †
April Le †
Julia Routh †
Harrison Villella

† Denotes a Phi Alpha Theta Member ‡ Denotes Honors in History

After graduating summa cum laude with a major in history,  Julia Kovatch ’23 completed a year-long public service fellowship in Cleveland, Ohio. Missing both the California weather and the Jesuit values that shaped her experience at SCU, she returned to pursue a career in higher education. She is now happy to be back in the History Department as its Academic Department Manager.

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At the President’s Dinner in April, History major Neil Datar ’17, was recognized with this year’s Santa Clara University Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Congratulations to Neil! 

History major David D. Schmidt ’78 announces that Backcountry Press has just published his long-awaited book, San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History.

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