The Continuing Evolution of Perspectives
This 40th Anniversary edition of Perspectives: A Journal of
Historical Inquiry marks a milestone in the history of student
publication at CSULA. For four decades, the editorial teams
have striven to meet the highest standards of quality and
continued relevance. Even so, the maintenance and realization of
such an endeavor met their fair share of challenges. The History
Department has, in this time, undergone many marked changes
in its makeup of faculty, academic focus, and size. All of these
factors have influenced the nature of the journal, and offer fitting
starting points from which a look back at Perspectives’ past is
most fruitfully conducted. Come with us as we celebrate forty
years of scholarly excellence, for it is the knowledge of our past
that guides us to a productive and insightful future.
In 1973, the History Department at CSULA convened a
meeting to decide whether or not to sanction an academic journal
for history students. This momentous occasion marked the
beginning of Perspectives. From then on, annual submissions of
student scholarship have provided a pool from which work of the
best quality is chosen. Perspectives journals, in their most recent
incarnations, are products of a structured college course—
History 497. Conversely, the production of the initial volumes
did not occur within a classroom setting. Students, instead,
submitted their papers to the faculty member in charge.
Afterward, the latter worked with volunteer student editors to
produce that year’s version of the journal. The seeming
informality of the process, however, did not sacrifice quality, as
the early journals boasted many examples of exquisite writing.
148 Perspectives
Then, as now, submitted pieces came from undergraduate and
graduate research classes.
Dr. Stanley Burstein, Professor Emeritus of History,
remembers the state of CSULA’s History Department during the
formative years of Perspectives. He began his teaching career at
the university in 1968. In those days, he recalls the department
being much more focused on European history. Between 1973
and 1987, nearly thirty of the sixty-one published papers focused
on the history of Europe. A published article in Perspectives,
Vol. 5 (1977) titled “The Private Vision of Nicolo Machiavelli:
Political Philosophy and the Structure of Thought,” by Leland L.
Estes serves as a fitting example.
Leland L. Estes’s 1977 article argues that Machiavelli,
rather than being an innovator of political ideas and standpoints,
actually stood as an expounder of long-understood and accepted
facts. Undertaking both a structural and content analysis of
Machiavelli’s writings, Estes argued that the former did not
necessarily articulate original ponderings about the sociopolitical world of the Italian Renaissance. But rather, that
Machiavelli presented his notions in an intricate and implicitly
flattering style of prose. Like others, this article is indicative of
CSULA’s preponderance of European historians in the 1970s
and 1980s.
From 1983 to 1997, Perspectives articles continued to
stay focused on Europe, especially Germany. Courses offerings
in the history department provided a forum in which students
were able to expand on historical inquiry of Europe. Current
events around that time period demonstrated that this interest in
Germany was likely caused by the end of the Cold War and also
by the uncertainty of the upcoming reunification of Germany in
1990.The end of the Cold War signaled the change of many
events in Germany. The breakdown of Soviet control in Eastern
Europe raised the question of German reunification.
Perspectives articles continue to reflect a combination of course
offerings, current events, and students’ personal interests.
Dr. James Kraft, currently a Professor of History at the
University of Hawai’i, recalls his time as a student at CSULA
during 1984. Dr. Kraft developed interest in his
Perspectives topic while attending a graduate-level seminar class
The Continuing Evolution of Perspectives 149
about “Revolutions in the World” taught by Department Chair
Dr. Earl Phillips. In this class he wrote an article titled “The
German Revolution of 1918-1919” in the eleventh edition of
Perspectives. Dr. Kraft explores the socialist attempt at seizing
the German Government at the end of World War I. While
tracing the development of the revolution, Dr. Kraft illustrates
the reasons for its eventual failure. Other author’s discussed
military cooperation between different European nations.
In the 1989 Perspectives edition, an article written by
Danilo M. Tomovich “The National Committee for a Free
Germany, 1943-1945” illustrates how communist Russian and
German émigrés attempted to overthrow Hitler before he brought
the destruction of Germany. Tomovich’s article centers on two
themes that were visible in many other Perspectives articles,
Germany and the Soviet Union. After 1989, the possibility of
German as a reemerging power in the world, it is understandable
that
students
would
find
these
two
countries
interesting. Although Tomovich’s Perspectives article focuses
on Germany in 1943-1945, his selection of his topic does reflect
current events that were going on during his time at CSULA. As
the first thirty years of the journal publications demonstrate a
greater reflection of European events, the last decade has
established a greater shift towards local realities.
From 2004 to the present, the journal continuously
focuses on broader perceptions of history. The last decade
represents a period in which student editors wished to reflect the
greater diversity. Moreover, the articles within this last decade
suggest a series of shifts away from traditional histories of
Europe. These publications therefore, continued to push the
boundaries of historical inquiry towards one which is much more
inclusive and vast in its scope.
Increasingly, student submissions pertain to local
histories, Latin America and Asia rather than Europe. In many
ways, this shift reflects CSULA’s increasing diversity over the
last four decades. Alongside a growing ethnic diversity within
CSULA, the History Department itself has broadened its class
offerings beyond Europe. One such example is a 2009
Perspectives article titled, “Odd Man Out: Shifting Notions of
Culture, Community and Marginalization in the Power Struggle
150 Perspectives
for Alhambra, 1940s-1970s” by Elwing Suong Gonzalez. This
article explores the community of Alhambra through an
understanding of race, class, cultural and ethnic dimensions of
the time. This historically based reflection on our local
community serves as an example of the journal’s departure from
an early emphasis on European history. It demonstrates the
historiographical shift inward towards local communities rather
than one that emphasizes Europe in scope. Although the journal
continues to publish articles on European history, they take on
alternative modes of analysis. Increasingly, students analyze
European subjects not solely through an understanding of the
leaders, but rather through an understanding of the European
masses. In the Volume 33, three of the five essays explored
European history through a consideration of soldiers, nuns and
youth; not strictly from the top-down political viewpoint.
As course offerings at CSULA began to branch out, new
modes of analysis within the classroom would progressively
include culture, class, gender, sexuality, urban, ethnic and postcolonial historical conceptions. The 1980s and 1990s saw the
inklings of these new historical trends within the journal, but the
2000s, saw their fruition. Another substantial shift is the greater
emphasis on twentieth century histories, which aim at
understanding events from fairly recent history rather than the
journal’s early emphasis on Ancient history. There is an
increasing interest to understanding the twentieth century now
that time allows for better reflection.
In the last decade an increasing number of articles
addressed Latin American history on its own terms; outside of
U.S. influence. For example, Sandra Cervantes’ article in
Volume 37, “State of Repression: The Dirty War in Guerrero,
1961-1978” addressed the violence that began to take over the
state of Guerrero in Mexico in the 1960s and continues today.
The article does not emphasize U.S. influence in Mexico, but
rather it explores internal conflicts within the state of Guerrero,
Mexico. Furthering the tradition of increased diversity, last
year’s Volume 39 is perhaps the most diverse of the last decade.
With articles ranging from local Angeleno history to the sexual
revolution, black freedom movement to imperialism—this
volume continues the trend of historiographical diversity. The
The Continuing Evolution of Perspectives 151
last decade is indicative of students’ urge to demonstrate that
there is still so much historical inquiry that must look beyond the
center and towards the peripheries. This year’s articles, which
range from notions of manhood, gender, sexuality to U.S.
relations with Mexico, art, and local downtown development;
carries the torch towards further diversification. It is for this
reason that we are proud to look back at our journal’s history as
a reflection of CSULA’s cumulative diversity.
The innovative research of the articles within the last ten
years provides a powerful testament to the forward progression
of the history department at CSULA. From its first issue which
focused on European history, to our fortieth edition, each year
presents diversifying historical trends. Through the wide range
of student publications, it is clear that the journal fosters
historical
debates
and
research
among
students.
Perspectives provides a forum for students to demonstrate their
wide-ranging research interests. This forum implores fellow
students to take note and continue to bring further historical
inquiry. Moreover, looking back at our journal’s history, it is
evident that increasingly diverse course offerings within the
department yielded its influence on the journal itself. The quality
of these diverse works has not gone unnoticed—the Perspectives
Volume’s 36 and 37 editions were honored with the Gerald D.
Nash History Journal Award. Honored by the journal’s award
winning publications; we are proud to publish this fortieth
edition of Perspectives.
Nancy Degante
Jacqueline Lopez
Dalvin Tsay