Megan Lange: hi everyone Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon, my name is megan Lang I am one of the full time faculty members in the history department at Santa Ana college and we are here for our open House today.
Megan Lange: I just wanted to let you know that i'm everybody's going to go through and introduce themselves and then.
Megan Lange: i'll just do a quick run through of our guidelines for asking questions, etc, for our zoom room and then we'll go ahead and get started with our guests so Dr charity, perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself first.
Choi Chatterjee: Well, I just wanted to thank Professor Lang for inviting me and joy chatter G and Chair of the history department, at the outset Los Angeles.
Choi Chatterjee: And i'm here to recruit all a few days, and hopefully you all will apply to our program undergraduate we have a teacher preparation option and the general history option i'll talk about that later, but thank you for having me.
Megan Lange: Thank you so much for being here.
Megan Lange: and Dr guzman.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Thank you so much megan hi everybody i'm kristin guzman here at Seneca college and I am have been in the history department here for about 16 years.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: So this semester and teaching Mexican American history, along with us history from reconstruction or the end of the Civil War Two, the present and I am a history nerd.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: So I would love to talk to you about.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: It any day anytime.
Megan Lange: Excellent Thank you so much, I think we are all in that category.
Megan Lange: Okay stephanie would you like to go next.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): or hi the folks i'm Professor stephanie lira my pronouns are she hers and i'm an adjunct Professor here at Santa Ana college.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Today i'll be moderating the Roundtable at the end of our program and i'm just really happy to be here and to learn more about the students that are interested in history so thanks for having me.
Megan Lange: Thank you so much, and next we have Professor ramirez.
Adriana Ramirez: hi, this is a general meristem, thank you for being here and i've been at sac.
Adriana Ramirez: For about four years and I currently teach native American history us history Mexican American history and Mexican history, and so I love love history, I.
Adriana Ramirez: enjoy every element of it and it's everywhere, history is everywhere in music and poetry movies and books and you can escape it because it's there and I hope you embrace it and you love it as much as I do thank you.
Megan Lange: Excellent Thank you so much, and last but certainly not least, Professor Donna, thank you.
Danny D.: So Hello everybody, my name is Professor Daniel de Luna and I am also history faculty at Santa college also welcome to Dr chatter Jay Thank you so much for being with us, we appreciate your time and I love history and I love the lakers i'll just keep it short.
Megan Lange: Excellent Thank you so much all right well now that you've met, who is here, and my eyeballs are going to be switching back and forth because i'm kind of in charge of the waiting room i'm just going to go through really quickly a few of the guidelines that we've laid out for today's.
Megan Lange: Presentation for you and the main thing is that we are recording presently, and so the recording will be made available to everyone, through our college.
Megan Lange: department website later on this week, so if you miss anything and you'd like to go back you're certainly welcome to do so, you will remain muted.
Megan Lange: Unless you don't have access to the chat, in which case you can raise your hand if you have a question later on when we have a Q amp a section.
Megan Lange: And then we can go ahead and unmute and you can ask your question, so if you do have questions, and you have access to the chat i'll be monitoring the chat and the best way to ask your questions, through the chat and that way I can.
Megan Lange: feel a lot of them and that way, nobody gets kicked out because I know some zoom updates are.
Megan Lange: frustrating a few folks and then the last thing that I mentioned, too, is that we have.
Megan Lange: I know some of you are awarded extra credit for being here today, so if you are able to please put your name and your instructors last name in the chat That way we can verify when the instructor asks for verification.
Megan Lange: Or if you don't have access to the chat you can always send that same information your full name and your instructors name to me via email, so my email is listed at the bottom there it's laying underscore megan@sec.edu.
Megan Lange: But again, this information will be posted on our website so if you missed anything, or if you're kind of getting kicked out are coming back in no problem never fear you'll have access to it.
Megan Lange: And so we'll go ahead and get started we're going to start out today and Professor Luna is going to run through the.
Megan Lange: History degree pathway program here at Santa Ana college, so let me get that setup for you.
And you.
Danny D.: Alright, so just briefly to talk about the two types of degrees, that you can receive.
Danny D.: at Santa Ana college, one of them is what most people, I think, think of when they think of a degree that comes out of graduating from a Community college that's your associate of arts degree.
Danny D.: So that's the a degree that you see on the left hand side that one is maybe 21 now thought, maybe it's 21 units, so you have to take 21 units in the the history field and those 21 units are pretty well laid out for them, or what we call the core courses, so that would be.
Danny D.: which are both halves of world history with history, we tend to split things and have so like for us history half the course would be up to the civil war.
Danny D.: And then the other half of the course would be after the civil war, everything that happens in American history, after the civil war and so it's kind of no different with world history everything up until 1500.
Danny D.: And then the second half, would be everything after 1500 so you have to take those four core courses 101 in one or two those are world history both halves.
Danny D.: And then you take 120 and 121 and that's us history both has now, you can take the honors version of that course and, of course, with honors comes you know some benefits transfer benefits to you see that type of thing.
Danny D.: looks great on a resume So if you feel up for it by all means, we would like to play up the honors like to advertise because not enough students know about honors.
Danny D.: But so many students are capable of completing the honors.
Danny D.: program and and completing honors contracts, so if you feel that you are in a course and you feel you're capable of doing honors.
Danny D.: Just kind of a shameless plug, even though I don't even get any benefits from this I probably should get some kickbacks but just a shameless plug for the honors Program.
Danny D.: You might want to ask your Professor if they are willing to do an honors contract, because that would be great.
Danny D.: Okay, so back to the degree, so you have your four core courses and then you have three electives so in these three electives.
Danny D.: You actually get kind of a variety you don't have to take more history, you can, if you want to why would you not want to I don't know, but if you're feeling, you know that you want to branch out a little bit more.
Danny D.: You can even take philosophy political science, a couple of other options, I want to say that geography, is one of them also.
Danny D.: And if you click on the link here that the one that says two options, then you can see some of those other options that I spoke about not that you have to but.
Danny D.: If you want to, and then the other type of degree that's kind of relatively new.
Danny D.: But it's brilliant, in the sense that if you complete the requirements to receive the degree and that's the at that you see on the right hand side.
Danny D.: Wait what i'm doing like the weatherman thing, so if everybody's looking at me right now, I think this is your right hand side.
Danny D.: But it's so weird because I have to lift the hands to the left, I know i'll never get used to it anyways on the right hand side you see the at.
Danny D.: And that one if you complete the requirements, like, I was saying, then you gain kind of guaranteed access to the cal state system so.
Danny D.: The any you're guaranteed to get into a CSU, and so, then you can transfer and then complete your history major there so that's a that's a that's what i'm saying was the brilliant aspect of the at is that you're guaranteed.
Danny D.: Access to the four year university at the next level so it's great and most of the requirements are very similar the core classes again you've got your.
Danny D.: And then you kind of have your choice, if you want to take a world history and then actually Professor lying if you could, could you do me a favor and could you click on.
Danny D.: If this is your screen that's been shared, could you click on the two options right there I think that's a link, if not it's OK.
Danny D.: Or is that.
Danny D.: Professor lira okay there we go and if you could scroll down to where it says option to.
Danny D.: So that's the at so you still take some of the core requirements, but then you have these other two options, they call them area one and area to sometimes like called a or what they also have a movie.
Danny D.: And so that opens it up for an even greater variety of options and now you've got kind of the the history options at your fingertips, you can take women's history, you can take chicano history native American history.
Danny D.: Basically, you can run the gamut of the different history courses that we offer at sac.
Danny D.: These are kind of beyond your normal core courses they're super exciting they're taught by our best professors and so those would be the courses that would be at your fingertips, if you selected the at.
Danny D.: And then, I believe, Dr chatterjee at some point we'll talk about kind of how you transfer over to a CSU and how to make that happen and then maybe.
Danny D.: Going beyond that to get the bachelors but that's the long and short of it, so I think we're there are other there are other slides on that that group of signs and I was reading from.
Danny D.: justin oh so there we go so there's there's that bevy of options that I was talking about that you could just kind of run down the list and California history and.
Danny D.: And these are the ones that would be there's so many to choose from So these are the ones where it'd be great to this would be another benefit of taking the at is that your options seem to be vastly opened up, as it were, and so yeah there you go.
Megan Lange: Great Thank you so much, that was a very excellent overview and I know, one of the questions in the chat has something to do with if students who take classes at SCC can mix and match with classes from SAC in order to complete one of these two pathways Danny can you answer that question.
Danny D.: I probably can, but as a caveat, which means warning I would throw out there, that you always want to make sure that you verify everything with your counselor and maybe with administration as well, but, considering that the person who asked the question was was mentioning.
Danny D.: The other college in our district, the other college know that great SEC, is a great school fantastic faculty beautiful school, considering that they were mentioning our sister college in the district they likely have the same numbers history.
Danny D.: things of that nature, but I would imagine if you were taking a class at a different school that was still similar in Title and just different in number.
Danny D.: Usually what you would have to do and it's not that difficult to do is, you would have to apply for equivalency and so are our main office.
Danny D.: In the D building would have those forums, you might even be able to find one online where you could apply for equivalency and make your case for how the courses you already took.
Danny D.: match up with some of the courses that are offered in our degree program and that way you wouldn't have to retake them.
Megan Lange: Excellent Thank you so very much and I think the person who asked the question, said okay thanks, does that mean, your question is answered.
Megan Lange: If not you can keep putting in there excellent.
Danny D.: Or you can email me or email accounts or i'm sorry to interrupt but yeah.
Megan Lange: Yes, absolutely you can email any of the folks here in the panel today and we'll make sure you can always find our email addresses on the Faculty web page, and you can also put direct chats in there as well.
Megan Lange: Thank you so much.
Megan Lange: Next, on our program we have Dr chatterjee who is coming to us from cal state la in the history department and we've asked her to explain and describe to you what the.
Megan Lange: Transfer process looks like but also what the degree or program looks like because they have some really cool options, so let me pull up your presentation one second here.
Choi Chatterjee: So, while we are waiting i'll just say thank you to all the Faculty who have invited me for the presentation and thank you to all the students who are attending.
Choi Chatterjee: This is a big big decision for you all to make right and then someone said what if I move out of state, as some people stop at a degree right, and so what I will do is first tell you is go to our website.
Choi Chatterjee: Since I took over as Chair i've been filing more and more information on the website because that's where we all go for information nowadays.
Choi Chatterjee: So go to the website do a deep dive and take a look at the newsletters and that will give you a sense of what kinds of things as students i'm doing.
Choi Chatterjee: What are their achievements and that might give you a sense of do you see yourself in the history department, would you like to be part of our Community, so if you can go to the next slide please I can.
Choi Chatterjee: say all wanted to give you a little idea of the office.
Choi Chatterjee: And that's my chair when we have the corner, we try and make it a welcoming place i'm, of course, with gold they're.
Choi Chatterjee: Very few people in there, but i'm there pretty much every day I want my students to know that if i'm still alive, it is safe to come in.
Choi Chatterjee: Because I have found online learning is easy, but it does affect the intellectual standards, a little bit, and so I highly recommend.
Choi Chatterjee: That you build some relationships with people real relationships with people and and even if you're taking a class online come in come into campus to meet us.
Choi Chatterjee: OK, the next slide and megan tell me when i'm going over I also want to acknowledge, you know all the Labor that is done on campus right, we tend to think of faculty that we are the most burdened but, of course, and staff do hundred and 25% and I just want to introduce.
Choi Chatterjee: melody citizen.
Choi Chatterjee: who's our department coordinator.
Choi Chatterjee: Who will be there to help.
Choi Chatterjee: You every step of the way if you decide to come to us okay next slide I have a advising team, no one, you know and on an island, nobody builds anything alone, and so I just want to say that.
Choi Chatterjee: In addition to i'm always available in fact my students telling me I respond to emails way to quickly sometimes they wish I wouldn't respond so fast.
Choi Chatterjee: But that's the culture that we have created accounts at a Deli our history, students, know that we are available, I terrible thing happened last semester, where student.
Choi Chatterjee: right to take I won't say his her life but faculty Member was awake at two and got a text and we manage they contacted me I contacted the police.
Choi Chatterjee: We mentioned to be in and get to the hospital and that thing only happened and I shared it with you just to tell you what kind of community we have built and i'm so glad that that student actually send that a text with the Faculty Member.
Choi Chatterjee: telling them, this is what they were planning to do and so those Dr leaders, Dr Ford, we have different advisors and different terms.
Choi Chatterjee: But it is a very, very accessible culture and all success is based on real human relationships.
Choi Chatterjee: We are social animals and if there's a group of people who believe in, you are rooting for you wanting you to be successful.
Choi Chatterjee: chances are you will be, but you also have to reach out come into the office shake our hands make eye contact ask the questions interrupt us and if anyone is putting in questions and chat megan will you just have a lot to me i'd like to reply real time and, at the end because.
Choi Chatterjee: Education is a conversation.
Choi Chatterjee: it's a dialogue it's not a monologue.
Choi Chatterjee: You can't listen for more than two to three minutes Max, but if you are asking questions i'm learning as well, so feel free to interrupt me Okay, the next slide please.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, so we have two options and so for why would you want to do a BA in history, let me address that first right and then i'll get into how you would get your degree number one.
Choi Chatterjee: Is the Ba in history is one of those old old disciplines that go back to Greek Chinese classical Indian civilizations.
Choi Chatterjee: All thought people should know history that was part of what defined human beings, we have memory of our past we have a record of what we did.
Choi Chatterjee: And we think about the present through what we have done in the past, so history is one of those core disciplines.
Choi Chatterjee: That are never going to go out of fashion right as long as we are human beings, unless we evolve to some other species.
Choi Chatterjee: I would be safe to say that this discipline is going to be important for us so for everything else forget about jobs, forget about korea's I think it's vital for anybody who's a citizen of a country.
Choi Chatterjee: Is a participating Member of a community is a responsible member of our family, we need to know history.
Choi Chatterjee: And so, if if for nothing else, even if you never major in history, learn history read history and love history, I love that the Faculty all said.
Choi Chatterjee: That they love history, because when we model that passion, it will excite the excitable students so apart from there is no.
Choi Chatterjee: Political Community where if the people there are not aware of their history right, because if we don't participate, we can build that community.
Choi Chatterjee: about him that there are some practical reasons to get a history degree number one is, we have two options we have the straightest free option, and then we have the teaching option.
Choi Chatterjee: And the Ba degree in history is incredibly versatile and tell i'll tell you some of the different things our students have done, and then i'll talk about the teaching option.
Choi Chatterjee: So a lot of our students are coming back for a master's in history.
Choi Chatterjee: I think a lot of people want to prolong their education, we are seeing a lot of that a lot of jobs are now requiring a graduate degree.
Choi Chatterjee: So i've been teaching for 27 years and over the years, and you know this year, we have our largest cohort of graduate students, we have 67 students in our yeah megan was saying wow right.
Choi Chatterjee: Because we did a lot of outreach and I think during call that a lot of people decided to go back to school.
Choi Chatterjee: So that is one option for you to do, do you take your history major you get your masters and then we have an incredible amount of students who go on for a PhD.
Choi Chatterjee: And that might be a little too distant for you guys, but some other things that our students have done is with their undergraduate degrees as they've gone into journalism.
Choi Chatterjee: And some of our students are moving quite effectively into data science and we are trying to include some digital history in our curriculum.
Choi Chatterjee: A lot of our students want for law degrees, a lot of our students also work in the city government which, if you actually Google it.
Choi Chatterjee: is incredibly well, I was looking at.
Choi Chatterjee: And graduate student of mine contacted me he graduated 10 years ago it was looking for a job and I said, have you thought about city jobs, I was like what they appear so well so you'd be surprised how well to dig up and base.
Choi Chatterjee: And that is definitely a career path for you to think about and don't discounted because people are retiring and people my age, the baby boomers we will retire someday I promise you and those jobs will open up and.
Choi Chatterjee: be a degree in history, really, really prepares you for a career of public service right we teach you how to read, we teach you how to write we teach you how to think we teach you how to analyze data.
Choi Chatterjee: And we did you ethics right because history is, after all, about morality right what we did what we shouldn't have done what was wrong what could be done better what better training for a public servant, in my opinion than an education in history.
Choi Chatterjee: So everyone with me.
Choi Chatterjee: My going too fast any questions.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay um so megan if you can just open open the teaching option, because I know I don't have a lot of time there and then, if you're interested in the history option, you can go there, maybe we can just open the teaching auction and i'll show you the difference.
Choi Chatterjee: And this is why i'm so glad megan is doing this and not me, I would have.
Choi Chatterjee: And sometimes it doesn't open from the PowerPoint oh perfect it did open.
Choi Chatterjee: And you're beginning to see the information overload on this website.
Choi Chatterjee: Because I during covert I tried to put everything online, so my boss students wouldn't have to go through it, or they couldn't find this phone they can find this form, I wanted everything to be there, so, if you look at the.
Choi Chatterjee: The teacher preparation option is where the most of our students transfer into.
Choi Chatterjee: Because this not only gives you a BA degree in history, but you also have a teaching credential in the social sciences, so if you are planning to teach in the high school in high schools.
Choi Chatterjee: The State wants you to prove that you have taken coursework in history in geography and political science and economics and you might be asked to teach any of these four courses right.
Choi Chatterjee: And so little bit of preparation that's necessary and because we had a State certified program once you graduate from us, you are done with your single subject credential which is kind of Nice right because.
Choi Chatterjee: Just imagine a BA and a credential and then whether you know if you go into a private school.
Choi Chatterjee: They don't even require the teaching credential right the teaching credential is only required under state university system, so we have lots of students, would do this degree.
Choi Chatterjee: get a job in a parochial or private school and then come back for a master's in history, they skip the credential all together.
Choi Chatterjee: And we'll be seeing some changes soon through ctc they're realizing that the credential process has become so burdensome it's preventing students from applying to teaching as a career, so you that whole second credential might become a lot easier, especially in your lifetime.
Choi Chatterjee: So if you can scroll down.
Choi Chatterjee: Yes, one down a little bit and yeah, I just wanted to show you some of the classes, because i'm so glad.
Choi Chatterjee: Professor Daniel went first, because this is where a lot of your classes will transfer right, and so, if you look at the list.
Choi Chatterjee: Of the law division courses so to begin with only law division courses transfer right from a Community college, we cannot transfer me 3000 young there aren't any 3004 thousand level courses.
Choi Chatterjee: At the Community college, but if you look at the law division courses, the world history, you will have taken right so most of our plans for students come in, they have world history, they have us history.
Choi Chatterjee: i'm seeing an increasing number of students who now have California history already at the Community college.
Choi Chatterjee: The Economics 1500 sometimes we will substitute the macro and the micro economics, sometimes not i've seen professors go both ways on this.
Choi Chatterjee: A lot of students, of course, have the policy side 1000 American Government, I think, is that a core requirement at Community college policy one intro generic and government.
Megan Lange: I believe it is, but maybe one of the other professors who are more knowledgeable.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Yes, it would be a requirement at at some point, and that, because that would help you also then to earn your American institutions requirement.
Choi Chatterjee: A lot of our transfer students come in G certified right and any of the classes that are articulated with the CSU system.
Choi Chatterjee: And you know if they tell us you are G certified we just accept that then we don't go and do the tedious map of saying Oh, you have 29 classes, we require 10 we don't do that if you're G certified we just accept that.
Choi Chatterjee: And then you will go straight into the upper division courses and I, and I won't take up time yeah you can go to our website.
Choi Chatterjee: But as you see the bulk of the courses will be in history, but you will have to take those three courses in geography to in economics and then the three in political science, but there is enough history, there are enough history courses to satisfy the history buff in you.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay um any any questions.
Choi Chatterjee: watching any questions on the chat okay magnificent go back to the.
Choi Chatterjee: screen how am I doing on time.
Megan Lange: Excellent.
Choi Chatterjee: OK OK.
Choi Chatterjee: So I just put some of.
Choi Chatterjee: These in because this is something we're very proud of and the history department megan I don't know what you thought of perspectives and you take the class with Dr greger.
Megan Lange: I did, and it was wonderful I was actually the first well when I took the course I was the Co editor in Chief of our publication and then the next year I was fortunate enough to get my.
Megan Lange: Work my own work, published in the subsequent.
Megan Lange: issue, so it was very fun and it was a lot of work.
Megan Lange: it's good practice.
Choi Chatterjee: This is what I meant by this is what our students are doing.
Choi Chatterjee: They publish journal every year, and every year we win a national price i'm not bragging I think I think we must have 120 in the last 20 years, and this is completely student run.
Choi Chatterjee: They solicit the journals i'm going to articles from other students, and that includes some undergraduates i've had my undergraduate students that have their articles accepted into the journal.
Choi Chatterjee: And now some faculty members have told me that assigning some of these articles in their classes, which I thought was so wonderful So if you come to us.
Choi Chatterjee: I would definitely say take that class, so you can get to put it on your CV I helped edit.
Choi Chatterjee: and publish a journal, I mean that's a wonderful skill to list on it, then, if you want to editing or publishing that Korea might open up to you, apart from journalism.
Choi Chatterjee: The other thing that I have here is that museum of social justice is that internships, I cannot tell you how important internships are especially if you're considering going into.
Choi Chatterjee: archiving into library science into museum studies, then an internship really teaches you about the field, you might consider going into.
Choi Chatterjee: And we have relationships with all the major museums in the city, I sent a lot of my students to the vendor museum because i'm a Russian historian.
Choi Chatterjee: But I have sent students to the Center for political repo graphics and even to the getty museum so internships and something you all, should be thinking about even in Community colleges right because.
Choi Chatterjee: This is what we do with history right, this is applied part of of history, we also do a lot of exhibitions.
Choi Chatterjee: My students and I, we did an online exhibition during covert on earthquakes and La we've done real artwork and installations.
Choi Chatterjee: A colleague of mine is collecting testimonials and she's building a corporate archive so there's a lot of practical history work that is happening in our department is not just academic and, finally, I have a slide of one of my favorite students.
Choi Chatterjee: Are when Delgado, who, after a fairly uneventful Korea suddenly decided to join the marines and went off to Afghanistan and.
Choi Chatterjee: He is now in the National Park service and but he always said that he was thinking a lot about history during his deployment overseas so history can help you in many different different situations okay next slide.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, and I just want to Oh, I apologize for that typo man sorry and should be a small Lee I don't know why I kept I was creating this very late last night.
Choi Chatterjee: And so Phi alpha theta is the other thing that megan can tell you more about it's a national honor society, you need to have a high GPA to join.
Choi Chatterjee: They have an annual banquet they bring out the perspectives they do crips they do movie screenings we invite speakers to campus.
Choi Chatterjee: It is a pretty active organization and it's something I definitely definitely recommend you join and it's also a great way to build community on campus like on the map the last one oh, this is the Phi alpha theta office and I can remember, I would listen for you.
Choi Chatterjee: I.
think it.
Choi Chatterjee: I think that's my last slide is that.
Choi Chatterjee: Not all the most important when I forgot about Okay, and so, these are the lower division requirements and it's like a mirror slide right that you saw in the first presentation and and.
Choi Chatterjee: I broke it down between teacher prep and general and, as you can see, the four classes are the same, the intro history classes, at the same.
Choi Chatterjee: For the law division, the transfer students, these are the four that we would like you to have but, as I, as I said.
Choi Chatterjee: it's fine if you don't right so whatever you can't complete a Community college, you can certainly come and complete at at cal state la.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, but I will share one thing with you that over the years i've been just so impressed at how our transfer students are coming in, so well prepared.
Choi Chatterjee: to handle university level up, and I think you know I it's a big shout out to your faculty who work so hard to because definitely when I have students from high school versus from Community college.
Choi Chatterjee: I can't even tell you the difference in skill level so big shout out to your faculty who are doing most marvelous marvelous job okay i'm going to end here, because you know I had all these other slides, but I really don't think that's so important.
Choi Chatterjee: it's too much for students to take in too many numbers.
Megan Lange: And I as, as you mentioned, I think the same information is on the website as well.
Megan Lange: Correct.
Choi Chatterjee: Everybody is on the website.
Megan Lange: Excellent well, thank you so very much thank you for all of the wealth of information.
Megan Lange: And we'll open it up now to any students or anyone here joining us that might have questions for Dr chatterjee about the program about what she's discussed in terms of what you might be thinking about for future plans.
Megan Lange: And if you want to put it in the chat i'll read it for you or, if you want to raise your hand I can we can unmute you and you can talk.
Choi Chatterjee: I think sometimes it can be a little overwhelming right to have a stranger come in and speak by zoom expect to spark a conversation, but let me ask you how many of you are thinking of transferring or applying to cal state la.
Choi Chatterjee: Maybe I can start the conversation in the.
Choi Chatterjee: Summer if you're thinking of coming to us, are you all going to use these.
Choi Chatterjee: We get a lot of competition from the ucs.
Choi Chatterjee: Right see somebody.
Choi Chatterjee: I see in the chat right somebody Maria you're planning to transfer to cal state la.
Choi Chatterjee: that's wonderful and then depending if i'm living out here i'm planning to transfer.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, actually Maria has a question so maybe we can unmute her.
Megan Lange: Maria did you want to ask your question.
Megan Lange: With your microphone or via chat.
Megan Lange: Okay, no problem go for it.
Megan Lange: And I know that cal state la sometimes seems a little bit far from orange county but never fear it's manageable.
Megan Lange: I know a few students that i've had in classes over the last couple of years, who transferred to cal state la and one of them in the street program so that's exciting.
Choi Chatterjee: So, Maria we're waiting for your question.
Choi Chatterjee: OK.
Choi Chatterjee: OK, I got accepted to galaxy Delhi, but I didn't apply for any classes oh so you got accepted this fall.
Choi Chatterjee: We accept it and you didn't register for any classes, is that what you're saying.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, you might have to reapply, but I would really defer that question to our our admissions office, because I know during corvid a lot of our previous policies.
Choi Chatterjee: are not applying so I don't want to give out any wrong information about admissions that is a whole gigantic bureaucracy on campus and so please talk directly to them, because you know they might allow you.
Choi Chatterjee: To give you the admission staff doesn't allow you to come in next fall.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay sorry, a lot more helpful about that.
Choi Chatterjee: Carry on I like that there are connections to museums, I want to pursue and started a lock IV so volunteering at the national security would be.
Choi Chatterjee: Okay, so Maria if you go to the cal state la website and click on admissions and admissions has a whole contact us information section and they actually have a lot of the answers to their questions.
Choi Chatterjee: And so the Museum of natural history, you know we've never placed anybody there, but I have no problems calling people up randomly and saying hey my student wants an internship I have done that in the past and it's worked, but we have archives on campus.
Choi Chatterjee: At galaxy Delhi.
Choi Chatterjee: MC and did you ever work with azalea camacho no so we have special collections on campus and they are processing historical papers all the time, and so, sometimes, for example, I have 330 50 public history class last year they process the papers of the lieutenant Governor of California.
Choi Chatterjee: A modern day family and the students who are part of processing the collection, putting it online, so we have many, many of those opportunities on campus and, as I said a lot of our faculty.
Choi Chatterjee: are very connected to various cultural organization so internships as a big part of our student experience so if you come to us definitely guarantee you some internships.
and
Choi Chatterjee: Any other questions.
Choi Chatterjee: And you guys can always email me i'm happy to jump on a zoom call with people are better so come to campus.
Megan Lange: And then you can see for yourself how not far away, it is.
Megan Lange: Well, and I would encourage you all to if you think of something later on, you can bring it to our attention and we can try to either field, the question in real time here, or we can forward it to the person that might be best able to answer it.
Megan Lange: Does anyone else have any questions or comments or thoughts about what Dr charity was sharing about the cal state la Program.
Megan Lange: Well, thank you again, Dr chatterjee That was really helpful that's a wealth of information for our students and for us as well when we're talking to students about their options and what they might be interested in doing so thank you once again for being here with us.
Megan Lange: i'm going to stop the share.
Megan Lange: and
Megan Lange: You are more than welcome to hang out with us, if you want to join our Roundtable you certainly can that would be really great and if not, then, we look forward to the next time that will see you, so thank you once again.
Choi Chatterjee: Thank you guys have a great rest of the evening bye.
Danny D.: bye Thank you.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Thank you.
Adriana Ramirez: Thank you.
Megan Lange: We are going to switch gears just a little bit them in our program and Dr guzman is going to give us a little bit of an intro to and kind of continue the conversation that Dr chatterjee started about why.
Megan Lange: We might study history and hopefully this will be a nice springboard or will jumpstart a conversation for our Roundtable discussion in terms of why we all love history and how we might inspire you if you're not already a history major to become a history major tomorrow right.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Yes, whether it's becoming a history major.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Tomorrow or any day of the week upcoming so um yeah Let me share my screen real briefly.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And just go over a few things i've got about five minutes so i'm going to kind of move through this somewhat quickly, and let me see if my I can get my.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Control tier to obey my command i'm not sure i'm able to do that.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: let's see one second here does anybody know now that i've got this on the screen, but I want to.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Sorry, I froze.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: It looks like my situation has frozen.
Megan Lange: Did you.
Megan Lange: pull up those.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Can you hear me megan.
Megan Lange: Yes, absolutely.
Megan Lange: Do you want me to pull up the.
Megan Lange: slides that we have before.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): she's frozen.
Megan Lange: Oh totally frozen.
Megan Lange: Okay.
Megan Lange: let's go to this i'm going while we're waiting for her to unfreeze i'm going to pull up the other slides when can you one second.
Megan Lange: sorry about that i'm actually maybe while we're waiting for Dr guzman to come back and rejoin us, I will give Susan an opportunity she's patiently waiting over here.
Megan Lange: Susan take it away.
Susan Alamilla: hi everybody so, can you hear me.
Susan Alamilla: awesome so I just wanted to let everybody know and I accidentally let it slip by putting.
Susan Alamilla: In the chat accidentally when I didn't mean to but shameless plug we.
Susan Alamilla: We have a sack history club, if you didn't know about it, and we would really love it if you would come and join us, so I can put in the chat really quickly the.
Susan Alamilla: link to our meeting and we actually meet on Tuesdays and normally it's twice a month, but this week we're doing a little bit different.
Susan Alamilla: Thank you for loving the spiders the liana I love them to there's actually a whole theme going on up there, but so I show you the whole thing but and there's tons more if you look the other way but i'm not going to show you all that but um any so.
Susan Alamilla: This week we don't really have a theme, but we are going to be discussing our participation in the fiesta de fright which is happening on campus on Thursday the 28th.
Susan Alamilla: it's so you can come out and visit our club see what we have to offer and come and judge our pumpkin and give us the first place prize because we're going to be doing a pumpkin to.
Susan Alamilla: The meeting is at marsala i'm glad you asked at 630 normally every night every Tuesday.
Susan Alamilla: And we normally do it twice a month, but this week we're doing a little bit extra so we have one tonight at 630 if you'd like to visit us and join us, we have plenty of things to talk about and then.
Susan Alamilla: It also add in what we're gonna be doing for the next meeting, as far as the topic so far we've done some haunted history stuff and then we've also done.
Susan Alamilla: Some Columbus versus indigenous people, which one do you celebrate type things and we have lots more so if you are interested and your history nerd like the rest of us please come and join us all right that's it.
Megan Lange: Thank you Susan Okay, and yes please join the history club, it is super fun, I think we have Dr Grossman back.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: sorry about that you wanted to kick me out okay so as we jump in before I share a few things on the screen with you i'm wondering if everyone in the chat could take a second just to answer a question i'm placing in the chat which is.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: What skills or I should I should ask you know what benefits, do you think come from learning about history, meaning like if you were in a history course or studying history, what is.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: positive about it, what benefits can come out of that process, whether you're studying ancient world history California history history of Mexico women's history, etc.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Oh, I love it so got a lot of students already timing in like Susan fun yeah and Richard.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Richard Schmidt sharing there's fun and debate absolutely learning from past mistakes, ran and yes and Susan understanding why events took place.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: and Maria also sharing being informed about the past.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: So that it can help us make correct decisions in the future, and also right now, someone on their iPhone is sharing we're able to understand our ancestors.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And rihanna sharing that we're able to get perspectives from other backgrounds outside of our own.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Liliana sharing we learn more about important events that still have an impact, we see patterns in history, Daniel saying it helps us understand how things are currently.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: on and on, I O and learning about our own roots as marcella is sharing I love that so what I want to share with you just briefly.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And I won't take too long.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Going into this, but one of the things that I share with my students and i'd like to share with you is that, often, you know when we look at history let's say from the past.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Often, those stories of the past were told just about like the most important people in history or the people who had you know status and wealth and a lot of.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: power to direct what other people were going to do so, as historians today, many of us are interested to not just learn about that history.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: But when we can dig in to those other histories and learn about people who maybe had struggled through various difficulties that's part of what we're doing.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: In addition, history really gives you a lot of critical thinking skills, for example, you may just be thinking like Oh, my friend, Paul is.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Filipino or my boss is African American but as a historian or student of history you're going into more critical thinking like, how does the Multi ethnic ethnic background of Americans affect the United States, how does that affect things like our our policies, our attitudes in a society.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: In addition, sorry I think I just skipped over.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: One of those there in addition.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: In addition, history can also help us become more critical readers does anybody know what document this quote is from.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Do you want to throw that in the chat or just turn your MIC on for a second we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Yes, Colin that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, so this comes from the declaration of independence pen by Thomas Jefferson with input from others, such as john Adams and Ben Franklin but.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: A big question for critical readers students of history is who and what is left out.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Does this include everybody, why were some people left out, what does that mean, then, about the origins of the United States, so it's totally fine colon about your spelling so that can also be part of the study of history.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Another piece, then I want to share with you is that, as students of history and historian, we can develop more critical writing skills and also more effective ways of communicating, especially as somebody shared earlier.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: When we're sharing about backgrounds that are more diverse are getting perspectives that might be different than other people and thought about before I know reality and you happen to mention that.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: So, for example, simply writing a statement like America is great versus a statement that's more nuanced and has some other.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: elements to it, like the United States is a great nation in the incredible opportunities that has afforded many but struggles to extend those privileges to others, or to all.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: So in history courses that's part of what you're getting and if you were to go on and then transfer as a history major going into upper division courses and, perhaps, than on to get a Masters or a PhD in history.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: you're really pushing and pushing up those skills developing them to communicate more effectively and that's beneficial in all parts of life.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And then finally in history courses we're trying to really emphasize if you're doing research, how can it be both quantitative.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And qualitative, for example, quantitative research would be something like Oh, the voting rates of African Americans in the period.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: You know, following reconstruction up to post World War Two was this but qualitatively, how would voting rights suppression influence African American political activity, especially after World War Two excusing got a typo in there or things like wealth distribution in the 1920s.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And then thinking more qualitatively well What impact does that have.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: or this last one, how many people were accused of practicing witchcraft let's say either in the United States or in the British colonies of North America versus, why was it overwhelmingly women especially single women unmarried women.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: being accused of practicing witchcraft so Those are some of the things you might want to consider.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And fun fact rianna in the United States of earth was one of the many rejected amendments from the Constitution, thank you for sharing that.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: That is absolutely fascinating so The last thing I want to share with you just to emphasize, and I hope i'm not stepping on anyone else's toes of my amazing co facilitators here, but as Dr chatter G was speaking about.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: What you can do with a history degree, and I also was looking at some of the past newsletter newsletters from cal state la.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: have both undergraduate and graduate students and what they're doing now, as you can see from that list, in addition to teaching history, which is an amazing job which I absolutely love.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: If you just look at that list, whether you're interested more in research.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And archival work, whether you yourself are a cultural creative person, where you want to get into Fine Arts performing arts visual arts, whether you're interested in like working in Hollywood and getting on a job with you know.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: The history channel or something else, or maybe you're interested one day in public service, a history degree can really serve you well, so I just want to say it's so exciting to see students come together, like this, the history club is an awesome.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: organization and i'm just really stoked that students have come together to support that along with Susan and I look forward to meeting some of you, and maybe one of my history courses one day Thank you so much megan for the time.
Megan Lange: Absolutely, thank you very much, that was a really great kind of.
Megan Lange: overview, I think.
Megan Lange: That will help us, or at least kind of sets the stage for the conversation that we are about to have.
Megan Lange: So we have kind of planned around some things that we did I guess it was a couple years ago right pre coated in person activities.
Megan Lange: Where the history department faculty members got together and we answered questions like a round table style of questions for your benefit.
Megan Lange: but also to kind of help us get to know you and you get to know us and so as we're talking, if you have additional questions that you'd like for us to answer please go ahead and put them in the chat you can also because.
Megan Lange: Dr lira is going to be moderating our conversation at from this point forward, and so, if you have questions you can also direct them to her, or you can do the little raise your hand icon if you have access to that.
Megan Lange: And so what i'm going to do is i'm going to pull up the questions for us, and I will let Dr lira introduce yourself and what we're about to.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, hello, was that know catching my throat hi folks i'm Dr stephanie lira and i'm an instructor at Santa college.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): And I just actually wanted to thank Professor of mine, Dr this month for that really concise and exciting presentation actually really appreciate looking at that list of the careers, I think, sometimes we forget.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Since we're in the thick of the you know educator part of this year degree that we forget that there's so many other options right open students.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): So yeah we're now at the part of the program where we can learn more about send an ecologist history professors and.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I hope folks here today can really walk away from this open House with a deeper understanding right of the value of history and why we, as history professors do what we do, why we love doing what we do and why we're all a bunch of nerds apparently so let's.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): address that.
person.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): If I made you can go to the next slide.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, so this question is, of course, being offered to the history professors in the space, what is your educational background i'm going to help folks just like hop in and offer that instead of doing a popcorn situation so whoever wants to go first, what is your educational background.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: i'll hop in real quick.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: I changed my major so every time before I decided to focus on history and so that was about halfway through my second year of college.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: But I did end up getting a bachelor's degree in history at uc Santa Cruz, I went straight into teaching and after teaching high school for about four years, I decided, I wanted to study more and I got my PhD in history at UCLA in 2005.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): And like that three options things there's always options folks you can always switch to history, in the end we have we have faith in him, I see that danny's unmuted Kristen danny's me go ahead.
Danny D.: I was just preparing I was worried somebody might think that that was that man, I want to be next but.
Danny D.: OK, I will go i'll go, so I did high school we're going all the way back I did high school in orange county after that I did two years of Community college.
Danny D.: Not at Santa Ana college, although I would have loved that too, but I did two years in South orange county at saddleback.
Danny D.: From there I transferred to UCLA I got my bachelor's in history and from there, then I transferred to cal state northridge, also known as see son.
Danny D.: And they literally built that College on the sun and that's part of the reason why I came back to orange county.
Danny D.: And so I got my masters in history there and then bummed around for a little bit until some poor soul finally took pity on me and decided they wanted to give me a teaching position after all my begging and crying and screaming that's how I got lucky enough to be here.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, thank you Danny what a visual begging.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): piano.
Adriana Ramirez: I students, let me just share my educational background I went to school in Santa Ana from kindergarten all the way to Community college, I did go to sac, so I sat on those desks that you have sat on the switch the tables.
Adriana Ramirez: But, but then I transferred to uci which I totally totally loved and I didn't may be in history with a minor in women's studies.
Adriana Ramirez: And I like to see so much I stay there and I guess they liked me and I did the graduate program there and I got my masters and and then I went to teach because I wanted to do that from day one, so yeah but I did switch my.
Adriana Ramirez: career on server option once on initially which it's going to be a shock, I wanted to be a fashion designer it's.
Adriana Ramirez: Bad.
Adriana Ramirez: So I know I love history, too, so I transition into history from fresh interviews, to which is kind of you know kind of bizarre but it happens yeah.
Adriana Ramirez: Thank you.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thanks so much Professor ramirez and since we're all going megan rejoice also offer your educational background.
Megan Lange: Yes, sure I am not from California so mine is different, I went to my I did my undergraduate and I was not a history major I really loved reading.
Megan Lange: So I was a lit major and I also double majored in Spanish, and then I talked to a friend of mine who said, you know what you should get a Masters degree, because we have all these great.
Megan Lange: city colleges in trouble, I was in Chicago at the time and wouldn't teaching be a great thing to do and I thought, yes, so, then I moved to California.
Megan Lange: And I ended up at ucsb and I actually got a master's degree in Latin American and Iberian studies kind of trying to segue my Spanish skills and my move of Latin America into something that would get me a career and Lo and behold, that particular master's degree was not super useful.
Megan Lange: For career it's super useful in my knowledge.
Megan Lange: However, it's very I would encourage everybody to talk to counselors before you decide on a career because, like many of us in this room we've changed majors I changed my undergraduate major.
Megan Lange: And then didn't talk to anybody when I was making my plans to get a Masters degree, and that was not a good idea, so I you saw that Dr chatterjee was kind of bouncing some of the things at cal state la I from my.
Megan Lange: Experience and I went back to school went to cal state la and got my master's degree in history because I realized that everything that I really loved about my other passions all came together and made much more sense when it was through the lens of history, so that's that's my story.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, thanks everyone for for that exciting winding path, but explanation of your winding paths right, I mean we see the next question megan all right, this is a good one, why did you decide to teach like some people have this answer locked and loaded So why did you decide to teach.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Think i'm gonna call i'm just going to call on people go ahead, Professor i'm.
Adriana Ramirez: Well, I was actually inspired by a sack of former SEC Professor she's no longer with us i'm professor and he novena I took one of our classes i'm always going to be building I don't remember the room.
Adriana Ramirez: But she really, really inspiring me and in the connections that she created with their students that I remember looking at her and listening to election saying, I want to be like that that's what I want and.
Adriana Ramirez: I just took the ball and ran with it so she was my biggest piece inspiration and she's so dear to me.
Thank you.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you, Professor there is um I have a question from colon colon asked if I would mind answering the question which question Colin.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Oh, this one oh OK that's fine with the other faculty yeah i've been really fortunate my whole life because I have had a life, full of strong educators, similar to what Professor omarosa saying.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I had strong educators at the boys and girls club, and I was a little girl I had strong educators, at my very underserved elementary school in North long beach.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I actually had a second grade teacher who had a PhD doctor briscoe and she really made sure that every student all of us are students of color.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): That every student could be proud of their countries, you know their country of origin history that we can be proud of.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): You know our family's history, our migration stories all those things so whenever I think about how I felt with strong educators, I just thought I want to do that.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): You know I want to do that, for me, and I can do that for just at least one student then i'm doing the right thing, so thank you for asking that common.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Let me go ahead and call it another person Danny or so and you did see you're just opening yourself up to the to the question, please go ahead Danny.
Danny D.: A glutton for punishment Okay, thank you um so similar to to the previous two answers, is that really strong educators influence me so.
Danny D.: I was actually originally planning on being a high school teacher, because I was strongly influenced by my us history high school Professor her name was Susan Dwyer rest in peace.
Danny D.: I said I remember her like it was yesterday, I still remember some my favorite quotes from her how much fun she looked like she was having.
Danny D.: Also, I wasn't stupid, so I knew you got your summers off, so I was like what other job, can you know knock off for two months, and then come back and the job is still there.
Danny D.: So that didn't work out, but I was heavily influenced by how much fun she looked like she was having.
Danny D.: How interested, I was in history history was the only subject in high school where they would assign reading and I would do more than the assigned reading, so I knew something there was something to do with that I knew I loved history and i'm like something's weird here so.
Danny D.: that's the day I found out, I was in her, and so I was like I said I was heavily influenced nobody ever told me to teach I just it just looked fun and so Professor Dwyer.
Danny D.: Was somebody who was a very big influence on my life, I never told her actually I never told her, she ended up passing away a few years after I graduated.
Danny D.: But I wrote my personal statement to get into UCLA about her and I guess it worked so and that's and then later on, I decided on Community college teaching and I thought that that would be the best path for me and I was totally right and that's why i'm living the dream.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): tell people the things that are important well, thank you, Professor.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): i'm sure when I felt really good to talk to talk Professor or hearing a teacher.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Do I was a blessing that story yeah all right, what about Professor griff mine.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Why did I decide to teach so you know i've had a lot of years to reflect on this because I started my first professional full time teaching job in 1992 a long time ago.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And you know when I reflect on it, not only did I feel like I maybe could be okay at it, I could be good at it, perhaps, but the more i've been in education, the more I realized that.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Teaching about history and uncovering the histories of people who have often been left out of the traditional narratives of history let's say.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Women, for example, or in the history of the United States often bypass folks black indigenous people of color have been left out the gay, lesbian trans by queer.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Community has been left out.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: I truly believe teaching is political it's a revolutionary act when you can work with the students.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And simply pose some questions, give them some skills and off on their own, they are starting to critically think about things they're starting to wonder wait a minute.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Why are things the way they are it's not quote unquote natural it's because people in the past, made choices they made decisions to make things how they are today so for me.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: You know I man just started to teach because I thought Oh, I could be good at it and you know it's a good career and there's a button I guess.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: I feel, now that when we look at the inequities in our society, when we look at the challenges that groups who have been marginalized face I really think teaching is political it's a revolutionary.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: act to remind individuals that you have power, you have the power to make positive change, and just because someone says well it's always been this way.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: there's a good chance that that's actually first of all, not true, and secondly, it can be better to stop oppressing others so anyway that's one side I have about it.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Was lovely Thank you Professor teaching history can be revolutionary and that's wonderful standing ovation over here says come.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): and also this question for Professor Lang.
Megan Lange: I really like how you answered that.
Megan Lange: person, and I think, maybe at some point we've changed the question to, why do you continue to teach right what.
Megan Lange: What inspires us, because that is something that's really dynamic and changes for me as well, I was one of those kids who the day after school got out of session I set up my homeschool office and tortured my little brother all summer long until he rebelled and left the homeschool.
Megan Lange: No, I just always wanted to be a teacher, when I was young, and that was what I initially went to school for kind of the same thing that they have at cal state la the dual credential bachelor's Program.
Megan Lange: And I was in that and I had a class called modern math for elementary teachers and I failed it.
Megan Lange: I don't think I like this.
Megan Lange: So I realized I wasn't really good at or inspired to teach little kids or little people about things that I didn't understand myself.
Megan Lange: And so, then I realized that one of the things that I could do is perhaps work with older students, which is how I got involved in initially interested in what they call city colleges and then here, I am in college.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you, professors for all of those.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Very different inspiring answers i'm going to have first one, there you go.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you so much for that what excites you about the study of history, I think that elements of the answers that came before it can be incorporated right, but what excites you about the study of history.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): You can stem around that event feel free to just unmute and.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Let us know what's up.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Well, one thing.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: I think that excites me about the study of history is that sometimes we have this assumption that the past doesn't change.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And I think, the more we learn we realized oh my gosh yes, it does, or at least our understanding of the past can change so one of the cool studies have been a couple studies that have come out recently.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: One showing that.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Our understanding of beringia or the so called Bering strait from which you know ancestors going back some 15,000 years crossed over from Asia into the Americas.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And more evidence is popping up showing that actually people migrated to North America, some 2000 plus years earlier, probably, and many of them came by see.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: In boats, so I think that's kind of one of the exciting things about history is that we can always be learning more and and finding out new information that really helps us just be open to what these other possibilities might be.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you, Professor miss mine.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): And the Professor Lang is and you did.
Megan Lange: I have, I actually thought of what I wanted to say early but it kind of in that same way, what really excites me is that, as more people.
Megan Lange: Look at history and a more diverse group of people ask questions about what happened in the past we get more information that was.
Megan Lange: Either hidden or kept away or now someone is asking a question that nobody ever asked before and we're we're talking about things and people that nobody talked about 20 years ago, and so I think that's really exciting I I I love the fact that it's never ending.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, how about Professor two minutes.
Danny D.: Thank you, Dr Guerra So for me what excites me about history is removing ignorance, for me, ignorance is mental slavery right your mind is in chains, you will believe anything that people tell you.
Danny D.: If you're ignorant, because you don't have the evidence to backup your own personal claims, so if you can refute things with documentary evidence or with with you know.
Danny D.: Education, then that means that you no longer somebody is kind of like mental palm they can't.
Danny D.: part of what we will hope to do with Santa college and I take this part very seriously as an educator is that we want to create informed voters on empowered citizens like kristin was saying is.
Danny D.: It politicized as you when you become more knowledgeable because you start to think about the world around you and you know if we're being honest you started saying hey This is unfair that looks unjust there shouldn't be that way.
Danny D.: But also, you can refute anytime somebody presents in garbage right so which is being honest with you so somebody might say, well, the Democratic Party is the party of slavery.
Danny D.: that's a you know that's a very basic kind of rudimentary version somebody version of history, but if you can explain to somebody how things change over time.
Danny D.: Then that might be a way to to gain some power back in an otherwise powerless relationship if you're ignorant thing you don't have any power.
Danny D.: So that's what excites me about it when sometimes you can see a light bulb go off into somebody's head.
Danny D.: Or if you just feel like you know what I gave out some good information today and I didn't just give it out, I delivered it in a way, where people felt like Oh, that person was excited it really looks like history matters to them.
Danny D.: And they really gave me information that can make me, you know, a better father or a better citizen or just a better human being, in general I think that's really important that's that's an important place in society.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Okay.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Good so.
Adriana Ramirez: i'm I what excites me about history continues to excite me about it, is the fact that it's basically the the stories of people and i'm a very sort of people person and and I love that and not only that, but that you can understand a lot.
Adriana Ramirez: Of from what you eat today, you can trace it back to history to even the clothes you wear the synthetic fabrics that are coming now, which are not coming during the colonial period at all you didn't have those synthetic fabrics everything from.
Adriana Ramirez: You know literature to just ideas in views and how there's always a historical explanation to everything in life, like I said from food to clothing to ideas.
Adriana Ramirez: Events and everything else yeah so it's everywhere and I love that.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I love that fashion history came up that's.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): bubbling through it's coming through the screen, you know still there.
Adriana Ramirez: Thank you.
Adriana Ramirez: For myself.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I think that the study of history is particularly exciting, I guess, then.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I don't know thinking of the study of history in the 20th 20th and 21st century.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Like we're taking history like oral histories, for example, we're taking seriously oral histories right stories that were verbally passed down over generations and rather than hearing, those are you know.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Taking these sources simply, as you know, myths, or you know something just cultural in the cultural realm historian historians, have been able to use contextual information they've been able to.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): kind of cross disciplines even right speak to ethnography anthropologists and archaeologists to create really exciting histories.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Around things like creation myths right or the story of how this particular plant grew on this island, you know all of these histories are now being.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): recorded studied academically and taken quite seriously versus being some cute story like an uncle told you, or something so when I think about how history is moving forward in the actual practice, you know the.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): The methods of history are changing I get really excited at what we're going to be analyzing 50 years from now, right 20 years from now, what will count as a primary source in these times.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, so since these questions have been answered let's move on to the next question Oh, I think this has been partially answered, but we can still add some more.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): flavor to these responses, who are your role models, or who had an influence on you during your college years.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): i'm going to have to think on this one is they don't have an answer already prepare.
Danny D.: You know what I can answer that can I go.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Of course.
Danny D.: Okay, so I actually I used to be a counselor, and so I used to work at Chapman university and.
Danny D.: My not maybe not my role models, because they were much younger than myself, but my students inspired me so much.
Danny D.: Chapman and Santa college same thing we have students that have jobs and families and sometimes two jobs, and so they just take on so much, but they're still so dedicated and they're so brilliant.
Danny D.: And it really kind of inspires you what inspires me for sure to to dip your hands into so many different parts into to not really just stand idle to to.
Danny D.: always be working for better and strive for more and I see that in my colleagues to it's an a college so i'm inspired by everybody around me.
Danny D.: The smarter everyone gets and the better everyone gets at their job, the smarter, I want to get and the better, I want to get at my job so i'm always inspired by.
Danny D.: Many of my students are you know kind of an inspiration to me so just that they the things they want to do, and it really want to it makes me want to continue to improve in my profession yeah.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): that's wonderful that's just kind of a great next step for all of us may we all continue to improve together right constantly discussing these issues, these topics that we are clearly very passionate about slash nerdy about right.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): So i'm going to pass it's also Professor emeritus who's unmuted.
Adriana Ramirez: um I when I say that my biggest inspirations during my college years were definitely professors like I mentioned before.
Adriana Ramirez: Professor any leader been at sac, and when I was at uci there's another Professor that was very inspirational of united China very, very, very inspirational to me and so again just Mike my professors, have been very, very.
Adriana Ramirez: You know just amazing and they inspire me.
Adriana Ramirez: And now, as as an educator myself my colleagues inspire me you really, really do, and my students, they inspired me to absolutely.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you, thank you, Professor is.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Good we have Professor guzman answer the question.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: yeah thanks for asking.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Dr Guerra, so I would say, during my college years you know who had an influence on me with my peers and I ended up gravitating towards.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: peers that you know friends that were also very interested in sitting around and debating things and asking.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: really tough questions and like pushing each other on like what wow and you know that are you sure, so you know they impart helped inspire me and then I am putting this in the chat box.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: I had a professor for African American history, Dr David Anthony at uc Santa Cruz, and he is an imposing figure he's about six six and height.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: His specialty is an African history, but he taught me this class where every week in the class i'm going to see if I can find one of the books on my shelf, the second.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Every week in the class, we had to read a book here's one of them.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And so here's one it's called I don't know if you can see it i've got the stupid visual background thing on but it's called a Prince among slaves and it's about.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: 275 pages anyway, it was a quarter class in 10 weeks and we had to read like eight of these books and a 10 week class and I thought I was going to die.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: But I didn't and, in part, he sort of pushed me to realize that I could actually do this I did have the skills, it was hard, I was gonna have to put in the time.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: But he ended up being such a great mentor to me and whenever I go see him was very scary to go see him in his office, because I was so nervous.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: But he always had a kind word he always reminded me that I be long in college, that it was good that I was there, if I had to say he was such a role model and.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: gave me a certain amount of confidence to feel like I could do this.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: In a in a setting where sometimes I didn't feel so confident in myself and I just thank you so much for that.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Thank you, Professor Grossman and i'll hand it off to Mr Lang and then i'll finish it off, and that will be actually the end of the round table so go ahead professionally.
Megan Lange: I will keep it brief, but I think likewise how everybody has a.
Megan Lange: teacher or Professor That was really inspiring same here, I had a professor, who came from Santa Monica city college actually to Chicago then she came back.
Megan Lange: So I said hi we met up for lunch, one day, but she would she was actually really instrumental in.
Megan Lange: kind of pushing me into a clear path or more clear than I had, and also my mom was really inspiring for me, too, because she didn't go to college i'm first generation and my family and.
Megan Lange: She didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to do any of it, she just kept saying we'll just keep doing it.
Megan Lange: And that was inspiring to me because I was like well, I guess, I will then you know.
Megan Lange: have somebody rooting for me all the way back in Minnesota so that was you know somebody kind of influencing me in that way as well.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): All right, i'll finish off with mine.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): It was actually a Co worker.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Who is my most influential person I when I was going to cal state long beach for my bachelor's I was also working as a secretary, and then I was also working at michaels arts in the past or.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): I right would close the weekend shift there and I had a Co worker who was was a male lady that was her.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Her daytime job, and when we would be stalking all those tiny little shoes, or whatever you know the word wouldn't things that you'd find it michaels.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): And she would tell me her life story, and she had a fascinating life story her mother was a part of sneak into the student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which was very influential during the civil rights.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): fights for black Americans right right so she would tell me like the kinds of the kinds of protest should attend as a child and the things that her mother a teacher.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): And I never heard her mother's name I googled her have looked her up she doesn't appear anywhere and I thought.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): Someone needs to tell her one story, I think that, for me, was was it right, where I was just you know, similar to what Professor because my saying.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): There are these histories are so rich and no one's telling them right So how do we get them to be come can and how do we get them to become the thing you really when you take us history right.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): So yeah she really influenced me I should look her up she's doing well.
Stefanie Lira (she/hers): But I wanted to thank all the panelists for offering such candid and honest responses to these exciting questions and for everyone who's sticking it out all 29 of you Thank you so much for for sticking around it, to listen to this round people i'll hand it off to you from sterling.
Megan Lange: Thank you, and I will hand it off to Professor emeritus.
Adriana Ramirez: With that said we're gonna go ahead and wrap it up, but before that I want to thank everyone for being here and cleaning, of course, my fellow colleagues and the students.
Adriana Ramirez: And i'm just i'm keep in mind that we have a very robust history department, with the an array of courses, you can take.
Adriana Ramirez: And we have specialty courses that are offered once a year, we have, for example, of the native American history class.
Adriana Ramirez: Which is 125 or the African American history early live in America in recent African American history and recent Latin American hopefully we'll have chicano and Latino women history, and I do encourage you to take history.
Adriana Ramirez: You learn a lot of skills that you're again, you will need in the real world, regardless of what path you take whatever career path you take.
Adriana Ramirez: The skills you learn in history, you will need trust me whether it's communication skills, whether it's you know, in the written form, you know or you're communicating Orly.
Adriana Ramirez: critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze and of course kind of like Dr tragedies explain also ethics, because history is a lot about ethics, you know things that are unpleasant that have been done to certain groups have been treated.
Adriana Ramirez: And and and you know, hopefully, we understand I know we're better people because of that, and so I encourage you to not be afraid of history it's not boring.
Adriana Ramirez: Akbari and and I think I want to end with you know, a big thank you, and please continue to inspire us.
Adriana Ramirez: And I mean that to all the students, because all of this is for you all of this is for you Thank you so much, thank you.
Danny D.: Thank you, students and thank you, professors everybody was great Thank you so much.
Megan Lange: enjoy wrong.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: And sack students are labatt.
Adriana Ramirez: rock you really do you rock.
Megan Lange: i'm going to close the zoom room, but I wish you all a wonderful afternoon and if anybody has extra questions, be sure to reach out to one of the panelists or anybody that you recognize from the room and we'll get your questions answered.
Adriana Ramirez: hi.
Kristen Guzman she/her/ella: Thanks everyone.