The Cal State San Bernardino student-run journal, History in the Making: A Journal of History, is a model of excellence and consistency, and has again earned national honors from the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.

The 15th edition of the journal, published in the spring, was awarded second prize in the 2022 Gerald D. Nash History Journal Competition – Graduate Print Division, the honor society recently announced.

“Your Phi Alpha Theta Chapter stands as an example of the more than 900 chapters of Phi Alpha Theta,” wrote Jacob M. Blosser, national president of Phi Alpha Theta, in announcing the award. “The time and effort required to produce a historical journal is immense, and your willingness to undertake such a task and maintain such a high standard of quality proves the dedication of you and your students to the study of history. You should be especially proud, considering the intense competition for this award.”

Brittany Mondragon, who served as co-chief editor with Jacqulyne Anton, and was a section editor for the 2021 edition, said being a member of the journal’s staff has been an honor.

“For both undergraduate and graduate students, participating as an author and/or editor with the guidance of the faculty advisors is a wonderful learning experience and allows students to show off their best work,” she said. “I want to express how much dedication and teamwork is needed to put together such a strong, competitive journal. The team and authors really pulled together this year and created a very memorable journal, which can be seen in our second-place award in the graduate division.”

The latest honor marks the fifth consecutive year that the journal was recognized by Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. In 2021, it was awarded third prize; 2020 and 2019, it was awarded first prize, which followed the 2018 third prize in the honor society’s graduate print journal national competition – the first time History in the Making was entered in that category. 

It is also the 10th time the journal has been recognized by the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society, said Tiffany Jones, CSUSB professor of history and one of the faculty advisors, who noted that History in the Making competes against journals from universities throughout the nation.

Prior to 2018, the journal had been awarded five Gerald D. Nash History Journal Awards in the undergraduate competition (third place in 2009 and 2013, second place in 2012 and 2015, and first place in 2014).

“The student journal is a reflection of the consistently excellent work of our students in the history department,” said Jeremy Murray, a CSUSB professor of history who served as the journal’s primary faculty advisor. “The student research, writing and editing work is done at a remarkably high level and this national award confirms that. Faculty and staff support across the history department and across campus, from our department to others, and to printing and shipping, all help make the journal possible. It is a delight and a privilege to be able to work with such outstanding students!”

Also of note, along with CSUSB, the top three prizes in the graduate journal category were California State University schools: Cal State Sacramento was awarded first place, and Cal State Los Angeles was third.

Topics covered in the 15th edition of History in the Making included student-written articles on the imprisonment of Hopi nation members on Alcatraz, the development of synthetic rubber in the United States during World War II and the importance of enslaved Africans’ provision gardens in the colonial transatlantic botanical exchange. The journal’s writers also grappled with timely themes such as Indigenous and Latinx communities and their reclaiming of mainstream history, the complexities and intricacies of Black identity, culture and resistance, and United States politics ranging from the American Revolution to the War on Terror. Equally important, there are additional pieces that focus on women, gender equality and disability.

Serving on the journal’s 2022 staff were chief editors Brittany L. Mondragon and Jacqulyne R. Anton, who also served as copy editors; section editors Cecelia Smith and Kristina Cardinale; and associate editors Chase Hanson, David Swistock, Evy Zermeno, George “Matt” Patino, Juan Carlos Rojas Duran and Kenya Ortiz Carrillo. The journal’s primary faculty advisor was Jeremy Murray, professor of history, and Tiffany Jones, professor of history.