Letter from the Editor

As I reflected on this year, I found myself stunned by the changes our little department weathered. Changes in faculty, administration, students, leadership, and curriculum. Moreso, I was impressed by the way we responded to these changes. Despite a global pandemic, economic crisis, and an empty campus, we have traveled very far from where we began. Our response to these trials has proven what many know to be true-- we are rooted in Christ’s stability and consistency. Despite the tumultuous year, many things have stayed the same: early morning Latin classes, late-night studying, intellectually stimulating conversations, office hour visits, and small class sizes. Although we have traveled far, we have ended in the same place we began as freshmen— looking at the world with new eyes, afraid of the unknown, confident in God’s grace, and attempting to make a small mark on the world that may someday be labeled “history.”

The 2019-2020 academic year marked a year of expansion for CUI’s History and Political Thought Department. Under the direction of Dr. Caleb Karges, the department sought to create new connections with History and Political Thought students both past and present. In addition to the establishment of the first academic history journal at CUI, the History Department added the History Society, which rekindled interdepartmental relationships based on the shared love of history and its importance in our lives, and re-established a History and Political Thought Alumni Network. This year of expansion, which connected the past and present of the department, was an attempt to establish a platform for students and alumni to use to engage in scholarly conversations. This has created a network of academic excellence and increased contribution to greater national historical debates and conversations.

This journal is a testament to the caliber at which Concordia students and alumni contribute to the larger academic circle. The journal holds 23 distinct papers, each of which grapples with different questions, but all of which are demonstrative of scholastic excellence. This year’s research topics range from the historical conceptions of otherness, military strategy and grand strategy, reproductive aid, and ancient Chinese political systems, to the value of oral history, Russian Tsarism, and Mediterranean anarchy. Despite the diversity of topics, each paper displays the academic quality, excellence, and scholarship that embodies the mission of Concordia University Irvine and its History and Political Thought Department: wise, honorable, and cultivated historians that will change the landscape of the academic world.

On our beautiful cover stands the Flavian Amphitheater, which for years stood empty due to financial strain, natural disaster, misuse, tragedy, and changes in leadership. Today, it stands restored as a testament to the value and nature of history. This is an apt picture for the inaugural edition of The Franciscan. The Franciscan’s excellence is defined both by its monumental structure and by its contents. Despite our own global pandemic, tragedies, changes in leadership, and financial strains, the structure has stood and the community of scholars at CUI have ensured that its contents are commemorative of the journal’s Inaugural Edition. The structure created for The Franciscan this year will continue to stand for years to come as a forum for debates, conversations, and inquiries centered around history. It is my hope that The Franciscan will continue to function as a place for scholars to sharpen their intellect, and that the echoes of this Inaugural Edition will remain as a witness to the value of history and its study.

Dr. Caleb Karges and Professor Rebecca Lott, to whom this edition is dedicated, are both owed a debt of gratitude for their leadership, care, dedication, and high standards. They both drove this journal from fruition to completion. I am sincerely thankful for Dr. Karges’ bold confidence in students. I am indebted to Professor Lott’s patience and growth mindset-- without her, we would have been ‘up a creek without a paddle.’ Without them, The Franciscan would not have been as innovative (our beautiful website!), high quality, or professional.

Starting a student history journal and publishing it in the same semester was an arduous task. It would have been impossible without the support from the whole of the History and Political Thought Department. We are grateful to each of the professors who gave of their time and talent to promote the journal’s success.

Historians require collegiality; it is their purpose to engage in the conversations of humanity with peers, and with history itself. California State University Fullerton’s History Department has been an outstanding example of collegiality throughout this grand project. Their faculty’s willingness to provide resources, materials, and copies of their own journal to CUI’s History and Political Thought Department provided the editors of The Franciscan inspiration and guidance, and for that we are thankful.

The dedication and innovation of our lead editors embody the spirit of The Franciscan-- curiosity, dedication, and hope for the future based on the well paved path of the past. Their examples of excellence will pave the path for the next group of zealous students who serve CUI through working on The Franciscan. Our editing staff exceeded all expectations this year. Their willingness to tackle formatting, layout, marketing, design, and editing was impressive. Lastly, I am thankful to Susan Eschelbach for designing our logo, and Erin Ames for our cover design.

To conclude, this journal should be no surprise to many. It is filled with the type of stuff for which the History and Political Thought Department is known: thought provoking, well researched, historical analyses that grapple with those “human questions” we all face. I am now pleased to present the culmination of our work and dedication-- 2020 Inaugural Edition of The Franciscan history journal.

Denise Sprimont
Senior Editor 2020