Resources

Brent Campney published in 2024 “‘The Explosive Ingredients Are Here’: Mexican American Municipal Electoral Challenges in South Texas, 1963-1965” in Western Historical Quarterly and “‘Driven Out on the Old Charge of Being a Rebel’: White-on-White Sectional Violence and the ‘Long’ Bleeding Kansas” in Civil War History. 

Nilanjana Paul published "Breaking Barriers: The Women's Movement and Writings from Late Colonial Bengal," in Urbanisation in Bengal: Ideas, Institutions and Policies, ed Pallavi Chakravarty, Routledge, 2024.

Linda English published Run for Your Lives! Gender and the Runaway Scrape (Texas A&M Press, June 2024).

David Fisher received the Brownsville Historical Association’s annual Kino Camarillo Service Award for his work with the BHA’s student internship program.

Amy Hay is featured as a historical consultant in the upcoming American Experience documentary, Poisoned Ground, that focuses on the Love Canal chemical disaster. The film premieres Monday, April 22, on PBS. Click here to view the documentary trailer. 

Amy Hay published The Defoliation of America: Agent Orange Chemicals, Citizens, and Protests.

USA Today interviewed Megan Birk about "practice babies." Check out the full story here.

Nilanjana Paul's article, The Indian Mission of the Institute of Blessed Virging Mary (IBVM) Nuns: Convents, Curriculum, and Indian Women, was recently published in the Journal of International Women's Studies. 

In March of 2022, Nilanjana Paul published Bengal Muslims and Colonial Education, 1854-1947: A Study of Curriculum, Educational Institutions, and Communal Politics.

Megan Birk published The Fundamental Institution: Poverty, Social Welfare, and Agriculture in American Poor Farms.

Megan Birk published The better the farm, the better the food: institutional diet, agricultural practices, and nutrition in U.S. almshouses in Food, Culture & Society, Volume 23 Issue 3; it is now available for you to access via tandfonline.com.

Jamie Starling has published an article on the Rio Grande borderlands during the nineteenth century titled “The Ghosts of Mier” in the Autumn issue of the Journal of the Southwest (University of Arizona), issued November 2019.

In the fall of 2019, Nilanjana Paul published "Gentlewomen in Colonial Calcutta: Experiences of Schooling," in South Asia Research v.39 n. 3S (Nov 2019): 13S-25S. 

Nilanjana Paul and Jamie Starling received Humanities Texas and Office of Global Engagement grants to inaugurate an annual “Global Borderlands” lecture series. On October 2 and 3, 2019, Dr. Nancy Aguirre (Citadel) presented at sponsored events at the McAllen Public Library and UTRGV in Brownsville.

In September 2019, Megan Birk published “Poor Placed-Out Girls: The Rural Household Economy and the Value of Girlhood in the US” in the Journal for the History of Childhood and Youth.

Erica Buchberger co-edited the volume Inclusion and Exclusion in Mediterranean Christianities, 400-800 to which she also contributed the chapter: “Gothic Identity and the ‘Othering’ of Jews in Seventh-Century Spain."

Christopher L. Miller, Russell K. Skowronek, and Roseann Bacha-Garza recently published Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail (2018) and The Civil War on the Rio Grande Valley, 1846-1876 (2019). Both books were published by Texas A&M Press. Blue and Gray on the Border, The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail, was the runner-up for the 2019 Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Book Award, sponsored by the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association (TOMFRA).

David Fisher published "Kremlin on the Trocadero: The Unexpected Claim to Modernity in Russian Architecture at the World’s Fairs,” in the edited volume A History of Russian Exposition and Festival Architecture: 1700-2014. The volume was edited by Alla Aronova and Alexander Ortenberg. 

In September 2018, Jamie Starling published "'From the Moment I Made My Wedding Vows My Suffering Began': Calidad in the Nineteenth-Century Mexican Borderlands" in The Latin Americanist (University of North Carolina). 

Linda English published an article titled, “Madam, You Ought to be the Man Such Times as These”: Gendered Confrontations and the Runaway Scrape” in the journal American Nineteenth Century History in May 2018.

In May 2018, Amy Hay was honored with a UTRGV Faculty Excellence Award. Dr. Hay received the Excellence in Sustainability Education Award.

In March 2018, Harriett Densie Joseph published her new book From Santa Anna to Selena: Notable Mexicanos and Tejanos in Texas History in 1821 with the University of North Texas Press. 

Americo Paredes Endowment

Funds distributed from the endowment shall be used to provide scholarship support for full-time junior or senior students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.  Students must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident and have a declared major pursuing a bachelor's degree in History. Preference shall be given to students pursuing a bachelor's degree in History with an emphasis in Border History.  This scholarship is available for the fall, spring and summer, and may be used to cover tuition and fees.  Students must reapply for this scholarship each year.

Gerhard Grytz Scholarship in History

For undergraduate and graduate students in History based on an annual research paper competition. Deadline for submitting entries is the last Friday in January. Papers written during the preceding calendar year will be eligible. Awards may be used to cover any expenses incurred while attending UTRGV.

Dr. Milo Kearney Scholarship Endowment for Students of History

For tuition and fees for Fall, Spring and Summer; JRs and SRs enrolled 3/4 or full time with a min GPA of 3.0. Must be pursuing a degree in history, preferably in a teaching field. Scholarship is not renewable.

Rudy de la Garza History Scholarship

Outstanding undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for scholarships based on demonstrated academic merit in the study of history and financial need. Competitive undergraduates will be majors in history, with 60 academic hours completed by the time of the award, a cumulative GPA of 2.5, and a minimum 3.0 GPA in history. Competitive graduate students will have been admitted unconditionally to the Master of Arts in History program and will have their Programs of Study (POS) on file with the Office of Graduate Studies.

Sandra J. Brown Endowed Scholarship for History

Students who are majoring in history are eligible to apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, must be enrolled on a full-time basis, must classify as sophomore, junior, or senior, and must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. 

The History Department provides five endowed scholarships to students pursuing degrees in history and social studies. Annual awards are for approximately $1,000. To apply, go to the Scholarship Office. In your application, be sure to respond to the optional prompts in the application form and provide any additional information required by the scholarships described below.

Questions? Send them to history@utrgv.edu and write “scholarships” in the subject line.

Sandra J. Brown Endowed Scholarship for History

• Full-time Sophomore, Junior, or Senior.
• 3.0 GPA.

Rudy de la Garza History Scholarship

• Endowed by generous donations from Mr. Rudy de la Garza.
• Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student.
• Cameron County Resident and/or taking classes on the Brownsville campus.
• 2.5 GPA.

Gerhard Grytz Scholarship in History

• Honors the late Dr. Grytz, history professor, sponsor of Phi Alpha Theta, and champion of student research.
• Undergraduate or Graduate Student.
• Requires submission of a research paper written for any history course.

Dr. Milo Kearney Scholarship Endowment for Students of History

• Founded in honor of Professor Emeritus Milo Kearney by his former students.
• 3/4 – Full-time Junior or Senior.
• 3.0 GPA.
• Preference for students pursuing teacher certification.
• Requires an additional statement: “Describe any course work, experience, and/or interest that you have in teaching.”

Américo Paredes Endowment

• Honors Dr. Américo Paredes, Brownsville native, folklorist, scholar, and professor (UT Austin) who championed the preservation of border culture and history.
• Full-time Junior or Senior.
• 3.0 GPA.
• Preference for students with an interest in Border History.
• Requires an additional statement: “Describe any course work, experience, and/or interest that you have in border history.”

Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society

Tao Rho is a chapter within The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Mission Statement

“We are a professional society whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. We seek to bring students and teachers together for intellectual and social exchanges, which promote and assist historical research and publication by our members in a variety of ways.”

Undergraduate students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (4 courses) in History, achieve a minimum GPA of 3.1 in History and a GPA of 3.0 or better overall. A maximum of 3 credit hours of online, transfer, or AP credits may be applied to the membership eligibility requirement. Membership is not limited to History majors.

Graduate students should have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours towards their Master’s Degree in History, have a GPA of better than 3.5, and shall have completed approximately 30% of the residence requirements for the Master’s Degree.

View more information about Phi Alpha Theta.

Download the membership application (PDF).

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Mayra L. Avila
Email: mayra.avila@utrgv.edu

UTRGV History Club

The purpose of the History Club is to have an Organization open to ALL students of any major with an interest of history. Our Goal is to provide students with the opportunities to socialize with others who have similar interests and develop leadership skills.

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Robert Hoppens
Email: robert.hoppens@utrgv.edu

Learn more about the history club.

• African Studies Association
• American Historical Association
• Association for Asian Studies
• Association of Caribbean Historians
• Association for the Study African American Life and History
• Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies
• Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
• Conference on Latin American History
• German Studies Association
• North American Conference on British Studies
• Organization of American Historians
• Society for French Historical Studies
• Texas State Historical Association

1. regional historical resource depositories in Texas
2. list of indexes and databases
3. list of national archives