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The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

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The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Awards for Outstanding Papers Written in 2025

Dam Negotiations: Water, Diné Sovereignty, And The Navajo Dam, George Smith

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On July 30, 1958, contractors working for the Bureau of Reclamation broke ground on the Navajo Dam, located about 35 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico. Diné Tribal chairman Paul Jones had called the dam a “new hope for [his] people,” anticipating increased agricultural and industrial capacity from irrigation and flow management. Though officially approved in 1962, the contingent Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) that was to provide those many of those benefits remained to be completed in 2024. By contrast, the San Juan Chama Project (SJCP), the other project contingent upon the dam, diverted water from the San Juan …

Marcion And The Crisis Of Second-Century Christianity, Samuel Petersen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Almost a century after the death of Christ and his original apostles, the 2nd-century Judeo-Christian church found itself in a vicious struggle for survival catalyzed by an ongoing negotiation between the church’s traditional Jewish roots and establishing its own identity. The loose confederation of Jesus-believers fought to gather themselves into a functional body as they wrestled with questions surrounding the very nature of the Christian faith.

“No Hen Should Herald The Dawn Lest Misfortune Follow”: Gender, History, And Power Sima Guang’S Comprehensive Mirror, Zoe Ngan

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

It was not a particularly notable occasion when Emperor Gaozong 高宗 of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) established Wu Zetian 武則天 as a mid-ranked concubine in 654. Emperors, throughout Chinese history, were polygamous rulers who acquired no shortage of concubines per the Rites of Zhou 周禮, an ancient ritual text which proposed that rulers obtain 121 wives and consorts. Wu’s nomination signified the unpredictability of imperial favour and almost certainly did not turn heads when her appointment occurred.

“I, Too, Want To Be Free”: Women And The Birth Control Movement In Utah, 1914–1940, Evelyn Wilcox

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Like many other women, I too, want to be free,” explained a 33-year- old Utah woman in a 1925 letter to Margaret Sanger, a prominent leader in the birth control movement. This woman, whose name is unknown, was married to a 78-year- old man with whom, she thought, “in her ignorance,” that she would never have any children—she was proven wrong. With six children under the age of eight at the time and wanting to prevent having more, this woman’s predicament reflects Sanger’s mission to inform everyday women of birth control so they could make their own reproductive choices. After …

Christianity Behind The Iron Curtain: How Creative Arts Gave A Voice To The Voiceless, Riana Johnson Wills

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1988, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) held celebrations across the Soviet Union to mark the Millennium of Christianity in Russia, commemorating a thousand years since the baptism of Rus in 988. While this was a monumental day for Christians, many believers across the Soviet Union felt a sense of dissonance. For decades, religious freedom and worship had not been privileges they enjoyed. Thousands of Christians suffered for their belief. The communist regime began in 1922 with Vladimir Lenin. The USSR built upon Marxist ideology where atheism is a fundamental and they expected nationwide compliance to these ideologies. …

Rationed Victory: A Study Of American Civilian Rationing In World War Ii, Alex Moulder

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In any conflict or competition it is often said that the winner is “fueled to victory.” This could come as a result of training, diet, stamina, support from others, or sheer willpower. Even small variations in any of these elements can have significant consequences and affect outcomes. The same can be said about civilians during wartime, especially during the largest conflict of the twentieth century, World War II. The war cemented the United States as a global power, thanks in part to its massive economy, technologies, and industries, which helped to overcome the war of attrition against the Axis powers. …

“It Was The Women Who Kept It On”: The 1984–85 National Union Of Mineworkers Strike In Wales, Brett Bodily

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On March 3rd, 1984, more than 140,000 miners, all members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) walked out on strike in protest of proposed colliery, or “pit” closures. Years of disputes culminated in a major showdown between the largest labor union in the United Kingdom and a resurgent national conservatism led by Margaret Thatcher— leader of the Tory party. The communities built around coal mining recognized the Tory pit closure plan for what it was—an existential threat to their way of life. Women within these communities rose to the occasion and took on leadership and organizational responsibilities, many for …

Leasing Land, Losing Sovereignty: Us Military Land Leasing In Okinawa, Japan, Kathryn Blau

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Military land leasing in Okinawa has played a central role in limiting Okinawan political sovereignty since the end of World War II by fostering economic dependence on US military bases and enabling policies that override local opposition. Tracing the evolution of the leasing system under both American occupation and Japanese administration reveals how land expropriation, compensation policies, and increasingly generous financial incentives encouraged reliance on base-related income while discouraging advocacy for land reversion and base reduction. The analysis further demonstrates how the Japanese government's legal enforcement of mandatory lease renewals, particularly during the 1996 Okinawa land dispute, curtailed the rights …

Editor's Preface, Gabe Smock

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

This editor's preface explores the origins and enduring mission of The Thetean, BYU's undergraduate history journal. Through archival research in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, the journal's founding history is traced to its inaugural 1967 edition, revealing the origin, pronunciation, and meaning of its distinctive name as a reference to Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society. The preface highlights the journal's longstanding commitment to encouraging scholarly research, providing publication opportunities, and introducing students to the work of historians. By recovering the journal's own history, it underscores the broader value of historical inquiry: understanding the past to better …

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Jerusalem, City Of David Visitor Center: The Early Islamic, Medieval And Late Ottoman Pottery, Benjamin J. Dolinka

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at the entrance to the Visitor Center in the City of David uncovered a small but significant assemblage of ceramics, all from stratified contexts, including bowls, basins, storage jars, jugs, a cooking pot and a clay tobacco pipe. The pottery dates from the Abbasid period (ninth–tenth centuries CE), the medieval period (mid-twelfth–late fourteenth centuries CE) and the late Ottoman period (mid- to late nineteenth century CE). The ceramic evidence from the excavation provides important insights into the occupational history of the site during these periods.

Jerusalem, City Of David Visitor Center: The Late Roman And Byzantine Pottery, Debora Sandhaus

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

This article analyzes two pottery assemblages excavated at the entrance of the City of David Visitor Center in Jerusalem, providing important evidence for the occupation and development of the city during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. The first assemblage, recovered from above the floors of the Stratum VI building, is a homogeneous domestic collection dominated by serving and food-preparation vessels, including arched-rim basins, bowls/lids and a complete Bet Naṭṭif lamp. These finds date the structure to the third–fourth centuries CE and suggest activities associated with food preparation and communal use rather than storage. The second assemblage, recovered from a …

Jerusalem, City Of David Visitor Center: Remains From The Late Roman–Late Ottoman Periods, Joe Uziel

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The following report presents the results of an excavation conducted on the summit of the City of David, Jerusalem, which exposed remains of six strata, spanning the Late Roman to the Medieval–late Ottoman period. Although the excavation area was quite narrow, important remains were exposed, contributing to our knowledge of the settlement and character of this portion of the city. Several surfaces interpreted as roads were exposed, beginning with an Abbasid road and continuing until the Medieval–late Ottoman period. Beneath these surfaces, a layer of garden soil, similar in character to the layer exposed in the Giv‘ati Parking Lot, was …

Khirbat Jābir: The Sculptured Decorations From The Bathhouse, Rivka Gersht

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation of the bathhouse at Khirbat Jābir yielded twelve marble items: a female head and eleven architectural members; among them a small Corinthian capital, a bracket ornamented with a lion head, a richly decorated small pediment and a champlevé revetment plaque. All twelve items were found out of their original display context; almost all are reused spolia or recycled pieces. The workmanship of the recycled items indicates that the craftsmen employed at the Khirbat Jābir bathhouse were skilled stone carvers but had no experience in shaping figural images. The rather good workmanship of the capital and the champlevé revetment …

Khirbat Jābir: The Pottery Finds / ח'ירבת ג'אבר: ממצא כלי החרס, Aviva Bouchenino

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

The excavation at Khirbat Jābir yielded pottery dating from the Byzantine period through the Early Islamic period, indicating continuous activity at the site during these periods. Most of the pottery was characteristic of the Byzantine period, including local wares typical of both northern and southern Israel, as well as imported wares from North Africa, Asia Minor and Cyprus. Byzantine-period clay pipes, apparently associated with the bathhouse water-supply system, were also found. The pottery assemblage from this period enables dating the activity in the bathhouse to the fourth–seventh centuries CE. A smaller portion of locally produced pottery vessels dates to the …

Khirbat Jābir: A Late Byzantine Bathhouse, An Early Islamic Building And Ottoman-Period Remains / ח'ירבת ג'אבר: בית מרחץ משלהי התקופה הביזנטית, מבנה מהתקופה האסלאמית הקדומה ושרידים מהתקופה העות'מאנית, Orit Segal

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

Excavations at Khirbat Jābir in Zikhron Ya‘akov revealed three strata (III–I). The earliest Stratum III yielded a well-preserved bathhouse dated to the late Byzantine period (sixth–seventh centuries CE), likely a public complex lavishly decorated with marble elements, which served a small, well-established community comprising several households in the area. In Stratum II, dated to the beginning of the Early Islamic period, the bathhouse was converted into a manor house or a farmhouse. Its plan was slightly altered with the construction of new walls, and its rooms were paved with stones robbed from the original phase of the bathhouse. The latest …

Selene And Pleiades Labor To Keep Watch Over A Lonely Night - Sappho, Maksim Astashinskiy

Faculty Papers and Publications

The title is the translator’s; the poem is popularly referred to as the “Midnight poem,” Wikipedia, accessed July 19, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_poem; the Greek text is transcribed from The Digital Sappho: Text and Commentary, accessed July 17, 2026, https://digitalsappho.org/fragments/fr118-168/. For an expansive compilation of translations of this poem, see: “Sappho’s Moon and Pleiades,” Brief Poems: An irregular anthology of tweet-size poems (blog), November 22, 2015, https://briefpoems.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/sapphos-moon-and-pleiades/. The unattributed two-line poem text is featured in Hephaestion (ca. 2nd century C.E.), see: Hephaestionis Enchiridion, cum commentariis veteribus edidit Maximilianus Consbruch. Accedunt variae metricorum graecorum reliquiae (Lipsiae: B.G. …

Staging Reception / Perception: Transhistorical Bi-Directional Dialogues Between Etruscan Visual Cultural Objects And Giuseppe Penone's Contemporary Sculptures, Shelby Morgan

University Honors Theses

I use the occasion of the March 2024 exhibit,"Vulci. Goods for Mankind. Goods for Gods." at Milan's Luigi Rovati Foundation to consider how the museum's staging of Etruscan visual material cultural objects and contemporary sculptures by Italian artist Giuseppe Penone prompts viewers to perceive transhistorical bi-directional dialogues between the viewer and material culture as well as between the ancient and contemporary objects themselves.

Via a close reading of the exhibition while leveraging the three frameworks of aura, imprint and classical reception I analyze how the staging of the hypogeum creates a place of atmosphere. I argue this is done through …