History in the Making

Call for Papers

CSUSB's nationally award-winning journal of history, History in the Making, is gearing up for another great year. This journal is written, edited, and produced by students and is judged in a national competition sponsored by the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. The last six volumes submitted have won first, second, or third prize in this competition. Journals are judged on quality of content, editing, and overall design.

Any students, regardless of major, who are interested in contributing their talents and in learning more about planning, editing, and producing an academic journal are welcome to submit their work for possible publication.

We will consider any of the following for publication:

• Original primary source-based papers either on a historical topic or using an historical approach will be considered
• Academically-based travel essays
• Essays critically analyzing the historical significance and historical memory of a significant person who died in the past year
• Reviews of recently published historical monographs, historical documentaries, films, exhibitions, or public history projects
• Essays critically examining a particularly noteworthy historical source or collection from an archive
• Papers from undergraduate introductory courses that deal with a historical issue

For all above categories except the first (original primary-source research papers), we also accept paragraph proposals, in which you state your plan to complete the piece (travel, book/film review, in memoriam, etc.) over the spring term in collaboration with a student editor.

Submissions

We are now accepting submissions for Volume 19, 2026.  Please email submissions as attachments, stripped of all reference to the author or the course for which the paper was originally written if applicable (this is a blind review process) to jmurray@csusb.edu. In the message of the email itself, authors should identify their major/program, the course for which the paper was originally written, and their commitment to working with editors over the winter quarter if their submission is accepted. The committee encourages submissions from recent alumni, current students, and students from other institutions. Submissions are due January 6th, 2026.

This year the journal is supported by faculty advisors Dr. Tiffany Jones and Jeremy Murray.

Please email Dr. Jeremy Murray (jmurray@csusb.edu) or Dr. Tiffany Jones (tjones@csusb.edu) with any questions. Applications to serve on the editorial staff should be sent by email to Dr. Murray. Please share this announcement.

Call for Editors

Any students interested in becoming an editor for the journal should submit a writing sample and a letter of interest to Professor Jeremy Murray (jmurray@csusb.edu) no later than November 19, 2025.  Students selected will earn course credits and gain valuable experience. Your writing sample can be of any length, as long as it is a good representation of your writing ability, and your letter of interest can just be in the body of the email, explaining why you are interested in this work and why you are a good fit for it.