The University of Oklahoma Historical Journal

Abstract

Preface to the Fourth Issue of the OU Historical Journal by the Editors

This year has marked new highs of participation and interest in the OU Historical Journal. Of the forty-five professors and affiliated faculty in the history department, thirty-seven nominated and voted to elect members of the editorial board. From the more than ninety nominees, the faculty selected four new student editors, joining the five who returned from last year’s board. All the nominees to the editorial board were contacted and asked to send in papers for the board’s consideration. We received forty-five submissions, more than we’ve ever had before. Accordingly, this is the largest issue we have ever published, with an expanded list of shorter works and honorable mentions.

The quality and diversity of the papers, not to mention the large number submitted, made the selection process intensely difficult. But after much hard work, the editorial board has arrived at a decision. The winner of the Griswold Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Historical Scholarship is “Heterogeneous Exiliados,” by Arthur Dixon. This sterling piece of scholarship has three marks of distinction: precise and wide-ranging research, thoughtful analysis, and polished writing. The result is an essay that sparkles like a cut diamond.

There are many gems here, some a fraction of a carat lighter in research than Dixon’s, some slightly rougher in cut, but all beautiful, and all valuable. A wise writer once said that a great library is like Fort Knox, “except that at fort Knox gold is merely a symbol of wealth,” whereas, at the library, “the treasure is real.” Below is a collection of the jewels forged in the workshops of the history department.