Maxwell School junior Jorge Morales recently presented his research on the 2016 Rio Olympics, focusing on the interaction of race and infrastructure, at the 4th Annual CHRONOS Undergraduate Research Conference. Morales, inspired by childhood memories of the games, argued that the infrastructure developments marginalized Rio’s urban poor, continuing a century-long pattern by the Brazilian elite.
The conference, held in Bird Library, featured six student presentations and a panel discussion on “What Does it Mean To Be a Historian?” The event celebrated the revival of the undergraduate history journal CHRONOS in 2024 after a hiatus during the COVID pandemic. The Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement awarded CHRONOS the SOURCE Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Research Support.
According to SOURCE Director Kate Hanson, “CHRONOS is a long-established student-led journal providing opportunities for students to learn about academic publishing and share their work.” The revival of the journal was said to “build a vibrant community around historical research.”
Robert Terrell, assistant professor of history and CHRONOS faculty advisor, emphasized the importance of the journal, stating, “It’s really the fruit of their own labor.” Terrell underscored the students’ hands-on learning experience and their rare opportunity to publish work.
Cassidy Snyder, another presenter at the conference, focused on Ronald Reagan’s history, noting the value of participating in CHRONOS. Norman Kutcher, professor of history, remarked that working on CHRONOS teaches students the “fine art of teamwork.”
CHRONOS, founded by Kutcher and associate professor Samantha Herrick, allows undergraduates to publish original research. Morales, who joined CHRONOS last year, expressed his appreciation, saying, “It’s a community of people who are dedicated to having tough conversations about the world because we each have very different backgrounds and very different perspectives.”
Abbey Fitzpatrick, a member of the editorial board, shared how CHRONOS guides undergraduates, even those not majoring in history. Gillian Reed emphasized the rarity of such opportunities for history students, with fewer than ten active journals for undergraduate history research nationwide.
The conference welcomed Isabelle Aiken from SUNY Binghamton, the first non-Syracuse student to present, discussing the 1977 IWY Conference’s impact on the women’s movement. Other presentation topics included Reagan’s ties to the FBI, legal responses to the opioid crisis, and propaganda in Nazi Germany.
The panel discussion addressed the responsibilities of historians, building on previous themes like “History Under Attack.” Terrell noted, “The idea was to try to continue that conversation about the stakes of doing historical work.”
Volume 16 of CHRONOS will be published this fall, with Terrell describing it as “a legitimate publication, complete with DOI and ISSN numbers.” He added, “It testifies to the strength of the history program and history students at Syracuse.”
