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Department of History

The Thetean

Aims & Scope

The Thetean is a scholarly journal that has been dedicated to featuring the highest-level historical papers written by students at Brigham Young University for over 50 years. Manuscripts on any historical topic are considered for publication and evaluated based on originality, research rigor, and writing style of the work. The newly released 2024 issue can be found here. Previous issues can be found here
or on the ScholarsArchive page for the journal.

Submit a Manuscript

The submission portal is now OPEN. Papers will be evaluated on a rolling basis and there are a limited number of articles that we can feature so please submit NOW. The form to submit your paper can be found here. The submission window will close February 23rd, 2025 at 11:59 PM. If you are submitting an in-progress HIST490 capstone paper or have any other questions, please notify Editor-in-Chief Gabe Smock at theteansubmissions@gmail.com.

Join the Thetean Staff

Applications to become an editor for the 2025 edition of The Thetean are now CLOSED. Notifications of a decision have been sent out to all applicants.

The application for editors is open to all BYU students, regardless of major, but preference is given to those in relevant majors.

Editors, along with a faculty advisor, work together to select and prepare articles for the yearly issue, which will be prepared and published during the winter semester. Editors are also eligible to anonymously submit articles of their own for consideration. It's an excellent opportunity to gain experience reviewing and publishing historical research, a great résumé-builder, and editors receive two credit hours that count toward the history elective requirement. Additionally, editors will receive a bound, physical copy of the year's issue.

Tara Westover, author of the New York Times bestseller Educated and a BYU alumna, listed being an editor of The Thetean as one of three major accomplishments during her time at BYU when she won the highly prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Requirements:

  • Experience in high-level writing and/or editing and publishing. Students of all majors are encouraged to apply but preference is given to history, family history, American studies, editing and publishing, and other related majors and minors.
  • Writing sample that demonstrates strong writing ability.
  • Availability to attend weekly meetings on Mondays from 4-5 pm beginning in January. If this is a scheduling issue but you have a strong interest in becoming an editor, reach out to the Editor-in-Chief after filling out the application.

Deadline:

  • November 15 at 11:59 PM MST. Applicants will be informed of a decision in early December and accepted editors will be sent an add code for the HIST190 Thetean Production class.

Featured Articles

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"'A Kindred Sigh for Thee': British Responses to the Greek War for Independence" by Susannah Morrison

"'A Kindred Sigh for Thee': British Responses to the Greek War for Independence" by Susannah Morrison

"The Greek War of Independence, spanning from 1821 to 1832, was one of the bloodiest anti-imperial conflicts of the nineteenth century, fought by Greek insurgents against their Ottoman Turkish overlords...the fight for Greek independence commanded the particular attention and sympathy of the British middle-class as had few other international crises before." Find the full article on ScholarsArchive.
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"The Rise of a King and the Birth of a State: The Development of Saudi Arabia in the Context of World War I" by Robert Swanson

"The Rise of a King and the Birth of a State: The Development of Saudi Arabia in the Context of World War I" by Robert Swanson

"Saudi independence came primarily because of the strong leadership abilities of Ibn Saud who used the effects of World War I on the region to his advantage to carve out a personal kingdom for his family. He capitalized on the end of the Ottoman presence in the region, the increased British interest in a formal alliance, and European disinterest in managing the ‘unprofitable’ interior of Arabia after the war." Find the full article on ScholarsArchive.
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"Focusing on 'The Human Document': Lewis Hine and the Role of Photography in Child Labor Reform in Early Twentieth-Century America" by Miranda Jessop

"Focusing on 'The Human Document': Lewis Hine and the Role of Photography in Child Labor Reform in Early Twentieth-Century America" by Miranda Jessop

"Lewis Wickes Hine, now known as the father of social documentary photography, changed the course of the child labor reform movement of the early twentieth century. The incorporation of his potent photographs of pitiful child laborers into the literature of the private, non-profit National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) and the reactions they elicited from the public revolutionized social reform." Find the full article on ScholarsArchive.
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