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The Thetean

A history journal "[dedicated] to... critical thinking and articulate writing."

—Tara Westover, bestselling author of Educated, Gates Cambridge Scholar, and former Editor of The Thetean

For over 50 years, The Thetean has been the published home of the finest historical research produced by undergraduates at BYU. We welcome originality, intellectual rigor, and exceptional writing on any historical topic to the pages of our journal, which is the oldest student-run publication on campus. An archive of previous issues can be found here.

Submit Original Research

The submission portal is now CLOSED. Submissions for Volume 56, Issue 1 (2027) will open in Fall 2026.

Submitting to The Thetean is an excellent opportunity to get published as an undergraduate. Submissions are faculty- and peer-reviewed and undergo a revision process. If submitted, any HIST 490 Capstone paper will receive automatic consideration by the full Board of Editors. If you are enrolled in the Capstone course during the Winter semester but wish for your in-progress Capstone paper to be considered, please reach out Editor-in-Chief Tanner Stott (thetean@byu.edu).

Become an Editor

Editor applications for the 2026 issue of The Thetean are now CLOSED. Applications for Volume 56, Issue 1 (2027) will open in Fall 2026.

BYU students of all majors are encouraged to apply; preference is given to those majoring or minoring in History, Family History, American Studies, Editing & Publishing, English, and other related programs. We value experience in historical research, writing, editing, or publishing; we value those who wish to gain experience in those areas. We aim to assemble a Board with diverse interests, views, personalities, strengths, and writing styles, so all interested students are strongly invited to apply!

Candidates for Editor must submit a history writing sample, a resume, a short editorial revision of a provided text sample, and contact information for a recommending professor. Second-round candidates may also be invited to interview.

Editors must commit to class attendance from 4-5:15pm on Mondays during the Winter semester. They will receive two credit hours toward the history elective requirement. The Board of Editors works with the faculty advisor (Dr. David-James Gonzales) to prepare the annual issue. They review and assess submissions, deliberate, choose articles for inclusion, and work with authors to refine prose and content. Editors may anonymously submit their own historical research for consideration.

Logo: The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing, BYU

How is "Thetean" Pronounced?

We know the origin of the Journal's peculiar name thanks to excellent archival research by former Editor-in-Chief Gabe Smock: "The word 'Thetean' is a simple play on the fact that the original editors were all members of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society. Given its derivation from the Greek letter theta (Θ), the name is properly pronounced 'thay′-tee-uhn.'"

Updated June 13th, 2026

Featured Articles

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Painting of 'A Kindred Sigh for Thee': British Responses to the Greek War for Independence

"'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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Group of people riding camels holding flags.

"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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Black and white picture of young girl with braids.

"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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