Message from the Department Head
A huge congratulations to the UBC History Graduating Class of November 2025! We hope that you were able to grow personally, intellectually, and professionally from your studies in the department, and that the experiences you have had at UBC will continue to whet your curiosity and build your confidence in learning more. While following your dreams has certainly gotten more difficult amidst the geo-political changes the world is experiencing right now, the tools that you have acquired during your studies should provide you with some inspiration and direction in pursuing your passions.
History teaches skills such as reading critically, writing convincingly, and recognizing the larger timescales of historical developments. Your ability to weigh the evidence and identify the crux of historical narratives should help you navigate the world beyond UBC more decisively. Wherever you head after graduation, the friends, mentors, and community you gained during your time here are precious. We do hope that you will remain in touch. Your professors and peers wish you all of the best in your upcoming endeavours!
The History Department joins me in wishing all of the best to our graduating students in November 2025. The names of our honours, MA and PhD students are listed below, along with the titles of the theses and doctoral dissertations that were completed for these degrees.
Dr. Bonnie Effros
Department Head
UBC Department of History
Zoeyn Cho, MA
"Han-ness in Ming China : a hybrid quantitative and qualitative study on prominent concepts and local perspectives from Ming-period gazetteers"
Noah James, MA
"The advance to the West Coast : a study of naval planning and weltpolitik in the age of Kaiser Wilhelm II"
Arastu Lenin, MA
"Partitioning the past : Bengali Muslim literary history in the shadow of Muslim nationalism, 1941–1943"
Yi (Fiona) Li, MA
"Beyond the split : the enduring legacy of Sino-Soviet collaboration at Yiqi (China’s First Automobile Work)"
Sophia McGhie, MA
"'The species’ age of innocence was over:' the capture and display of orcas (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia, conservation, and the extraction of value, 1964-1975"
Grace Mitchell, MA
"Radegund’s letters and legacy : her voice, agency, authorship, and power"
Wei Wang, MA
"Matchmaking under official supervision : official matchmakers and unclaimed women in Qing southwest China"
Wenqian Yang, MA
"The monkey and the bird gun : western firearms and the question of state service in Ming China"
Rui Zhao, MA
"Kinship and the native officialdom in late imperial China"
Sophie Abbott
"The Unnatural Natural: Understanding the Supernatural as Central in Grettir’s Saga"
Graeme McDonald
"Imbrications of Memory, Identity, and the Built Environment in Tarikh-i Bukhara, or The History of Bukhara"
Please email hist.comms@ubc.ca to let us know about any necessary corrections or omissions.
