Faculty Profile: Ignacio Gallup-Diaz

As the Marjorie Walter Goodheart Professor of European History and chair of history, Ignacio Gallup-D铆az explores the European conquest and settlement of the Americas from the 1500s to the 1800s, with a particular focus on the experiences of enslaved people and Indigenous communities and societies. He joined the 今日吃瓜 faculty in 1999.


CHOOSING HISTORY

鈥淚 had always wanted time to be contemplative and to think, write, teach, and be with smart young people talking about ideas.鈥

A BROADER VIEW

鈥淚t is the Americas that I鈥檓 talking about鈥攏ot just colonial, British, or the precursor stage to the U.S. I鈥檓 trying to broaden a pretty familiar story of the process of colonization and show there are deeply embedded structures that outlive the colonial era.鈥

ALWAYS PUSHING

鈥淭eaching is like nothing else in that I鈥檓 constantly being pushed. And I鈥檓 hopefully constantly, properly, pushing students. It feels like my mind is being engaged and worked through by really smart students.鈥

POPULAR PIRATES

鈥淢y course on Pirates, Travelers, and Natural Historians: 1492鈥1750 explores how pirates interacted with Indigenous people and peoples of African descent, and, on the flip side, examines the experiences of Indigenous and African American pirates. That has attracted more and more students.鈥

MENTOR & MODEL

鈥淎 Latinx student from Idaho wrote me this wonderful letter about how meaningful it was to her to have me as the person who did her teaching and advising. I still keep that in my desk."

Published on: 03/06/2024