Graduate Students | University of Houston

Current Graduate Students

Miranda Ruzinsky Selected for Gilda Slifka Internship Program

Miranda Ruzinsky has been selected for the Gilda Slifka Internship Program at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University for summer 2025.
Fadi Kafeety Holds Prestigious Fellowship in Jordan

Fadi Kafeety was awarded a doctoral fellowship for 2024-25 by the American Center of Research from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers for a research year in Amman.
John O. King Award Goes to Dmitrii Blyshko

Dmitrii Blyshko (Right) won the 2025 John O. King Award for outstanding graduate student in History, which he received from Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Raúl A. Ramos.
Heather Butina-Sutton Presents Research in Princeton Roundtable

Heather Butina-Sutton was an invited speaker at the History and Legacy of Black Entrepreneurship Spring Roundtable at Princeton University.
Valeria González Wins Lydia Mendoza Fellowship

Valeria González won a Lydia Mendoza Fellow from the UH Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies. This image comes from her featured interview in “Provost Profiles” from 2024.
“Public Historians at Work” Features Research by James Burke

James Burke co-wrote and recorded, with Austin Lee (MA ’25), “Stories from the Third Ward: War and the Third Ward,” an episode of the podcast “Public Historians at Work” from the Center for Public History
Marquel Sennet Speaks at Gregory School

Marquel Sennet spoke about Black media at The African American Library at the Gregory School as part of “Words of Defiance: How Black Newspapers Amplified Labor Justice and Social Change” for Black History Month 2025.
Asher González-Ortiz to Participate in Paleography Institute
Asher González-Ortiz studies sixteenth-century scripts during the academic year 2025-2026 with the Spanish Paleography Institute through the organization Sin Barcos. (Photo credit Biblioteca Nacional de España)
Graduate Students Co-Organize Conference

Muthuvel Deivendran (R) and Katherine Truax (L) helped plan and run the inaugural Health is Politics Conference in 2024, which brought scholars from around the world to UH.

	Said Sultan Al Hashimi Ph.D. Candidate in Modern Arab History Advisor: Abdel Razzaq Takriti Major Field: Modern Arab History Minor Field: Transnational History Research Interests: Anti-colonialism; Imperialism; Revolutions and Resistances in Oman and Arabian Peninsula Publications in Arabic: Oman: Human and Authority, A Primer to Understanding the Modern Omani Political Landscape (2014) Novels and Prison Literature in Arabic: “If the Trees Fell in Love”; “The Shadow’s Lullaby”; “What the Cell Left Behind for the Rose: The Papers of a Prisoner in 2011”; “Jasmine of Absence: Letters from Solitary Confinement”; “Omani Spring: Reading into the Contexts and Significance”; The Sacred Valley Infantries: Studies and Readings in Sufi Life in Oman Undergraduate: Political Sciences and Economics, University of Kuwait, 1999 M.A.: Strategic Studies, University of Aberdeen, 2006 ssalhash@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Rahil Asgari Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Dr. Nancy Beck Young Major Field: U.S. History Minor Fields: Labor History, Public History Research Interests: History of Sex Work; Women and Gender Studies; Historical Sociology M.A. in Comparative Global History, University of Tehran B.A. in History, University of Tehran rasgari@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Dmitrii Blyshko Ph.D. Candidate in European History Advisor: Alexey Golubev Major Field: European History (20th-century Russia and Europe) Minor Field: History of Science Research Interests: History of Science; History of Russia; History of Archaeology; Archaeology of Nordic Europe Undergraduate: Specialist Degree with Honors in History from Petrozavodsk State University, Russia, 2011 M.A.: Anthropology and Ethnology from European University at Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 2013 dblyshko@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Maya Bouchebl M.A. Student in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Major Field: Public History Minor Field: European History Research Interests: Medieval Europe, Early Modern Europe, Military History Undergraduate: History, Univesity of Houston, 2022 mwbouche@cougarnet.uh.edu
	James Burke Ph.D. student in US History Advisor: Dr. Todd Romero Major field: US History Minor field: Public History Research Interests: Colonial History; Public History; Maritime History BA: History, Oklahoma Christian University, 2021 MA: History, Texas A&M University - Central Texas, 2023 Jpburke2@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Stephon Boykin M.A. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Linda Reed Major Field: U.S. History since 1877 Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: African American history in the US during the 20th century with a focus on Black social and cultural institutions, civil rights, and Black radical movements in the American South Fellowship: University of Houston Presidential Award for Graduate Study sboykin2@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Heather Butina-Sutton Ph.D. Candidate in Latin America Advisor: Philip Howard Major Field: Transnational History (18th-19th century Atlantic World) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Black Labor and Entrepreneurship; Women and Gender Studies; African-American History; Afro-Latina/o/x History; Digital Humanities Undergraduate: Cultural Anthropology, University of Houston, 2014 Twitter: @hbsutton hbsutton@central.uh.edu "History, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do." - James Baldwin
	Valerie N. Butler-Harris Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisor: David McNally Major Field: U.S. History (15th century-Modern) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: African American History (New Negro, 1920s-1965); Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1965); Women's History: Labor History Undergraduate: Health and Physical Education, Texas Southern University, 1980 Masters: Master of Education-Educational Administration, Texas Southern University, 2000; M.A. in History, Texas Southern University, 2019 vbutlerharris11@gmail.com "Won't it be wonderful when Black history, and Native American history, and Jewish history and ALL U.S. History is taught from one book. Just U. S. history.” - Maya Angelou
	Sutanwi Chatterjee Ph.D. Student in History Research topic: Disease Control in Colonial Port cities (Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay) of India (1857-1947) Advisor: Nandini Bhattacharya Major Field: Global History with a focus on South Asia Minor Field: History of Medicine Research Interests: History of Science, Medicine, Technology, Urban History, Environmental History, Oceanic History, Economic History, and History of Cuisines M.Phil. in History, Ambedkar University, Delhi, India M.A. in History, University of Mumbai, India B.A. (Hons) in History, Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi, India schaterj@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Alexey Chernyavskiy Ph.D. Student in History Advisor: Alexey Golubev Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: European History Research Interests: Soviet Union and the world, Soviet engagement with Africa, Asia, and Latin America during the Cold War, Anticolonialism Graduate degree: Candidate of Sciences in History, Moscow Region State University, Russia, 2017 Undergraduate degree: Diploma with Honors in History, Moscow Region State University, Russia, 2010 achernya@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Muthuvel Deivendran Ph.D. Student in History Advisor: Pratik Chakrabarti Research Interests: Environmental History, British Colonialism, Labor History, History of Science & Technology, Coastal History, Political Anthropology Projects: Research Assistant, “Coastal Transformation and Fisher Wellbeing - Synthesized Perspectives from India and Europe” (under French Institute of Pondicherry and Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, India) funded by the European Union ─ India Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities (EqUIP); Research Intern, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, India. M.A.: Anthropology, University of Madras, India, 2021 mdeivend@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Thomas Doser Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Research Interests: urban/suburban history, environmental history, race and ethnicity, immigration, public history tcdoser@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Jonathan Fairchild Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisor: Todd Romero Research Interests: Native American Studies, 19th-century US, Borderlands, Race and Ethnicity, Oral History Dissertation: "They Intend to Conduct Us Out of Their Country: The Choctaw Diaspora" Website jrfairch@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Bill Ferguson Ph.D. student in US History Advisor: José Angel Hernández Major Field of Study: US History Research interests: Comparative World History, Native American History, US Colonialism.
	Alfonso Garza Ph.D. Student in Transnational History Advisor: Jose Angel Hernandez Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: Political History Research Interests: Migration, diaspora voting, economic development, regime-changes, democracy, Latin American international relations M.Sc.: Latin American Development, University College London, UK B.Sc.: Economics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands agarza89@cougarnet.uh.edu “If my death contributes to the end of partisanship and the consolidation of the union, I shall be lowered in peace into my grave.” - Simon Bolivar
	Valeria González Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Mark Goldberg Major Field: U.S. History Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Crypto-Jews and conversos in New Spain; Digital Humanities; Public History; Social History; Religious History; Jewish Studies Undergraduate: History, University of Houston, 2024 vgonza53@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Asher González-Ortiz Ph.D. Student in History Advisors: Catherine Patterson, Todd Romero Major Field: Global/Transnational History with a focus on the Atlantic World Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Early modern Europe; Social History; Gender History; the Atlantic World; cross-cultural interaction & exchange; Colonial Latin America; Native American History; Early American History B.A. in History, Sam Houston State University, 2023 aagonz43@cougarnet.uh.edu
	David Guzman Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: David McNally dguzman8@central.uh.edu
	Chase Holt Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: David McNally Research Interests: Race and capitalism in the post-Civil War South, history of white supremacy and criminal justice, labor history, US military history. M.A.: History, Arizona State University, 2023. B.A: History & Religious Studies, University of Virginia, 2007. Email: chholt@cougarnet.uh.edu Website: chasehholt.podbean.com
	Priscilla JudsonWallace Ph.D. Candidate in Global History and African American Studies Advisor: David McNally Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: African American Studies Research Interests: Black Radical Tradition; Black Radical Intellectuals; Franz Fanon; Resistance Movements Dissertation: "Claudia Jones and the Black Radical Tradition: A Global Study" Undergraduate: History, University of Texas at El Paso judsonpriscilla@gmail.com “The function of history is not simply to teach breadwinning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.” ―W.E.B. Du Bois
	Fadi Kafeety Ph.D. Candidate in Modern Middle East Advisor: David McNally & Abdel Razzaq Takriti (Rice University) Research Interests: Marxism; Political Economy; Revolutions and Revolutionary Thought; Tricontinentalism; History from Below; Colonialism and Imperialism Undergraduate: Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University, 2017 M.A.: Middle East Studies, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2019 Position: Assistant Director, The Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies (2020-2024) Awards: 2024-25 ACOR-CAORC Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (Amman, Jordan) Website FKafeety@uh.edu
	Moksh Kalra Ph.D. Student in Transnational History Advisor: Nandini Bhattacharya Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine Research Interests: Histories of colonialism, environment, capitalism, disease M.A. in History, Department of History, University of Delhi, 2022 B.A. (Honors) in History, Ramjas College, University of Delhi, 2020 mkalra@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Nancy Katz Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Mark Goldberg Major Field: U.S. History Minor Field: World History Research Interests: Atlantic World; Early U.S. Colonies; Crypto-Judaic Stories; U.S. Southern Borders; British Colonialism Undergraduate: History (with Classical Studies, Religious Studies, and Jewish Studies), University of Houston, 2021 Website nlkatz@cougarnet.uh.edu "We are not makers of history. We are made by history." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
	Claire Keck M.A. Student in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Major Field: Public History Minor Field: American History Research Interests: Religious History; Vietnam War; History of Entertainment; Oral History Undergraduate: History & Professional Writing, Baylor University, 2023 clkeck@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Daniel Killian M.A. Student in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Major Field: Public History Minor Field: Transnational History Research Interests: Atlantic History, Maritime History, Social and Labour History, Imperial and Anti-Imperialism Undergraduate: History, University of Texas, 2023
	Jacob King MA in Public History Advisor: Josiah Rector Major field: Public History Research interests: History of US activism, Environmental History, environmental justice mobilization efforts in Houston Undergraduate: History, California State University, Sacramento jking20@COUGARNET.UH.EDU “Of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research. And when you see that you’ve got problems, all you have to do is examine the historic method used all over the world by others who have problems similar to yours. And once you see how they get theirs straight, then you know how you can get yours straight.” - Malcolm X
	Riley Kramer Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Dr. Nancy Beck Young Major Field: U.S. History (20th Century) Minor Field: World History Research Interests: U.S. and the World, American Empire, America's role in the world, specifically the FDR era Academic Education: M.S. in Logistics Management from Florida Institute of Technology (2021); B.S. in Business Administration from The Ohio State University (2015) Active Duty Army Logistics Officer since 2015 to present rkramer@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Aracely Lara M.A. Student in Public History Advisors: Mark Goldberg, Nancy Beck Young Research: Texas-based muralists, research is focused on communal healing and resistance through murals and exploring murals as a holistic method to cleanse spaces of historically traumatic events in Texas. Undergraduate: Literature and Latino Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 2021. alara32@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Austin Lee M.A. Student in European History Advisor: Catherine Patterson Major Field: European History Research Interests: Early Modern History, English History, social history and social history within military and popular movements. Undergraduate: History, University of Houston 2022 and Telecommunications and Media Studies, Texas A&M University 2017 amlee21@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Karla A. Lira Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisor: Mark Goldberg Major Field: U.S. History (20th Century) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Latinx and Black History, Sports, Race and Ethnicity, Public History Dissertation: “For the City: Latinx and Black Athletes in Houston, 1950s-1970s" Undergraduate: History, University of Texas at Pan-American, 2014 M.A.: History, University of Texas: Rio Grande Valley, 2017 Website kalira@uh.edu "¡Sí Se Puede!" -Dolores Huerta
	Stephanie Masterson Ph.D. Student in European History Advisor: Catherine Patterson Major Field: European History Minor Field: U.S. History Research Interests: Early Modern British History; History of Religion; History of Literature; Irish History; Social History; Intellectual History Undergraduate: History, University of Houston, 2023 sfmaster@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Nicole McCarthy M.A. Student in European History Advisor: Kristina Neumann Major Field: European History (Ancient Mediterranean from 100 BCE-100 CE) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Roman Empire (Principate); Roman Republic; Social and Political Change; Power Structures and Dynamics Undergraduate: Anthropology and Classics, Texas A&M University, 2021 ndmccarthy@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Christian Moore M.A. Student in U.S. and Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young mooreachristian1@gmail.com
	Miranda Ruzinsky M.A. Student in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Research Interests: Hispanic Population mmruzins@central.uh.edu
	Allison Sáenz Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisors: Monica Perales and Mark Goldberg Major Field: Latina/o/x History Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Central American Studies; Immigration, Race and Ethnicity; Public History Dissertation: "Being a U.S. Central American: Migration, Culture, and Ethnicity in Houston Post-1965" Digital Projects: Contributor to "Latino cARTographies: Mapping the Past, Present, and Future of Houston Latino Art," a digital project that seeks to highlight Latinx art in the city Fellowships: Smithsonian's Latino Center, Latino Museum Studies Program, Graduate Fellowship, Summer 2019; University of Houston's Center for Mexican American Studies Graduate Fellowship, 2020-2021; Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino, Latino Museum Studies Program, Predoctoral Fellowship, 2022-2023; Inter-University Program for Latino Research/University of Illinois-Chicago Mellon Dissertation Fellowship, 2023-2024 Internship: Oral Historian, Making Cancer History Voices Oral History Collection Summer Internship, Research Medical Library, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Summer 2023 Undergraduate: History, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2017 ansaenz@uh.edu "If the present had a therapist, it would be history."
	Xavier Saldivar-Osorto Ph.D. Student in Latin American History Advisor: José Angel Hernández Major Field: Latin American History Minor Field: U.S.-Mexican Borderlands Research Interests: Digital Humanities, Oral History, Immigration, Race and Ethnicity, Mexican American History, Revolutions in Latin America, Latin America during the Cold War, Food History, Music History. Undergraduate: History, University of Houston-Downtown, 2021 M.A.: History, University of Texas at San Antonio. 2023 xasaldiv@cougarnet.uh.edu "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." - Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)
	Kevin Sanchez MA in History Advisor: Todd Romero Research Interests: US History, Labor Rights BA: University of Houston-Downtown 2019 Magna Cum Laude kwsanche@cougarNet.uh.edu
	Marquel Sennet Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Linda Reed Major Field: U.S. History (Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: African American History (Reconstruction) with a focus on the sharecropping system in Southwest Louisiana and the migration of rural Black Louisianians to Southeast Texas B.A. in Broadcast Journalism, University of North Texas M.A. in History, Grambling State University mnsennet@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Olabode Shadare Ph.D. Candidate in Transnational History Advisor: Dr. Kairn Klieman Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Nigerian Immigrant Community in Houston; Identity, Gender, and Race; Oral History Fellowship: University of Houston Presidential Award for Graduate Study Undergraduate: History & International Relations, Osun State University, 2011 M.A.: International Relations & European-Asian Studies, Tallinn University of Technology, 2016; History, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 2020 Personal Website omshadar@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Lisamarie Small Ph.D. Student in European History Advisor: Alexey Golubev Major field: 20th Century Russia and Europe Minor field: Transnational history Research interests: Soviet Nationality Policy, Women and Gender Studies, Russian German History M.A. Student in Russian Language and Literature, Middlebury College M.A. Russian History, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill B.A. History and Russian, Bryn Mawr College lmsmall2@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Shine Trabucco Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Raul Ramos Major Field: U.S.-Mexican Borderlands (19th century) Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Digital Humanities; Oral History; American Indian Studies; Material Culture; Environmental Studies Digital Projects: Researcher for "To Bear Fruit for Our Race" (UH Center for Public History); Arte Público Press in the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections on an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) project for the book, La Patria Perdida Undergraduate: Anthropology, Southwestern University, 2018 M.A.: History, St. Mary's University (San Antonio), 2019 Personal Website sstrabuc@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Katherine Truax Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Pratik Chakrabarti Major Field: History of Medicine Minor Field: Transnational History Research Interests: History of Death, Medicalization, Race, Imperialism, Policy, History of Science, Pseudoscience M.Sc. in History, University of Edinburgh, 2012 B.A in History, University of Houston, 2011 kttruax@CougarNet.UH.edu
	Seth Uzman Ph.D. Student in Transnational History Advisor: David McNally Major Field: Transnational History Minor Field: U.S. History Research Interests: The Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in the 18-19C, race and capitalism, class formation, revolutions, Marxism, universal history, history from below, intellectual history M.A.: Labor, Social Movements, and Development, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2020 B.A.: Mathematics, Economics, Plan II, University of Texas at Austin, 2018 ssuzman@cougarnet.uh.edu “The tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the 'emergency situation' in which we live is the rule. We must arrive at a concept of history which corresponds to this.” - Walter Benjamin
	Mackenzie Vance MA student in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Research Interests: Iconography of early America, American civil religion, the rise of radical Evangelicalism, and accessibility in History. BA: History from Concordia University AA: Austin Community College. mvance@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Michael Voss M.A. in Public History Advisor: Nancy Beck Young Major Field: U.S. History Research Interests: Military History, World War II, The Cold War, State History Museums Undergraduate: History major, Film minor from “Barrett, The Honors College” at Arizona State University, 2023 mkvoss@cougarnet.uh.edu
	Amelia White PhD Student in U.S. History Advisor: Raúl Ramos Major Field: U.S. History Minor Field: Transnational History Research Interest: Spanish American borderlands (17th & 18th centuries), US West, public history Undergraduate: Political Science, Austin College M.A.: History, University of Texas at San Antonio
	Seth Whitty Ph.D. Student in U.S. History Advisor: Matthew Clavin Major Field: Early American History Minor Field: Atlantic World Research Interests: Slavery in the United States; Abolition; Acts of Resistance; Haitian Revolution Dissertation: "Slashed with All the Severity: Resistance and Oppression in Nineteenth-Century Tennessee" Undergraduate: History, Oklahoma State University, 2019 srwhitty@uh.edu
	Ajanae Willis Ph.D. Candidate in U.S. History Advisor: Richard Mizelle Major Field: U.S History in the 19th and 20th Centuries Minor Field: Public History Research Interests: Environmental History/Racism; Culture and Community Building; Disaster Capitalism; Black Geographies; Medical History; Race, Disease, and Healthcare disparities; Oral History M.A. in History, North Carolina Central University, 2020 B.A in History, Elizabeth City State University, 2017 atwillis@central.uh.edu