How did the poinsettia become a symbol of Christmas? Check out this article below in Time Magazine by my dad Norman Ellstrand and I: time.com/7202847/poin...

***We're on YouTube!*** Please visit the IEHS YouTube channel to watch clips from our past virtual events, including book talks, panel discussions, and more. These clips are great teaching tools! m.youtube.com/%40iehs_org?...

New on the IEHS blog, Not From Here: Authors on Authors: Deborah Kanter & Stephen Koeth iehs.org/authors-on-a...

The Trump administration said it would pause leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, citing unspecified security risks.

Charcuterie board

Soup dumplings

Absolutely right. AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there. Let me illustrate …

Shengjian bao

Sichuan hot and spicy wontons

New from University of Arizona Press: Avocado Dreams: Remaking Salvadoran Life and Art in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area by Ana Patricia Rodríguez uapress.arizona.edu/book/avocado...

舞茸タコス，日本で流行らないかな

Breaking news: The Justice Department released a huge trove of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein. The materials could include grand jury testimony, investigative records, immunity deals, sealed settlements and more.

***Special issue of the Journal of American Ethnic History*** "Immigration and Citizenship" Co-edited by @migrantherstory.bsky.social and @irpinaingiro.bsky.social scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jaeh/iss...

Ribeye taco

Maitake mushroom taco

***My department is hiring*** Assistant Professor of the History of Brazil networks.h-net.org/jobs/69649/s...

President Trump on Wednesday night gave a rare prime-time address intended to defend his accomplishments that included a long list of exaggerations and misleading statements. Here’s a fact-check. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/h...

***Apply to awards from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society*** The IEHS offers a number of prestigious awards that recognize excellence in scholarship in the fields of immigration and ethnic history. iehs.org/awards/

Buffalo milk soft serve

Tacos de pescado

New book from @univnebpress.bsky.social : High Voltage: Hydroelectric Development and Political Power in Peru by Gonzalo Romero Sommer www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/978...

***Please email us if you recently published something. We are happy to feature your scholarship in the monthly digest.*** Email: [email protected]

New book from IEHS members Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross: Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution (University of British Columbia Press, 2025) www.ubcpress.ca/challenging-...

Sarah Weicksel’s upcoming book, A Nation Unraveled, comes out from @uncpress.bsky.social on January 6. So the @historians.org staff took the opportunity today to celebrate her accomplishment before the holidays and #AHA26. uncpress.org/978146968914...

"Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff On Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2)" www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...

Right wing candidate José Antonio Kast has won Chile's presidential runoff, 58% to 42%. apnews.com/article/chil...

Pistachio tart

Pistachio tart

Check out this new article by @lupitachavez.bsky.social: scipost.org/MigPol.4.1.005

De nuestro colega Diego Ramírez: "Colegas buenos días Les comparto un fondo con documentación del periodo de Plutarco Elías Calles e información sobre la Cristiada. Espero les sirva" UNM CSWR Fideicomiso Archivos Plutarco Elias Calles y Fernando Torrebla(FAPECFT) econtent.unm.edu/digital/coll...

Who is attending the AHA in Chicago next month? A ver si nos juntamos.

De nuestra colega Deborah Kanter: "Grandiosa procesión" festejando a la Virgen de Guadalupe, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, San Antonio, Tejas. Sin fecha (1940s?) ¿Qué notas? (foto: Claretian Missionaries USA-Canada Archive)

From our colleague Deborah Kanter: "My research on San Antonio TX c1915-30 led me to the log of a Spanish-speaking Sociedad de San Luis Gonzaga. The log mentions connections to a larger national organization. Have you heard of this lay organization in Mexico?"

De nuestra colega Deborah Kanter: "Mi investigación sobre San Antonio Tejas c1915-30 me llevó al registro de una Sociedad de San Luis Gonzaga hispanohablante. El registro menciona conexiones con una organización nacional más grande. ¿Se han oído hablar de esta organización laica en México?"

New work on the sanctuary movement: "Quaker Roots in Jim Corbett’s Nonviolent Sanctuary: The Unrecognized Influence of the Pacifist Research Bureau and the Legal Scholar, Harrop A. Freeman (1907–93)" by Rody Rodán-Figueroa in Quaker Studies scholar.google.com/scholar_url?...

El día de la Virgen de Guadalupe Photo from La Iglesia Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles at La Placita Olvera in Los Angeles. This is probably my favorite mural of the virgen, showing the transnational connections.

El día de la Virgen de Guadalupe Photo from El Mercadito, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.

Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe. (Foto de la Iglesia de San Ignacio de Loyola en San Francisco, California)

***Share Your News with Us*** The IEHS monthly digest comes out on the 27th of every month. Please email us if you have any announcements about events, grants, job ads, or public speaking engagements that you would like us to share with the IEHS community. [email protected]

Exclusive: Historic preservation group sues Trump over planned ballroom. The National Trust, charged by Congress with preserving historical buildings, says lawsuit is “last resort” after Trump officials ignored pleas. They’re asking for immediate halt to project. w @jonathanreports.bsky.social

What's up with this fashion trend of black text on black fabric (hats, shirts, etc.)?

***Are You A Member? Create an Expert Profile on the IEHS Website*** This is an excellent resource for fellow academics, journalists, and other readers interested in the work that IEHS members do. Create profile here: iehs.org/all-experts/

***78th Annual Latke-Hamantash Debate*** The 2025 Latke-Hamantash Debate, an annual ritual at the University of Chicago, was held in February of 2025. Here is a video of the full event. Who will be the 2026 debaters? Stay tuned. youtube.com/watch?v=yO0w...

Remember the Tonight Show argument? Host Johnny Carson would correctly say it's pronounced Poin-SETT-i-a. Bandleader Doc Severinsen would incorrectly say it's pronounced Point-SETT-a. And announcer/sidekick Ed McMahon woukd just laugh like Santa Claus: "Ho ho ho ho ho!"

My book review of Sergio González' book, Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in Twentieth-Century Wisconsin, was just published in the current issue of the Journal of American Ethnic History: www.academia.edu/144111394/Re...

***Call for Papers at Western History Association Conference*** The Call for Papers is now open for the WHA's 66th Annual Conference, October 21-24, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. Read the full CFP and submit your proposal by December 5, 2025: www.westernhistory.org/2026/proposals

Check out the new issue of our journal, the Journal of American Ethnic History ( @illinoispress.bsky.social ):

Journal of American Ethnic History (@iehs.bsky.social) Vol. 45, No. 1, is here, featuring three new articles, plus book reviews by @loriflores.bsky.social, @nellstra.bsky.social, and more. scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jaeh/iss...