Diana Gonzalez

U.S.–Latin American relations; Central and South American history from the colonial period to the present; war, intervention, and political power; historical memory; and the social experiences of communities shaped by conflict and foreign involvement.

Defeat as Experience: Interpreting France’s Collapse in 1940

History 191C: World War II, Vichy France, and the German Occupation — UCLA, Fall 2025 

Conducted an in-depth historical research project examining how soldiers, civilians, intellectuals, and foreign observers interpreted France’s 1940 defeat in real time. Analyzed memoirs, wartime testimony, political writings, and later historiography to explore defeat as a lived interpretive process shaped by uncertainty, responsibility, and position within collapsing institutions.

Between Tradition and Evidence: Rethinking the Rise of the Israelite Monarchy

History 182 — UCLA, Fall 2025 

Researched the emergence of kingship in ancient Israel through close analysis of biblical texts, Near Eastern inscriptions (Tel Dan and Mesha Stele), and archaeological scholarship on Jerusalem and Iron Age state formation. Argued that Israelite kingship developed through gradual and contested processes of early state formation, and examined how later theological narratives reshaped these developments into a unified, divinely sanctioned monarchy.

Academic Achievement Award in History

May 2024

Award recipients must have a 3.5 GPA or higher and 60 completed units at El Camino by the end of the 2022 spring semester. Each candidate must have a declared major. The award committees in each division select awardees.