Dr. John F. Chuchiak

Biography

Dr. John F. Chuchiak is a specialist on colonial Latin American history with a research emphasis on the history of Mexico and Maya ethnohistory. He teaches a variety of history courses, ranging from introductory courses on Western and world civilizations, upper level undergraduate courses on Latin American civilization and pre-Columbian cultures, and graduate courses on the history of Mexico, Mesoamerican ethnohistory, and the history of the Inquisition in Spain and the New World.

Dr. Chuchiak's general research focuses on the history of the colonial church in México with a special emphasis on the Franciscan Missions, the Inquisition and the Catholic Church in colonial Yucatán. His most recent publications have examined the contact and colonial transformation of the indigenous cultures of México, most notably the Maya of Yucatan. He is especially interested in researching the realms of Christian mission history, religion, ethnic conflict, gender and social change in the wider Atlantic world.

Details

Education

• PhD, Latin American Studies/Latin American History, 2000, Tulane University
• MA, Latin American Studies/Latin American History, 1994, Tulane University
• BA, History/Chemistry, Cum Laude, 1992, Virginia Polytechnic and State University

Teaching

• HST 350: Latin American Civilization
• HST 383: A Global History of the Inquisition, 1478-1834
• HST 397: History of Piracy in the Americas, 1492-1820
• HST 598: Senior Seminar: Comparative Colonialism - European Empires in the Americas, 1492-1800
• HST 760: Proseminar in Latin American History
• HST 792: Graduate Primary Source Proseminar
• UHC 410: Honors Seminar on Mesoamerican Ethnohistory
• UHC 410: Honors Seminar on Spanish Conquest & Colonization

Professional experience

Selected Publications

Research and professional interests

My credentials, numerous international awards, and research affiliations all testify to my international reputation as a leading Global scholar of both Maya Culture and the history of the Mexican Inquisition, as well as my status as a recognized scholar in general of the history of Spanish Conquest & Colonization and its impact on Mesoamerica’s indigenous peoples.

My scholarship focuses on understanding mechanisms of both religious repression and cultural resistance to European colonization by the New World’s Indigenous Peoples. This task requires intensive archival research in dozens of international archives in Mexico, Spain, Germany, and the U.S.

I have become recently more active in the field of digital humanities, including topics on the use of VR Technology for historical simulations.

Selected topics I am currently researching in this new field include:
• The Potentials of Digital Simulations in the field of History
• Strategies for the Creation of Digital Projects for the Humanities
• Using historical simulations and games in intensive research undergraduate courses
• Mentoring Active Undergraduate Research
• Creation of research tools in the digital humanities.

Awards and honors