Audiences

Utilities

Over 60 areas of study

Since 1944, Fresno Pacific has integrated rigorous academics and faith into a comprehensive learning journey.

Programs & Majors

Talk to Admissions

Undergraduate
800-660-6089 | Ask a question

Degree Completion & Graduate
559-453-3690 | Ask a question

Biblical Seminary
800-251-6227 | Ask a question

Apply online now

Admissions

Become a Sunbird for life

Campus Life at Fresno Pacific offers fun, vibrant activities to help you get connected as a new Sunbird. Start developing traditions together with friends

Student Life

Established 1944

Fresno Pacific is a nationally recognized university nestled in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. Our expert faculty are dedicated to student success.

About

50 years of creative expression

Our music, drama and visual art programs cover the spectrum from classical to contemporary. Ensembles and activities are open to students from all majors and levels of experience.

The Arts

  • Email: rajanzen@fresno.edu
  • Phone: 559-453-2210
  • Office: McDonald Hall, Room 251

Education

  • Ed.D., Social Sciences, University of Southern California, 1992
  • M.A., History, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977
  • Studies in History and Literature, Oxford University, 1973-1974
  • B.A., History, Fresno Pacific College, 1975

Publications & Presentations

  • "William Saroyan on Ethnicity," Journal of American Ethnic History, to be published Spring 2014
  • "Plain Christians in California's San Joaquin Valley," Pacific Historical Review, to be published December 2013
  • "The Hutterites: Physical and Spiritual Health Care," book chapter in The Spiritual Care Edition of the Physicians Desk Reference, edited by Steven Jeffers, to be published by Radcliffe Publishers, 2013
  • "Bruderhof," "Communal Life," "Hutterites" and "Prairieleut" entries in The Concise Encyclodpedia of the Amish, edited by Donald Kraybill, 2010
  • "The Mennonite Brethren," "Mennonites in Ukraine" and "The Prairieleut," entries in Concise Bibliography of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites and Mennonite, edited by Donald Kraybill, 2010
  • The Hutterites in North America, with Max Stanton, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010
  • "Hutterite Physical and Spiritual Health Care," book chapter in The Spiritual Care Edition of the Physicians Desk Reference, edited by Steven Jeffers, published by Radcliffe Publishers, 2010
  • Paul Tschetter: The Story of a Hutterite Immigrant Leader, Pioneer, and Pastor, published by Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009
  • "Paul Tschetter's Chicago Fire Hymn," with Jean Janzen, in Mennonite Quarterly Review, April 2007
  • "Communal Expressions of Old Order River Brethren Life," with Stephen Scott and Hannah Scott, in Communal Societies, December 2006
  • "Mere Culture and a Real Christianity," in College Faith 3: 150 Christian Leaders and Educators Share Faith Stories From Their Student Days, edited by Ronald Knott, published by Andrews University Press, 2006
  • "The Scholarship of Discovery," in Pacific Journal, 2006
  • "Mennonite Community Church, 1973-2003," in California Mennonite Historical Society Newsletter, May 2006
  • "The Rise and Fall of Synanon," in Communique, Summer 2006
  • "Multicultural Confusion," in Multicultural Review, Summer 2006
  • "Five Paradigms on Ethnic Relations," book chapter in Intercultural Communication: A Reader, edited by Richard Porter and Larry Samovar, published by Wadsworth, 2005
  • "Synanon: A California Utopia," in Communique, Fall 2005
  • "Mennonite Community Church, the Early Years," in California Mennonite Historical Society Newsletter, September 2005
  • "The Hutterites" and "the Bruderhof," entries in Annotated Bibliography for the Study of American Communal History (International Communal Studies Association on-line publication), edited by Peter Hoehnle, 2005
  • "The Hutterites and the Bruderhof: The Relationship between an Old Order Anabaptist group and a 20th Century Religious Society," in Mennonite Quarterly Review, October 2005
  • "Paul Tschetter: Dakota Hutterite Pioneer," in Dakota Historical Collections, 2005
  • Kalona's Old Order Amish & The Amana Colonies: Two Unique Cultures in Southeast Iowa (on-line publication of the Kalona Historical Society, www.kalonaiowa.org/ka), 2004 (This is a revised website version of a 1988 publication noted below.)
  • Are We Amish? (on-line publication of the Iowa City Convention and Visitor's Bureau, www.iowacity.com/amanas/amish/low_amish.html), 2004 (This is yet another, and different, revised website version of a 1988 publication noted below.)
  • Back to the City: Mennonite Community Church: 1954-2004, published by Pine Hill Press, 2004
  • "Scholarship and the Church," in Christian Leader, November 2003
  • The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001
  • The Prairie People: Forgotten Anabaptists, published by University Press of New England, 1999
  • Three Approaches to Curriculum Design, published by Fresno Pacific University, 1999
  • "The Social Science Education Conceptual Dilemma," in The Social Studies, June 1995
  • "Melting Pot or Mosaic?" reprint in California Schools, May 1995
  • "Five Perspectives on Ethnic Relations," in Social Education, October 1994
  • "The Prairieleut: A Forgotten Hutterite People," in Communal Societies, 1994
  • "The Hutterite High School Experience: Cultural Transmission on the Northern Plains," in Syzygy, Summer 1994
  • "Jacob D. Hofer: Evangelist, Minister and Carpenter," in California Mennonite Historical Society Newsletter, May 1994
  • "Melting Pot or Mosaic?" in Educational Leadership, May 1994
  • The Amana Society and Kalona's Old Order Amish, published by Amana Historical Society, 1988
  • Terry Miller: The Pacifist Politician, published by Freeman Publishing Company, 1986
  • "Terry Miller: A Pacifist in the South Dakota Legislature," in Dakota Historical Collections, edited by Herbert Blakely, published by South Dakota Historical Society, 1985
  • Perceptions of the South Dakota Hutterites in the 1980's, published by Freeman Publishing Company, 1984
  • Edited publications:
  • Editor, Pacific Journal, 2006-present
  • Editor, Communal Societies journal, 1999-present
  • God's Salvation Plan: A Hutterite Minister's Perspective, published by Hutterian Brethren, 1988
  • Book and article reviews:
  • Review of "Inside the Ark: The Hutterites in Canada and the United States," by Yossi Katz and John Lehr, Great Plains Research Journal, Summer 2013
  • Review of "The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America," by Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey, The History Teacher, Spring 2013
  • Review of "Plain People: A Case Study of the Rockport Colony Hutterites," by Joanita Kant, Great Plains Research Journal, 2011
  • Review of "Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair," by Anthony Arthur, "A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan," by Michael Kazin, and "Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America," by Matthew Avery Sutton, in Pacific Journal, 2010
  • Review of Eden within Eden: Oregon's Utopian Heritage, by James Kopp, in Nova Religio, Spring 2010
  • Review of Diaspora in the Countryside, by Royden Loewen, in The American Historical Review, Fall 2009
  • Review of Jewish Communities on the Ohio River: A History, by Amy Hill Shevitz, in The History Teacher, August 2008
  • Review of Latino Pentecostal Identity, by Arlene M.Sanchez Walsh, in Nova Religio, March 2008
  • Review of My Life in Orange, by Tim Guest, in Communal Societies, July 2007
  • Review of The Seeds of the Kingdom: Utopian Communities in the Americas, by Anna L. Peterson, in Nova Religio, 2007
  • Review of The Christian College: A History of Protestant Higher Education in America, by William C. Ringenberg, in Direction, April 2007
  • Review of The Courts and the Colonies, by Alvin Esau, in Journal of Mennonite Studies and in Utopian Studies
  • Review of The Palgrave Companion to North American Utopias, by John W. Friesen and Virginia Lyons Friesen, in Novo Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religion, Winter 2006
  • Review of Peoples Temple and Black Religion in America, edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn and Mary R. Sawyer, in Utopian Studies, Volume 16, number 2, 2005
  • Review of The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture, by W. Michael Ashcraft, in The Journal of American History, March 2004
  • Review of Heartland Utopias, by Robert P. Sutton, published by Northern Illinois University Press, 2004
  • Review of Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, by Donna Gollnick and Philip Chinn, published by Merrill, Prentice-Hall, 2003
  • Review of Intentional Community: An Anthropological Perspective, edited by Susan Love Brown, published by State University of New York Press, 2000
  • Review of On the Backroad to Heaven, by Donald Kraybill and Carl Bowman, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000
  • Review of Hidden Worlds, by Royden Loewen, in The Mennonite Historian, Spring 2004
  • Review of Holding the Line, by Diane Umble, in Communal Societies, 1997
  • Review of America's Alternative Religions, by Timothy Miller, in Utopian Studies, 1996
  • Review of Banished for Faith, edited by Emil J. Waltner, in Communal Societies, 1996
  • Review of The Shakers: Celibacy and Longevity, published by University of Tennessee Press, 1994
  • Review of Prevailing Over Time: Ethnic Adjustment on the Kansas Prairies, by D. Aidan McQuillan, in Mennonite Historical Bulletin, 1993
  • Review of On the Move: A Study of Migration and Ethnic Persistence, by Marilyn Rose, in Mennonite Quarterly Review, 1992
  • Review of Life and Conduct, by Ezechiel Sangmeister, in Communal Societies, 1991
  • Review of Pilgrims of a Common Life, by Trevor J. Saxby, in Mennonite Life, 1990
  • Review of Community for Life, by Ulrich Eggars, in Mennonite Life, 1990
  • Review of Anabaptism and Asceticism, by Kenneth Davis, in Direction, July 1975
  • Reviews of publications (a sampling):
  • The Prairie People: Forgotten Anabaptists reviewed in The Mennonite Quarterly Review, Mennonite Life, Direction and others
  • The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia reviewed in The Nation, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Los Angeles Times, Direction, Journal of Utopian Societies, Communal Societies, The Journal of American History and others
  • Presentations (1992-present, a sampling):
  • "The Hutterites in 2013," Agricultural History Association, Banff, Alberta, June 2013
  • “Communal Christianity,” “The Hutterites in North America” and "The Hutterites Face the Future," Durnbaugh Lecture Series, Young Center for the Study of Anabaptism and Pietism, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, April, 2012
  • “The Hutterites in 2011,” presented at the biennial convention of Mennonite Church USA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July, 2011
  • "Synanon Cults in the American West," Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, May, 2011
  • “The Hutterites in 2011,” presented at the annual banquet of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Society, Hillsboro, Kansas, May, 2011
  • “Hutterites in North America: A New Golden Years Period,” presented at the International Hutterite Educator’s Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, August, 2010
  • "Perceptions of the Hutterites in 2007," presented at James Valley Colony, Elie, Manitoba, May 2007
  • "Perceptions of the Hutterites in 2006," presented at Group 1 Schmiedeleut German Teachers Conference in Aberdeen, SD, October 2006
  • "Religion or Cult: Synanon as Symbol or Synanon as Maverick," presented at Communal Studies Association in Marshall, California, September 2006
  • "Writing and Publishing Communal History," presented at Communal Studies Association in Marshall, California, September 2006
  • "The Hutterites and the Bruderhof: The Difficult Relationship between two Christian Communal Groups," presented at Dakota History Conference, April 2006
  • "The Hutterites and the Bruderhof: Different Perspectives," presented with Ruth Lambach and Max Stanton at Communal Studies Association in Pittsburgh, PA, 2005
  • "The Hutterites and the Bruderhof: The Relationship between an Old Order Anabaptist Group and a Modern Religious Society," presented at Fresno Pacific University Senior Scholar's lecture series, September 2005
  • "Old Order Christianity in California," presented at American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch in Corvallis, Oregon, August 2005
  • "Critical Thought and Intellectual Hospitality," presented as Fresno Pacific University Commencement Address, May 2005
  • "Paul Tschetter: Dakota Hutterite Pioneer," presented at Dakota History Conference in Sioux Falls, SD, April 2005
  • "Paul Tschetter: A Leader in the Middle," presented at Paul Tschetter Descendent's Reunion in Freeman, SD, April 2005
  • "FPU Sabbatical Policy: A Personal Reflection," presented at Fresno Pacific University Faculty Seminar, September, 2004
  • "Synanon as alternative society, new religion or cult?" presented at American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch, August 2004
  • "Communal Expressions of Christianity: Catholic and Protestant," presented at Interreligious Student Forum, Brown University in Providence, RI, April 2004
  • "The Hutterites and the Bruderhof," presented at Young Center for the Study of Anabaptism and Pietism annual lecture series, March 2004
  • "The Scholarship of Discovery," presented at Fresno Pacific University workshop, August 2003
  • "Small Schools and the Spirit of Community," presented at Freeman Academy "Steps Forward" annual dinner in Freeman, SD, May 2003
  • "Publishing While Working Full-time," presented at Fresno Pacific University Faculty Seminar Series, March 2003
  • "Mennonites and Ethnicity," presented at Mennonite Community Church, Fresno, California, October 2001
  • "Stories from the Hutter Past," presented at California Mennonite Historical Society annual meeting, April, 2001
  • "From Nonviolence on the Beach to a Rattlesnake in a Mailbox," presented at Communal Studies Association in Zoar, Ohio, October 1998
  • "Synanon: Five Years After it Ended," presented at Communal Studies Association in Amana, Iowa, October, 1996
  • "Research and Teaching," presented at Fresno Pacific College Faculty Seminar, March, 1996
  • "The Hofer Colony: An Hutterian Alternative," presented at Communal Studies Association in Fort Myers, Florida, October 1995
  • "Integration, Correlation and Specialization," presented at Fresno Pacific University annual meeting of master teachers, student teachers and supervisors, September 1995
  • "Five Paradigms of Ethnic Relations," presented at National Council for the Social Studies in Phoenix, Arizona, November 1994
  • "Ethnics and Ethnicity," presented at Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Chicago, March 1994
  • "Interethnic Relations in Schools," presented at Fresno Middle School Teachers Conference, February, 1994
  • "The Hutterite High School Experience: Boundary Maintenance on the Northern Plains," presented at International Communal Studies Association triennial meeting in New Harmony, Indiana, October 1993
  • "Multicultural Confusion," presented at California Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, in San Luis Obispo, March 1993
  • "Multiculturalism: Assimilationist or Pluralist?" presented at Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Washington, D.C., March 1993
  • "The Prairieleut: A Forgotten Hutterite People," presented at Communal Studies Association in Nauvoo, Illinois, October 1992
  • "Religion and Politics in South Dakota," presented as plenary session lecture, Dakota History Conference in Madison, SD, 1985
  • Scholarly work:
  • Consultant for the book, Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites and Mennonites, edited by Don Kraybill and David Rempel Schmucker, proposed publication in 2010 by the Johns Hopkins University Press
  • Consultant for "Teaching American History," a federally-funded project with partnering support from the Clovis Unified School District, Fresno Pacific University, the Library of Congress, Microsoft, and others, 2002-2005
  • Consultant for the Burton Buller/John Ruth film, "The Hutterites: To Care and Not to Care," 1983
I teach history from a Christian perspective that references the most recent research in the field. I hope that students will gain an understanding of the various ways that history may be viewed based on different ideological stances. My teaching is student-centered and discussion-oriented.