By Kayla Landers, April 15, 2025
To many, history is just a subject, but to James D. Rietveld, a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona, it’s a helpful tool for understanding oneself and the world.
Rietveld began lecturing at CPP in 2018 and to promote a greater connection between students and the past, he’d pass around objects such as one of Mary Todd Lincoln’s teapots or his favorite piece, an Egyptian funerary figurine converted into a voodoo doll.
“I decided to bring artifacts and other items in class because sometimes just seeing something pictured in a book or on a screen does not have the same gravitas as seeing a fully dimensional object from another time and place,” Rietveld said.
This hands-on approach to understanding history stemmed from his childhood when he traveled to Europe with his family.
Rietveld lived in Holland for seven months during his father’s sabbatical in 1979, and in 1983, he returned to Europe for another five months.
His father instilled in him the importance of visiting the physical locations of historical landmarks to understand the site holistically.
During this time, Rietveld developed an extensive passion for the subject.
As a child, he’d read college textbooks about whatever historical topic he was interested in and look up any words he didn’t know in the dictionary to ensure he understood everything.
Rietveld was certain from a young age he was going to pursue a career in this field.
“I have a PhD in history, religion and archeology,” Rietveld said. “It took over two decades for me to complete my studies, but when you love what you do, it’s worth it.”
He’s also a frequent traveler, exploring Asia Minor, which today is known as Turkey, located in the Eastern Mediterranean area.
The city of Ephesus, one of his main focal points of research, is in that area, and Rietveld has written multiple works about it.
His master’s thesis, from California State University Fullerton, named “Illustrious Ephesus: Portrait of the City of Artemis in the Imperial Age,” was created in 1998 and started the trend of his Ephesus research. His PhD dissertation from Claremont Graduate University in 2006 was titled “Universal Goddess on the Via Sacra: The Evolving Image of Artemis Ephesia.”
Rietveld’s most recently published book, “Artemis of the Ephesians: Magic, Mysteries, and Sacred Landscapes,” was released in 2014 and discussed how the image of the goddess is fluid.
“He’s one of the most qualified and experienced people in his field and always brought that knowledge to his lectures,” said Luke Enriquez, an English education student. “Going to his class, I’d always leave with new perspectives of the world.”
Rietveld doesn’t see history as a summation of facts but rather as a tool students could use to help learn who they are.
“To fail to understand this vast tapestry of time and space is to lose who we were, are and will be,” Rietveld said. “To ignore this reservoir is to ignore our own story and identity and where we belong.”
Exploring past experiences of those who have previously existed helps to broaden an individual’s perspective, according to Rietveld.
As a professor, he believes that by helping his students develop a greater awareness of the world, they will contribute to society by practicing empathy and kindness.
Rietveld’s integration of historical objects into his teachings adds an extra layer to his classes, making them, in his opinion, even more memorable.
“He brings in little artifacts from the periods of time we’re learning about, and he lets us see them,” said Liliana Ornelos, a psychology student.
Rietveld mentioned that even years after taking the course, past students still bring up the different artifacts he brought, and topics discussed in class.
“I realized that after that, my students were better able to understand the significance of whatever topic I happened to be illustrating that day — even years later,” Rietveld said.
There are not many opportunities for students with all different majors to get an in-depth look at history, but Rietveld allows anyone interested to get the chance. His passion for the subject translates into the classroom, and because of that, he has caused his students to become more enthusiastic about the past.
“I see myself as a historian, as a guide to help students understand who they are — to critically think about themselves — and, as a result, to be more proficient in finding their way in the world,” Rietveld said.
Feature image courtesy of Kayla Landers