Teofilo Ruiz

Teofilo Ruiz is a Distinguished Research Professor in the History Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he has taught since 1998. He is a renowned scholar of late medieval and early modern Spain and the Western Mediterranean, with a focus on social and popular cultures. Prior to joining UCLA, Ruiz taught at Brooklyn College, the CUNY Graduate Center, the University of Michigan, the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris, and Princeton University as the 250th Anniversary Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching.

His educational background includes a PhD from Princeton (1974), an MA from New York University (1970), and a BA from The City College of the City of New York (1969).

Ruiz's research explores how societies cope with crises, particularly through examining festive traditions, social structures, and religious practices in late medieval and early modern Spain. His work connects micro-historical studies with broader patterns of social, economic, and political change across the Mediterranean world, with special attention to how ordinary people experienced and shaped historical transformations. He has made significant contributions to understanding the transformation of Castilian society and the development of national consciousness in the Iberian Peninsula.

His publications reveal consistent focus on the social and cultural dimensions of historical change, with particular attention to responses to terror, community formation, and the interplay between local and global forces in shaping medieval and early modern societies.

• National Humanities Medal (2011, awarded 2012 by President Obama)
• University's Distinguished Teaching Award (2008)
• Faculty Research Lecturer (2011-12)
• CASE and Carnegie Foundation U.S. Professors of the Year (1994)
• Doctor honoris causa from Universidad de Cantabria (2017)
• Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2013)
• Premio Del Rey Prize (American Historical Association)

Ruiz has been a dedicated mentor to graduate students including Claire Gilbert, Kathryn Renton, Carrie Sanders, and Antonio Zaldivar. He served as Principal Investigator for a California History project that created 7th grade lesson plans on global sites of encounter, now taught in California public schools. His distinctive teaching philosophy emphasizes engagement and learning over grades, with classroom demonstrations that include teaching in a cape by candlelight. Ruiz has also served in leadership roles with the American Historical Association, including as Vice President for Research and member of the AHA Council.