The 2024 spring edition of the RIAS International PhD Seminar took place on 26-28 June.
RIAS was extremely pleased to welcome ten PhD candidates from ten universities in seven different countries to Middelburg to discuss their research projects. Their works covered topics in US history, politics, culture, and society, intersecting with themes such as environmental justice, women’s rights, national identity, and citizenship.
The biannual PhD seminars are a core component of RIAS’ commitment to engaging with cutting-edge research emerging from the diverse field of American studies. These seminars provide an invaluable opportunity for PhD candidates to present their ongoing research to fellow students, expert scholars, and researchers in a collaborative format that facilitates constructive feedback and additional insight.
The program this spring was divided into four sessions, chaired respectively by Anne L. Foster (Indiana State University), J.D. Schnepf (University of Groningen), Dario Fazzi (RIAS / Leiden University), and Damian Pargas (RIAS / Leiden University). Each session featured engaging conversations about the following papers, thanks to insightful comments from discussants and fruitful exchanges among all participants:
- Richard Lange (Heidelberg University), All the same but different? American Anti-Europeanism, European Anti-Americanism, and Euroscepticism
- Stefano Chessa Altieri (Scuola Superiore Meridionale Napoli/Sciences Po Paris), The Awakening of the Congress: Protecting Chinese Students in the U.S. (1989-1992)
- Yoram Carboex (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), An Ocean of Possibilities: The Emergence of Lee Metcalf as a Booster for Deep-Sea Minerals
- Dorothee Schwieters (University of Cologne), Environmental (In)Justice Is in the Air: The Beginnings of a Movement in Houston, TX
- Montgomery Simus (University of Hull), Conservation vs. Decarbonization: What The History of Pebble Mine, Bristol Bay, Alaska Tells Us About The Growing Battle Between Environmentalism and Climate Change, and The Darker Side of the World’s Green Economy
- Charlotte Brivio (Sorbonne Université), Suffragists and the New Departure Strategy: The Role of the Press in Feminist Advocacy for Women’s Right to Vote in the United States from 1868 to 1876
- Tatjana Klein (LMU Munich), ‘Many of my Best Friends are Women’: The Status of Women in Republican National Committee Meetings
- Shea Hendry (University of Cambridge), Involuntary Exiles, Voluntary Recruits: US Refugees in the Royal Navy after the Revolutionary War
- Christine Mertens (RIAS/Leiden University), Free Black Removal in Early Antebellum Virginia
- Danielle Fleming (University of Glasgow), ‘Not from the Land Side but From the Flag Side’: The Wanamaker Department Store, Dixon, and the American Indian 1908-1924
The program also included a valuable discussion with visiting scholar Anne L. Foster (Indiana State University), editor of Diplomatic History, on getting published during the PhD, a walking tour through Middelburg, and a visit to the RIAS archive.
We wish the PhD candidates the best in completing their research and look forward to the next successful edition of the seminar, which will be held in November 2024!
To view the complete program of the 2024 spring seminar, please click here.
