What is your field of history?
I am an historian of modern warfare and have a specific interest in the First World War. My first book focussed on military morale on the Western Front and touched upon topics like English national identity, combatant mentalities, and deeper questions of human endurance. It examined the ways in which infantrymen made sense of the war, analysed their relationship with the environment, the military, and society, and used interdisciplinary theories to probe the soldiers’ psychological world. In my next project, I am going to be investigating the ways in which history and the past informed British perceptions of and actions during the Great War.
Why are you interested in this subject?
I am interested in how individuals and societies navigate crisis and the First World War offers a brilliant (though frequently depressing) case study of this. Amongst other things, history is about how we, as a species, respond to, overcome, and react to crises; it reveals how our ability to endure even the worst traumas is one of our greatest skills. Yet, we are also capable of creating, normalising, and ignoring these crises – with profound implications for our world. Ultimately, the insights that history (and the Great War) provide are of incredible significance to the present, which is (at least according to some) an age of cultural, diplomatic, environmental, political, and social ‘polycrisis’.
Why is it important to take an international perspective in studying history?
National histories can encourage analyses that privilege myopic narratives, ignore connections, and (at their most dangerous) celebrate a single nation’s exceptionalism or ‘progress’. The modern (and the pre-modern) world was interconnected, and international perspectives encourage us to see similarities and differences in national stories. Importantly, too, international boundaries are often arbitrarily determined, frequently by political elites some of whom might never have visited that place or region. Global challenges and events (be they environmental, resource related, driven by disease or conflict, or even by culture) often know no boundaries.
As such, simply studying the history of a given country, such as the United Kingdom, inevitably omits essential parts of the human experience and that nation’s past. This is why our courses are generally international or global histories (they are different) since, in many ways, the last couple of centuries have been underpinned by the ebb and flow of globalization (and imperialism) and resistance to it.
In the end, an international lens is essential if we are to understand the societies in which we live. At the LSE, we believe that our transnational approach to the past helps to cultivate globally minded citizens who embrace complexity, are independently minded, and can provide innovative solutions to complex problems.
What should a prospective student in International History at the LSE be reading?
Historians are naturally inquisitive, creative, and default to asking questions of the past and, at times, the present. A well-trained historian can interrogate a topic, craft persuasive arguments, interpret and assess sources, and balance conflicting perspectives. It is not simply about remembering dates; the methods and purposes of history are more complex. Yet, this is not always the focus of secondary school history.
I would encourage every prospective student to read Sarah Maza’s Thinking About History, which will introduce you to the historian’s craft, and Ludmilla Jordanova’s History in Practice, which will map the field, its sub-disciplines, and its methods.
You might also want to familiarise yourself with the periods you are going to be studying. Charles Parker’s Global Interactions in the Early Modern Age and the textbook International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond (co-authored by four prominent historians, including Professors Antony Best and Kirsten Schulze from the LSE) will provide you with a comprehensive overview of what you will encounter during your first year at the LSE. If, having read these books, there is a subject, period, or event that has grabbed your attention then you could delve deeper into its history.
Ultimately, primary sources are our bread and butter. Familiarise yourself with archival materials. If there is a local archive near you, why not visit it? Alternatively, there are plenty of archives that have made some of their collections available online. For example, if you are interested in the Cold War, you could visit the Wilson Center Digital Archives, which includes translated (and, excitingly, once-classified government documents) from a variety of different actors.
Most importantly, though, before you arrive: take the opportunity to read widely about topics that interest you.
How can prospective students get in touch with you?
You are very welcome to email me to discuss our academic programmes and modules that we offer. I am always happy to have a conversation about the First World War, too! Furthermore, having undertaken my postgraduate studies at the LSE, and my undergraduate degree at King’s College London, I am also happy to discuss studying history in London more generally. If I do not know the answer to your query, I will be able to find someone who does.
Please note, however, that I do not make admission decisions. Nor am I able to comment on the specifics of the application materials. If you have questions about these things, please contact Undergraduate Admissions.