As one of one of America’s most iconic and national products, Budweiser beer might not initially seem like the most obvious object of focus for a transnational study. However this beer (or these beers) has a fascinating transnational journey that
Early twentieth-century kitchen efficiency: a contrast of ideals
Efficiency in the kitchen became increasingly topical in the first half of the twentieth century. The story of the AGA oven (named after the Swedish company Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator) illustrates several concerns people had for the kitchen that are still
The Emergence of a European Identity
European Identity and its potential and power have become extremely relevant for the contemporary issues facing the modern world. As the international community is becoming increasingly connected, is a realistic European identity prevalent if present at all in Europe? This
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Concentration Camps during World War II
For my Transnational History project, I would like to focus on a specific aspect of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ activities during World War II – specifically, their interactions with prisoners of war and non-combatants in concentration camps
Regla de Ochá and Cultural Communities
Regla de Ochá (Santería) is a religion with a rich history, a history that began in slave quarters and now thrives in black communities across the Americas. I will be examining the formation of communities around Regla de Ochá in
The Small Beginnings of my Transnational Project
After approximately 500,000 widely varied, hardly developed ideas, none of which particularly excited, I think I have finally come up with two potential focusses for my project, which is fortunate given the impending presentation and proposal deadline. Having originally been researching
Endless Amount of Questions
As I work on my project proposal for tomorrow, I am still facing fundamental issues with finding the appropriate or ideal topic. The past six weeks has given me a seemingly strong basis of Transnational History, its reach, abilities, short
When Things Start to Come Together
In last week’s blog post I wrote about the difficulties I had finding the sort of sources I would need to get kick-started on my project. My topic, whilst not yet clearly defined, revolves around the fact that welfare states
Unexpected Discoveries
A challenge I have found when doing my own research is where to find sources. I began with a few books from the library and then scoured the footnotes, writing down any titles that seemed to be of relevance or
Reading Werner and Zimmermann in Conjunction with developing a Project Idea
For this week’s blog post, I would like to give an update on my ideas for the Project with reference to Werner & Zimmermann’s article on histoire croisée (Title: ‘Beyond Comparison: Histoire Croisée and the Challenge of Reflexivity,’ available on
A Project and Its Beginnings
As we near our project proposals and presentations I have begun to narrow down and also to begin to dive into some readings on the top I’ve chosen and as I have done this I have begun to cultivate a
Well I have a project idea but lets see if it’s workable!
Having skimmed one or two journal articles about the study of sex in transnational history I came across a mention of an epidemic of venereal disease in Germany right at the end of the Second World War, apparently thanks to
Introducing “European Sailors Clothing in Transnational Perspective, 1750-1790”
The clothing worn by sailors throughout Western Europe in the late eighteenth century reflected the transnational links and divisions of the maritime world they inhabited. As boats crossed between nations, the men aboard both military and commercial vessels dressed in
The Long Project and Personal Connection in the Study of History
For the past week I have been researching, thinking and re-thinking potential subjects for my long project. Being presented with such an open project where each aspect of it has to be independently thought out makes you realise the difference
From Project Proposal to Presentation
It is great to see the first posts on projects coming in – including the teething problems, how to decide on a topic (you see, that is what we do as academics, PhDs – the world is wide open). Nikos