School of Historical Studies

Brad Bolman, Member in the School of Historical Studies, illuminates how beagles became vital yet overlooked contributors to scientific knowledge during World War II. His work also highlights how incremental, methodical research forms an essential foundation of scientific progress and understanding.

Esther Liberman Cuenca, Member (2022–23) in the School of Historical Studies, shows how customary laws—which emerged from everyday practices rather than formal institutions—shaped medieval English towns. Her work highlights how male urban elites crafted these evolving legal frameworks to their advantage.

Nana Osei-Opare, Member (2022–23) in the School of Historical Studies, provides a new perspective on the Ghanaian political economy under President Kwame Nkrumah. Through meticulous analysis of archival sources, he reveals how the policies employed during Nkrumah's presidency show Black Marxists’ deep understandings of state capitalist ideas.

Rubina Raja, Member (2019) in the School of Historical Studies, explains how archaeological context can transform understanding of ancient societies. By analyzing a "loose head" from Palmyra, Syria, once misidentified as the work of a Greek sculptor, she demonstrates how local craftsmen were not merely imitating foreign styles but creating distinct works, fundamentally reshaping our view of Palmyra's cultural identity.

In August 2024, the Institute’s Historical Studies - Social Science Library (HS-SS) received a gift that sparked a host of connections to be made between old and new titles in the library’s holdings: a copy of Old English Studies and its Scandinavian Practitioners: Nationalism, Aesthetics, and Spirituality in the Nordic Countries, 1733–2023, sent by its author Robert E. Bjork, Member (2004–05) in the School of Historical Studies.

Priyamvada Gopal, George F. Kennan Member in the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Historical Studies (2023–24), explores how a talk on Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s relationship to translation and writing inspired her to think about similar themes related to her own research on decolonization. 

A cooperation between the American University in Cairo (AUC) and five academic institutions, including the Institute for Advanced Study, has seen a rare archive documenting the al-Khanji family's cultural impact on early twentieth-century Cairo transferred to AUC. The unique collection, consisting of thousands of documents, reveals the family's significant role in the trade and publishing of manuscripts, offering unprecedented insights into the intellectual networks of the time.

Introducing Celia Sánchez Natalías, William D. Loughlin Member in the School of Historical Studies, whose research focuses on lead curse tablets, or defixiones, from the Roman period. In this Q&A, she discusses her ‘autopsy’ work, being motivated by curiosity, and her fascination with virtually unrolling papyri.

Sarah Davis-Secord, Member in the School of Historical Studies (2023–24), reflects on how Albert Einstein's cosmic perspective inspired her thinking about transregional histories, and discusses how her own learning has evolved through interactions with colleagues at the Institute for Advanced Study.

María Bárbara Zepeda Cortés, John Elliott Member in the Institute for Advanced Study's School of Historical Studies (2023–24), explores how she is challenging conventions in biographical writing.