Graduate Student, History
Doctoral Candidate
St. Antony's College
Thesis Title: Forging 'common glories': Soviet remembrance of the Second World War and the birth of Russian civic nationalism, 1941-1995
David Priestland
About
Research Interest:
My primary research interest is the effect of modern warfare on the construction and shaping of national identity and collective memory in Europe. My dissertation examines the functioning of social memory of the Second World War in Soviet-era Moscow, and the 'national question' as reflected in commemorative projects. In particular, I focus on the tension between the internationalist and universalist impulses of Marxism-Leninism, on the one hand, and Russian nationalism, on the other, as reflected in public remembrance of the Great Patriotic War.
Teaching Experience:
I've taught courses on a range of modern European themes. Most recently I've held lectureships at Hertford College, Oxford, the University of Wales, Swansea, and currently hold a teaching post in the Department of History at Florida State University.
Background:
I earned my BA, summa cum laude, from UCLA where I studied ancient and modern history. I was subsequently awarded a one-year fellowship as a visiting research scholar with the History Faculty of Moscow State University, a post I held again during the 2005-06 academic year. Following my initial stint in Russia, I completed a two-year MPhil, with Distinction, at Oxford University, where I am currently completing my doctoral dissertation.
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