Masters Admissions Advisor

My research centres on the history of rural Latin America, with a focus on politics and culture. I’m particularly interested in the central role played by rural populations in state formation and modernisation. But ‘rural’ is not a given; I’m also interested in how rural/urban divides are created and maintained. My first book studied the political and cultural changes brought by Peru’s radical 1969 agrarian reform. More recently I have been researching the history of radio across the Andean region.

I seek to challenge the still surprisingly common misconception of rural populations as peripheral to or disconnected from major national and global historical processes. This is important for gaining a more complete picture of the past, but it is also highly relevant to ongoing political debates in Latin America, where rural populations continue to be marginalised and misunderstood by national governments and society at large.

There are very few historical phenomena that have not been shaped by global shifts of one kind or another, whether that be developments in the international economy, the emergence of new technologies or trends in political practice. Studying history from an international perspective allows us to see the connections between historical events in different parts of the world. It also enables us to think about history comparatively, increasing our awareness of the similarities and differences between processes of historical change in different parts of the world.

The department of International History offers students the possibility to study a huge range of periods and geographical areas, from the Mughal Empire to the contemporary Caribbean. Our research is world leading and our teaching is research-led, meaning that teachers will be sharing with you some of the most cutting-edge developments in their fields of research. The student body is extremely diverse, giving you the opportunity to make friends with people from all over the world. The quality of our teaching and our attention to students’ development mean that you will leave LSE with valuable skills in critical thinking, analysis, and written communication. Our students go on to exciting careers in a variety of fields including international diplomacy, public relations and the media, NGO work, public policy, and academic research.

General reading

• Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (2009)

Subject specific recommendations

• Tanya Harmer and Alberto Martín Alvarez (eds.), Toward a Global History of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left (2021)
• Paul Stock, Europe and the British Geographical Imagination, 1760-1830 (2019)
• Imaobong Umoren, Race Women Internationalists: Activists-Intellectuals and Global Freedom Struggles (2018)
• Joanna Lewis, Women of the Somali Diaspora: Refugees, Resilience and Rebuilding after Conflict (2021)
• Vladislav Zubok, Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union (2021)

Empires

• Marc David Baer, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs (2021)
• Dina Gusejnova, European Elites and Ideas of Empire, 1917-1957 (2016)

MSc Theory and History of International Relations

• Nigel Ashton, False Prophets: British Leaders’ Fateful Fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria (2022)
• Benjamin de Carvalho, Julia Costa Lopez & Halvard Leira (eds), Routledge Handbook of Historical International Relations (2021)
• Matthew Jones, Anthony Eden, Anglo-American Relations and the 1954 Indochina Crisis (2019)
• Taylor Sherman et al, From Subjects to Citizens: Society and the Everyday State in India and Pakistan, 1947-1970 (2014)

MSc International and Asian History

• Ronald Po, The Blue Frontier. Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire (2019)