What is your field of history?
I am a cultural historian of modern South Asia interested in how humans have sought to understand and respond to the politics of their time, often in realms like language, material culture, and the arts. My first book project, for example, considers the reception of the British monarch among everyday Indians at the end of British rule. Built around a series of case studies, the book argues that the figure was interpreted in multiple ways: some associated his image with a powerful new technology – film – while others utilised him as a tool in labour disputes and even, somewhat counterintuitively, Indian nationalism. My other projects have considered such topics as the rise of the Esperanto movement in India, the experiences of an Indian film pioneer in Berlin, the colonial and postcolonial legacy of a precolonial Indian monarch, and the suspicion around foreign nationals in India during the First World War.
Why are you interested in this subject?
History is for me the study of how humans (and non-humans) have sought to make sense of their surroundings and contexts. And modern South Asia – a multilingual, multi-religious, and multicultural region of vital geopolitical importance – provides an inherently fascinating context. In my work, I am especially intrigued by how local, personal stories can intersect with, and give new meanings to, broader narratives about communities and nations. By burrowing deep into something very specific, in other words, we can enhance our understanding of something much more general.
Why is it important to take an international perspective in studying history?
Events or developments in one region seldom occur in isolation. They are almost always deeply – and sometimes inexorably – enmeshed in wider trends. To study modern South Asia, for example, is also to study the role and legacy of the British Empire and the intellectual and political trends that connect Delhi and Calcutta to Dublin and Constantinople (among many other examples). Such an approach transforms the narratives, memories, and experiences we study from isolated fragments into pieces of the wider human experience. A further benefit of an international perspective is that it can lead us to reconsider – or at least to reframe – certain nationalist viewpoints that can obfuscate wider contexts and non-hegemonic narratives.
What should a prospective student in International History at the LSE be reading?
Delve into the topics that interest you! The Cambridge Histories series – which consists of reference texts on a staggering range of historical topics – is often a great starting point. And whatever topic you choose to explore, you should try, wherever possible, to read multiple perspectives and get a sense not just of dates and facts but also of the multiple – and sometimes irreconcilable – ways that these are marshalled into narratives. Ask: what are the assumptions that go into the histories you read? What sort of political or ideological allegiances might an author betray?
You can apply these same questions to almost anything you read or encounter – whether popular histories, television programmes, novels, YouTube videos, or even your own conversations about historical topics. Reading history, in other words, is as much about cultivating a historical sensibility as it is reading specific books: it means paying attention to detail and attempting to understand where information is coming from and what or who it is being directed towards.
For those of you who are keen to dig deeper, I encourage you to wade into primary sources, and thankfully many excellent collections are now readily available online. If you are interested in the history of the British Isles or the British Empire, for instance, you might consider the British Newspaper Archive, which – true to its name – grants you access to newspapers from across the empire from 1800 onwards. Many national archives are also accessible (or at least partially accessible) online, so I would look to see if this is the case for countries that are of interest to you.
How can prospective students get in touch with you?
Interested students can email me so that we can start a discussion about the department and its various programmes. And as a transplant to the United Kingdom from the United States, I should add that I am very keen to talk to international students about the many opportunities that can arise by studying in London (as well as the occasional challenges!). You can reach me at A.Halladay@lse.ac.uk.
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.