Anna McEwan, PhD student at the University of Glasgow
Published: 16 February 2021
'The classes were genuinely enjoyable; they felt like more of a roundtable discussion with peers. It was truly a privilege to be taught by some of the most accomplished gender historians in the field,'
I am delighted to say I began my PhD at the Centre for Gender History in September 2020. My research considers gendered citizenship in the East German Democratic Republic between 1970 and 1990, specifically I consider the role of the social care system in East German women's loyalty (or lack of) to the Communist regime. The project is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Doctorial Training Partnership.
The MSc has undoubtedly prepared me for my doctoral studies, besides excellent academic preparation, the MSc offered access to the Centre for Gender History where I became part of a network of historians supporting each other in their work. I began the MSc Gender History in 2017 owing to the Gender History specialism at the university - the course is one of the few of its kind in Britain and it definitely seemed the best way to prepare myself for future PhD study. I developed an interest in women's history during my undergraduate degree and the MSc at Glasgow provided me with a deeper methodological understanding of Gender History. The core courses provided a toolkit of gender theory which allowed me to become familiar with key theorists and their theories which I applied to my own work. The course provided the opportunity to study the meaning of gender in a variety of different historical and cultural contexts; I especially enjoyed the chance to study texts from a non-Western perspective. The classes were genuinely enjoyable; they felt like more of a roundtable discussion with peers. It was truly a privilege to be taught by some of the most accomplished gender historians in the field, who, apart from giving their expertise were always on hand to help and suggest ways to improve work.
First published: 16 February 2021