Sarah (She/Her) is a PhD candidate at Brandeis University specializing in loyalty, community violence, and the repression of political dissent during the era of the American Revolution. ​ Her dissertation, “Policing the Revolution: Massachusetts Communities and The Committees of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety, 1773-1783” explores the Committees through the lens of early American carcerality. Exploring extra-legal reprisals, intimidation, incarceration, and property confiscation, this dissertation argues that the Committees employed an ever-expanding definition of loyalty as a method of social control, ensuring community compliance with the Revolutionary effort by repressing political dissent. Her work has been supported by the Massachusetts Historical Society / Society of the Cincinnati Fellowship, the Gilder Lehrman Short Term Fellowship, the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, and the Wellesley Mary McEwen Schimke Fellowship. She holds a Masters Degree in History from the University of Edinburgh and a BA from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. In 2021 she received the MHS Society of the Cincinnati and Gilder Lehrman Short Term Fellowships. You can follow Beth on Twitter: @phdinprogress17

Office 216

Discover how a graduate student’s temporary office space serves as a metaphor for their sense of unbelonging throughout their academic journey, and how they find solace in making the most of the temporary joys that come their way.

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Publishing from your PhD – What I Wish I’d Known

In this article, Jennie Riley shares what she learned about publishing from her PhD experience. She provides tips on why she decided to publish solo-authored articles instead of turning her thesis into a book, the difference between submitting a chapter and an article, the importance of resilience, and reframing feedback.

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“Look Right, Look Left”

Karen, who recently started her PhD at the University of Leeds, reflects on her experiences adjusting to life in the UK, including the language barrier, slower pace of life, and the complexities of the PhD journey. She shares the struggles of finding her research direction, fighting gender stereotypes in academia, and the fears that come with being an international student.

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