Introducing Ruth Adesanya, Inaugural Kinder-BrANCH Fellow in the MA in Atlantic History & Politics

In the summer of 2023, we welcome our first Kinder-BrANCH Fellow to the MA in Atlantic History & Politics. Ruth Adesanya is currently reading History at the University of Warwick in the UK, and she recently shared her thoughts on joining the program and coming to Mizzou with Kinder Professor of British History and Director of Graduate Studies Rob Fletcher.

RF: What are you looking forward to studying in the MA?

RA: I am excited to learn more about the making of the Atlantic world and to discover the complex connections between the Americas, Africa, and Europe.

RF: How is the MA going to help with gaining skills/experiences for your career?

RA: I believe the MA is going to help me develop many valuable and transferable skills. Specifically, the programme will strengthen my research skills and my written communication. The ideas and concepts discussed during the MA will also enable me to improve my critical thinking and analysis for my future pursuit in teaching.

RF: What are the types of topics that interest you the most as you go into graduate study?

RA: I am particularly interested in the African Diaspora and the concept of the ‘Black Atlantic’. Moreover, the historiography of the Atlantic world is also something I am looking forward to studying; I will love to learn more about how historians have written about the Atlantic world.

RF: How are you looking forward to discovering the Midwest?

RA: I have never visited the Midwest so it will be a new and exciting opportunity to explore more of the United States. I hope I will get to see all the beautiful sceneries and monuments that are in Missouri.

A collaboration between the Kinder Institute and the Association of British American Nineteenth Century Historians (BrANCH), this annual Fellowship is open to students who have recently completed, or are slated to complete, their undergraduate studies in the United Kingdom. Priority is given to applicants who have been underrepresented in higher education.

If you are interested in learning more about the MA in Atlantic History & Politics or the Kinder-BrANCH Fellowship, contact Prof. Fletcher at r.fletcher@missouri.edu