PhD Candidate
Late Modern Europe
Matt Kovac is a global historian of Europe and decolonization. His work focuses on anticolonial networks and transnational solidarities in the 20th century.
His dissertation explores how Irish republicans joined forces with Third World liberation movements to form a global anti-imperialist front in the 1970s-1980s. He is especially interested in the role that solidarity committees played in facilitating links between Irish, Palestinian, and South African revolutionaries.
Kovac holds a BS in Journalism and History from Northwestern University and an MSt in Modern British and European History from the University of Oxford. He previously worked with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
Research Interests
- European Empires
- Global Decolonization
- Revolutionary Movements
- Anticolonial Internationalisms
Publications
“'Continuing the Mission': The First World War and the Roots of Red Scare Violence, 1919-21," in Communication and the First World War, ed. John Griffiths. London: Routledge, 2020.
"'Red Amazons'? Gendering Violence and Revolution in the Long First World War, 1914-23." The Journal of International Women’s Studies 20, no. 4 (April 2019): 69-82.
Awards
- George Watt Graduate Essay Prize, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (2023)
- Saki Ruth Dockrill Memorial Prize, International Cold War Conference (2022)
- Cold War Essay Award, Second Prize, Adams Center for Military History (2019)
- Best Essay Shortlist, Feminist Studies Association of UK and Ireland (2018)
Fellowships & Grants
- John L. Simpson ABD Graduate Research Fellowship, UC Berkeley Global, International & Area Studies (2023)
- Simpson ABD Research Fellowship, UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies (2023)
- Pre-Dissertation Research Grant, UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies (2021)
- Graduate Study Award, University of Oxford, Keble College (2018)
- Clark Fund Award, University of Oxford, Faculty of History (2018)
- Griffiths Award, University of Oxford, Keble Association (2017)
- Research Grant, Society for Army Historical Research (2017)
Education
Northwestern University, BS, Journalism and History (2014)
University of Oxford, MSt, Modern British & European History (2018)