Samuel Hirst
Ph.D. Student
hirstsj@sas.upenn.edu
Education
B.A., Washington University in St. Louis (2004); Bilkent University, Turkey; European University in St. Petersburg, Russia; Cornell University
Research Interests
The Russian Empire; The Soviet Union; The Ottoman Empire; The Turkish Republic; Nationalism; Socialism; Politics and Ideology
Dissertation Title
Struggle Against Empire: Anti-Liberalism in the Soviet Union and the Turkish Republic, 1917-1937
Personal Statement
I am interested in the role of ideology in politics and society, particularly at the beginning of the 20th century when Eurasian empires were collapsing and new political entities were being created. In addition to the very real exchange of money and guns, I believe that the relationship between the Soviet Union and Turkey, as well as the respective development in each of the two countries, points to a significant overlap in political thought in these societies. While the founding ideologies of nationalism and socialism were certainly at odds, in my dissertation I study the way that a shared anti-imperialism and anti-liberalism accounted for productive exchange and similarities in the political and economic history of the two countries.
