Laura Brown
2021
| Bio | I currently lecture in the Centre for Military History and Strategic Studies, Maynooth University, where I am mainly committed to the university’s collaboration with the Defence Forces’ provision of Professional Military Education. In April 2021, I completed my thesis entitled ‘The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan; a cultural investigation’, under the supervision of Dr. David Murphy. Although my primary research interests are military and colonial history, I am also fascinated by Victorian and post-Victorian cultural history topics such as Egyptomania, vampire ‘hunting’, material culture analysis and the study of the history of emotions.
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| Areas of expertise | Military history, strategic studies, terrorism, Africa, Sudan, Victorian Britain and Ireland, crime, imperial history, material culture, applied military history, Professional Military education, writing skills for postgraduate students. |
| Keywords | {Military history}; {strategic studies}; {terrorism}; { Africa}; {imperial history}; {material culture}; {applied military history}; {Professional Military education}; {writing skills for postgraduate students}. |
| Nickname | Laura Brown |
| Membership Type |
| Education | Professional Diploma, Terrorism and International Security Studies, City Colleges, South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2. September 2021 – January 2022. Passed with distinction. Diploma project entitled ‘Inceldom as a terrorist threat; origins, ideology, adherents and possible societal reactions.’
PhD History, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. October 2015 – February 2021. ‘The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan: a cultural investigation’. Viva passed with minor corrections in April 2021.
Professional Certificate in Teaching and Learning, Maynooth University Centre for Teaching and Learning. September – December 2016.
B.A Single Honours History (First Class), Maynooth University. September 2012 – May 2015. Dissertation entitled ‘We have received nothing from the Pagan south’; The Sudan Political Service and the Bog Barons of southern Sudan during the governor-generalship of Reginald Wingate 1899-1916.
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| Employment | 2015-present – Maynooth University. |
| Consultancy work | July 2018 – April 2019 – Cavan County Museum, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan. I worked as researcher for Cavan County Museum, ahead of its Women of Influence exhibition, which was launched in April 2019. My duties consisted of identifying suitable material for inclusion in the exhibition, researching and writing all exhibition text, picture and multimedia research and contributing to the visual actualisation of the space in question.
May 2013 – January 2015 – Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University. My duties consisted of the production of a database of individuals connected to Irish country houses who fought or died in the Great War. This involved the capture of key details such as each combatant’s parents’ names and backgrounds, educational details, regiments, previous military service, injuries, casualties, medals and details of Second World War service. Statistical data for each family, allowing a researcher to see at a glance how many members of a family were eligible to serve, served, were injured or killed was also produced. I also researched and acquired over 500 images to supplement the database. The database is currently being prepared by web developers for online use and its launch is planned for later this year.
September-November 2011 – Curragh Military Museum, Defence Force Training Centre, Curragh, Co. Kildare. I was responsible for cataloguing a collection of antique African and Asian weaponry, donated by Alfred Chester Beatty to the Irish Defence Forces in the 1950s and held by, but not previously displayed, at the Curragh Military Museum. I undertook general research on the history of the collection and produced photographs and guide notes, in preparation for the collection’s exhibition in 2013. I also researched and prepared for display several other collections, including the Denis Barry Civil War exhibitions and an Irish Defence Forces uniforms collection. |
| Teaching | Lecturer/assistant professor, The Military College, Defence Forces Training Centre, Curragh, Co. Kildare, Ireland (August 2021 – present). I am currently employed as a lecturer at the Military College at the Defence Forces Training Centre, as part of its academic collaboration with Maynooth University. My responsibilities are spread over three courses – Joint Command and Staff Course (Senior officers) 1. the supervision of four M.A. theses relating to military history and Strategic Studies. 2. the development of students’ academic, writing and research skills via seminars, workshops and mentoring. 3. the facilitation of Seminar Room Discussions (tutorials). 4. chairing and grading group and individual presentations. 5. overseeing academic fair play and ensuring the academic integrity of teaching and learning. 6. any required administration/coordination.
Land and Command Course (Junior officers) 1. acting as academic coordinator for the course overall. 2. the facilitation of Seminar Room Discussions. 3. the development of students’ academic, writing and research skills via seminars, workshops and mentoring.
The Cadet School (Trainee officers) 1. Writing and delivering a Defence Studies module, which covers military history and key concepts in Strategic Studies. 2. Setting and grading all assignments. 3. Acting as a liaison point between Maynooth University and the staff of the Cadet School.
Lecturer/assistant professor, Department of History, Maynooth University (January 2023 – present). In addition to my duties at the Defence Forces Training Centre, I teach two modules to civilian students. The first of these is an undergraduate module which introduces students to the theoretical frameworks employed by military history and strategic studies via the prism of African military history. I also teach on a Continuing Professional Education course on Defence Studies for civil servants from the Departments of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice.
Occasional lecturer, The Military College, Defence Forces Training Centre, Curragh, Co. Kildare, Ireland (May 2017 – August 2021). I wrote and delivered lectures to officer cadets, potential officers and commissioned officers on military history and strategic studies, as part of their Defence Studies training throughout their careers. These included both theoretical and practical elements, with a strong focus on the uses of military history for leaders. I also facilitated research and study skills workshops for the Military College and participated in assessment panels for group and individual presentations. I also supervised to completion two M.A. theses in military history, which were a component part of the Defence Force’s Defence Leadership and Management postgraduate qualification. During this time I lectured on the following courses: Potential Officers’ Course (2018-9). Potential Officers’ Course (2021-2). 93rd – 97th Officer Cadet Classes (2015-21). 56th and 57th (Navy) Officer Cadet Classes (2019-21) Command and Staff Courses (2017-2020). Junior Command and Staff Courses (2018-21). Senior Command and Staff Courses (2019-21).
Undergraduate tutor, Department of History, Maynooth University (September 2015 – June 2020). My key duty was the facilitation of weekly tutorial sessions, which serve to reinforce material covered at lectures and teach practical academic skills such as essay writing, referencing and historiographical analysis. I was also responsible for marking and grading continuous assessment assignments, exam preparation and acting as a point of contact between students and members of the Department of History. Another important element of my work as a tutor concerned the pastoral care of the students in my care, and the securing of additional educational and supports for them as required. Lecturer, Maynooth University International Summer School (Summer 2019). I instructed a course entitled Irish Art and Architecture 1600-1900, which was run by the university’s International Office, in conjunction with the Department of History. My duties involved the development and delivery of a month-long intensive course to international undergraduate course. This included the research, writing and delivery of all lectures and workshops, the arrangement of three off-campus field trips, all module assessments and any associated administration. Lecturer – EduCo International Foundation Programme – Maynooth University and Dublin City University (September 2017 – May 2018). EduCo is a multinational organisation which provides pre-sessional academic training to international students attending Maynooth University and Dublin City University. My duties included the writing and delivering of three 12-week programmes on the theory and practice of academic research, all assessments, English language development and the acculturation of my students to Irish university life. I also wrote and delivered a week-long introductory module, in which I introduced students to the Information Systems and academic resources available at both participating universities. During the 2017/18 academic year I taught the following semester-long postgraduate modules: Introduction to academic I.T. applications Research Methods I Research Methods II Developing a Research Proposal
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| Committees & Associations | Teaching and Learning Committee, Department of History, Maynooth University, 2021-present. |
| Awards | In October 2015 I was awarded a John and Pat Hume Scholarship to fund my postgraduate research for a four-year duration. |
| Other activities | I am an active participant in all aspects of my university department and was the Department of History 2019 nominee for the university’s Postgraduate Teaching Award. I am currently a member of my departmental Teaching and Learning Committee. I was also part of the teaching team that was shortlisted for the university’s team teaching award in 2002. I have also undertaken a study trip to the Dutch Military Academy at Breda in the Netherlands and military history tours to Ypres, Waterloo, Spain, Portugal, Leuven and at various locations around Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium. |
| Book Chapters | ‘Edith Somerville and the West Carbery Hunt 1903-19’ in Terence Dooley and Christopher Ridgeway (eds) Sport and leisure in the Irish and British country house (Dublin, 2019). |
| Reviews | Review of Remembrance: The World War I Dead of County Kildare in ‘The Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society’ (2023).
Review of Peninsular and Waterloo General; Sir Denis Pack and the war against Napoleon in the ‘Irish Literary Supplement; A review of Irish books’ (2022).
Review of War Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel C.M.L. Clements, MC in ‘The Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society’ (2020). |
| Other | Podcast, Irish History Students’ Association – ‘‘Imperial encounters: understanding the Anglo-Eqyptian Sudan’ (June, 2023). |
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Historical images on the website from the National Library of Ireland on The Commons | Flickr