Sanders Scholars: Student Testimonies

The Sanders Seminar on the Historian's Craft 

By Robin Bates

This year, we in the Department of History welcomed our third cohort of fifteen Sanders Scholars to take part in a two-quarter seminar on the Historian's Craft in Fall 2025 and Winter 2026. Many thanks to alumnus Ian Sanders ('91) for his ongoing and steadfast support of this sterling program, which allows students to explore ongoing debates within the discipline of history, to meet with leading practitioners to discuss their work, and to pursue significant original research of their own. This year we were fortunate to receive visits to the seminar from Mike Duncan of the Revolutions podcast; from Jared Farmer of the University of Pennsylvania, author of Elderflora: A Modern History of Ancient Trees; from Frank Guridy of Columbia University, author of The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play; and from Madeline Y. Hsu, author of The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority. We are grateful to all our guests for so generously sharing their time and their expertise with us. 

During Winter Quarter, students pursued an original research project culminating in the composition of a journal-article-length research essay, affording them the opportunity to find their voice as intellectuals in their own right. Below are some of the students' reflections on their experiences, together with their project titles. 

Student Reflections on the Sanders Seminar

Zacaria Bahojb Nouri

Legal Aid in the United States: An Asymmetry Between Ideological Ambition and Institutional Reality 

"Thank you again for the incredible experience that is the Sanders Seminar. I feel like it really culminated my college experience as a scholar of history, where I could definitively point to a body of original work and say 'I did that.' Sure, you get that feeling in other classes with ~10-15 page papers; however, it doesn't really come close to the confidence and sense of achievement that comes with spending 10 weeks on something you're really passionate about – after spending a quarter diving into what History (as an intellectual discipline) really means. In no other setting have I been able to ask the author of my reading why they did what they did. I now realize the value discussion holds in all things – and how without it, you often miss what you do not hope to see. And of course, this sense of discussion was compounded by the sense of community I was able to build with my fellow scholars. From partner critiques to guided reflections and everything in between (especially post-class, communal meltdowns that made me realize I'm not the only one facing my research problems), I most certainly relied on the presence of my cohort to push beyond self-imposed intellectual limitations. All in all, the Sanders Seminar embodied what I think genuine intellectual engagement champions, and I am so thankful to have been a part of it this year." 

Nate Berman 

Clandestine Immigration of Holocaust Survivors to Palestine, 1945-1948 

"The Sanders Scholars program has been incredibly impactful for me, and it challenged me in a way that felt both exciting and genuinely productive as a learner. I feel very fortunate to have been part of such a small, discussion-based environment—it was exactly what I imagined when I thought about my college experience back in high school." 

Sophia Cheng 

Living, Working, and Playing: Asian American Environmental Justice Before the Movement 

"Over the course of two quarters, we had the unparalleled opportunity to see what the historian’s craft looks like in theory and practice. In the first part of the course, we read seminal texts in the field and engaged with historians doing cutting-edge work, all the while asking ourselves what kinds of historians we ourselves wanted to be. In the winter, we answered this question by writing a 10,000-word original paper on a topic of our choosing. By spending an entire quarter on our papers, we were able to spend far more time becoming experts on our topics and incorporating more nuance into our work than is typically possible in a history class. In each step of the journey, Professor Bates was a phenomenal guide; his patient, enthusiastic presence fostered an energetic classroom community where we pushed each other’s thinking as historians and relished in our shared curiosity about the world. In our class discussions and in the process of creating historical knowledge, we dealt with not just historiography and methodology but greater questions at the heart of humanist inquiry: Which narratives deserve to be told, and by whom? Are there human traits that have remained constant over centuries? To what extent can we shape our own lives? Our training allowed us to seriously grapple with these questions through a historian’s lens, and I know I will carry what I have learned from the Seminar with me for the rest of my life." 

Tanush Dhingra 

Revolution in Dune: Economic, Social, and Political Dynamics, Historical Parallels, and Modern Interpretations 

"Enrolling in Sanders has been one of the best decisions I've made at Northwestern. The seminar embodied the ideal peer learning environment; I both felt encouraged to participate and learned a lot from my peers. It was amazing to be in an environment in which each member had a passion for history and an interest in various subjects. Meeting guest authors allowed me to critically engage with sources and ask questions that I otherwise would never receive answers to. It was also very interesting to examine the various authors' expressed motivations behind writing. Prior to Sanders, research was an area that I had been wanting to actively engage in for a while but had neither the platform nor the structure to do so. The seminar provided me with critical mentorship, feedback, and an infrastructure in which I could develop my ideas into a well-thought-out paper. I'm very excited by what I've been able to produce and how I've grown." 

Olivia England 

The King and Queen of Rock: Little Richard, Religion, and the Stipulations of Black Queer Fame 

"The Sanders Seminar is a fantastic opportunity for history students, particularly those interested in expanding their historiographical skills. Each week, I had the chance to work with fellow students with diverse backgrounds and historical interests. Alongside Professor Robin Bates, we had the privilege of reading the work of accomplished historians from across the field and discussing it with said historians. Over the course of two quarters, I developed my analytical and writing skills, furthered through a substantial, individual research project. I am so grateful to have been able to participate in this program." 

Henry Fleck 

The Holy Roman Empire as an Early Federalist Political Body, 1356-1806 

"Via its unique mix of individual research and a collaborative, open environment, the Sanders Seminar offers an opportunity one is hard-pressed to find elsewhere at Northwestern. The depth of care and thought each and every one of my fellow scholars put into their projects inspired me to push myself ever further in my own work, and I do not believe any of our end results would have been possible without that healthy pressure. With historiographical guidance provided by Professor Bates and our generous guest historians along the road, the experience was one endowed with a depth of exploration one-quarter classes cannot always provide, and having the honor to participate in the Seminar was something I will not soon forget." 

Maya Ikenberry 

The Politics of Proximity: A Case Study into Mary Queen of Scots 

"Overall, I really appreciate the time we took to help us each create something we could be proud of. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to be so invested in a project and watch it come to fruition with time and hard work. I felt the opportunity to personally interact with authors and historians in the fall, and to speak with them surrounded by the wonderful room we met in each week, was particularly special. The Sanders Seminar did exactly what I wanted to, which was to elevate my history education to another level, and it really helped to define my experience at Northwestern." 

Jake Lubin 

Death and its Meaning: Material and Cultural Approaches to Casualty Sensitivity in the Russo-Ukrainian War 

"The Sanders Seminar is an incredibly engaging two-quarter opportunity for students passionate about history. The seminar explores not only the nature of important historical events, such as revolutions, but also the nature of the discipline of history itself, as it pertains to the people and forces that shape it. Guest speakers from the field, including popular historians and experienced academics, make the seminar a rewarding experience for students seeking to deepen their engagement with history’s most enduring and urgent questions. The collaborative nature of the seminar facilitates fascinating conversations among high-aiming students, guided by Professor Bates, whose scholarship and deep knowledge of the field challenge students to think more critically about history and its competing interpretations. Finally, the opportunity to pursue a quarter-long research project with the support of both seminar peers and Professor Bates is an unparalleled opportunity for students to broaden their understanding in an area that interests them." 

Ella Poon 

The Soft Power of the Novel: A Study of the Lives and Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Louisa May Alcott 

"Being a Sanders Scholar has been one of the most academically fruitful experiences during my time at Northwestern. Working alongside my passionate and intelligent peers over the last two quarters pushed me to become a more critical and astute thinker. Our classroom discussions and the pursuit of my own research project have made me more confident in my ability to clearly communicate my ideas in other classes and environments. The Sanders Seminar has also greatly expanded and clarified my understanding of the work a historian does through talking with guest historians and then attempting to do the work myself. The critical thinking, communication, and research skills I've gained through the seminar, I believe has not only made me a better historian but an overall better student and person."