DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Interests

Geographic Field(s):  Modern European History: Britain and Its Empire

Thematic Field(s):  Colonial, Imperial, & Diasporic History

Principal Research Interest(s):  British World, Family History, life histories, and archival theory

Biography

Claire C. Arnold studies the history of modern Europe, focusing on global Britain. She completed her PhD at Northwestern, and her dissertation, “The Demands of Distance: British Families in the World, 1810-1900” argued that middle-class families played a crucial role in extending the British power within and beyond the empire with implications for both the shape of the British world and families themselves. Her research interests include family history, migration, and the relationship between commercial and imperial networks. She is also interested in the use of life histories and biographical sources in history and archival theory. Her work has been supported by CCHS, NACBS, the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, the Midwestern Victorian Studies Association, SSRC, and TGS.

Teaching Interests

British History, Global History, History of the Family