Image via Noah James.
Congratulations to History MA student Noah James on winning the 2023 Conway Summer Travel Scholarship in German History. The Conway Travel Scholarship was endowed to UBC History by Professor Emeritus John Conway to commemorate 38 years of teaching in the Department. It is offered to Honours or Graduate students in History or International Relations, who have a keen interest in the history of Germany.
Noah James is in his second year of a MA in history. His areas of interest include early 20th century British Columbia and Imperial German history. For his MA thesis (a work in progress) he has done extensive research related to German investment in British Columbia and German war planning in the Pacific prior to the First World War. Prior to his graduate studies in history, Noah earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance at the University of Ottawa. He has worked in the construction industry in the Vancouver area and as a historical researcher for the Roedde House Museum in Vancouver’s West End.
“I am extremely pleased to be awarded the Conway Travel Scholarship! It will allow me to return to Germany this summer, where I will take a German language course, perhaps at the Goethe-Institut, do more research related to my thesis and adjacent topics at several archives, and partake in German culture as I travel around the country,” says Noah.
“The generous funding will allow me to indulge more in cultural activities, perhaps by seeing a Philharmoniker concert in Berlin, or doing some wine tasting in the Baden wine district.” Though it will not necessarily make him forgo his frugal travelling habits: “taking the slow trains via the 49 Euro monthly ticket and staying in hostels are good ways to see the country and meet interesting people,” he adds.
“Beyond telling the story of non-British Europeans in making a new settler society, Mr. James’s thesis brings in historiographies about Germany and the world (Wilhelmine foreign policy), and migration studies,” writes Dr. Benjamin Bryce, Noah’s thesis supervisor. “He has already done a lot of research for his thesis but a return to Germany this summer will help add depth to the materials and arguments he has already developed while also learning more about contemporary Germany and improving his German skills.”
Happy travels, Noah!
