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German Historical Society Bursary Winner

Posted on 4 June 2019

Kurt Baird (History and CECS PhD student) has been awarded a bursary to visit the War Archive in Vienna

Kurt Baird

Thanks to a Postgraduate Bursary kindly awarded by the German Historical Society Kurt will undertake a month-long research trip to the War Archive in Vienna (Kriegsarchiv).  Kurt's PhD project, under the supervision of Dr Jasper Heinzen, investigates a lacuna in the history of the German-speaking world by examining how a near state of permanent war and frontline experience influenced the culture and society of the Erblande (Austrian Hereditary Lands) during the Habsburg Monarchy’s conflict with France between 1792 and 1815.  This bursary will help with his ongoing exploration of the writings of subaltern officers and common soldiers to investigate if and how military processes and practices within the Habsburg army influenced concepts of gender, regional identity and dynastic loyalty in the Austrian Hereditary Lands.

Using these sources, he will aim to show how models of martial identity were experienced, received and negotiated by actors on the periphery and how these models developed throughout the course of the conflict to assert the importance of military service in Habsburg culture and society. Thanks to the German History Society Kurt is now in a great position to explore the rich archival holdings available in Austria and answer some interesting questions on violence, military cultures and the impacts of war rhetoric on collective and individual identity.