Benjamin Anderson

Thesis title: "Full of Defiles": The Allens, Vermont, and the Northern Borderland in the Age of the American Revolution

Biography

Background

I am a part-time PhD student from Glenrothes, Fife. I graduated from the University of Stirling in 2016, achieving the Scott Reid Memorial Prize and the Robert and Margaret McKean Prize for my dissertation on British reactions to the expulsion of Germans from Eastern Europe after the Second World War. I then graduated with a Master of Letters from the University of St. Andrews in 2017. As my PhD project is rooted in American History, I spend my spare time reading on European History with a particular focus on genocide and the Holocaust. I am a neurodivergent student, who also likes to raise awareness of Autism and ADHD. You can generally find me taking a break from the PhD by walking my dog, running, hiking, and, for my sins in a previous life, following the Scotland men's national football team.

My research project follows the Allen family and their role in the creation and development of the state of Vermont. Thirty-two years after the last major study into Ethan Allen and his motives, this study reconsiders just how important self-interest was to the Allen family as they, alongside the Vermont settlers, attempted to defend their lands and state from New York, the Continental Congress, and the British Empire. Simultaneously, it looks to provide a borderland history of the northern frontier, which incorporated Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and Quebec, thus exploring relationships within this region and how important they were in Vermont's battle for self-preservation from the multiple threats it faced.

Qualifications

First Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History

Master of Letters in Modern History

Undergraduate teaching

Historians' Toolkit

Themes in Modern European History

Modern US History

Early Modern History: A Connected World

Research summary

American Revolution

History of Vermont

History of Canada

Reintegration of an enemy into post-war society

I also dabble in European History in my spare time: including the 'Long Nineteenth Century,' the rise of fascism and authoritarianism, and genocide in Europe throughout the twentieth century. 

Past project grants

Robert H. Smith International Centre for Jefferson Studies, Monticello, 2023
Global Dome Exchange Programme, Notre Dame, Edinburgh, and Heidelberg, 2022
UELAC Loyalist Scholarship, 2021

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