Davide Lamparelli (RMA, MA (Hons))

Thesis title: Receiving Aid: Solidarity, Identity, and Emotions in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the Years of the Great Famine, 1845-1855

Biography

Background

I have been fascinated with Irish and Scottish history for as long as I can remember. This is why, in 2018, I moved to Aberdeen, where I started my undergraduate studies in History and made a long-held dream come true. I have happily lived in the Granite City since, except for a brief interlude in the Netherlands, becoming a proud adopted Aberdonian. During my years at the University of Aberdeen, I developed a deep interest in the history of the nineteenth century and topics such as political violence, imperialism, and cultural aspects of politics, especially emotions, identities, and the use of history in contended contexts. While Ireland and Scotland still occupied a central position among my academic interests, I had the opportunity to expand my focus to other geographical contexts, particularly France and Russia.

After completing my degree with a First Class Honours, I moved to Utrecht, in the Netherlands, to do a Research Master's in Modern and Contemporary History. In the Netherlands, I developed an interest in diaspora and migration studies and I had the opportunity to do an internship at Radboud University, where I worked on the Heritages of Hunger project with Prof Marguérite Corporaal. For Heritages of Hunger I researched the representation of the Great Irish Famine in New York newspapers between 1845 and 1850. This research formed the basis of my Master's thesis, which looked at soft power and the expression of solidarity for Ireland  in the US press during the Great Famine, and was shortlisted for the Theodore Roosevelt American History Award, receiving, for the first time in the award's history, a special mention of honour. I graduated in 2024 with a Cum Laude (distinction) and moved back to Aberdeen.

Feeling that my work on the tragic events of the Great Famine was not quite complete yet, in September 2025, after being awarded a William R McFarlane scholarship, I moved down to Edinburgh to undertake PhD study. My project examines Irish and Scottish reactions to receiving transnational solidarity during the Great Irish and Highland Famines. In particular, I look at what the emotions in these reactions can tell us about how Irish and Scottish people used the support they received (or did not receive) to redefine their identities and political relationships.

Qualifications

RMA, Modern and Contemporary History, Utrecht University (2024), Cum Laude

MA (Hons), History, University of Aberdeen (2022), First Class Honours

Responsibilities & affiliations

I am a co-convener of the Irish History Reading Group.

Research summary

I would describe myself as a cultural historian of the long nineteenth century, and my interests comprise mainly of history of migration and diaspora, history of humanitarianism, history of emotions, Irish and Scottish Highlands history, and political history, especially cultural aspects of politics and political violence.

Current research interests

My current research is an expression of many of my interests, laying at the intersection of cultural and political history. I am applying a history of emotions approach to understand the impact of solidarity on Irish and Scottish people, both at home and in the diaspora, during the Great Famines of the 1840s and restore the agency of aid recipients. I analyse how Irish and Scottish people reacted to receiving transnational solidarity, what emotions they expressed in these reactions, how these emotions affected their perceptions of self and their supporters, and how Irish and Scottish people ultimately used this solidarity to redefine their identities and political relationships.
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