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Department of History

Dr. Taylor Soja

Assistant Professor
History
Office
SCH Schroeder Hall 318
Office Hours
M&W 9:30-10:30 and Tuesdays 2-3, and by appointment
Office Phone
(309) 438-2843office
phone
Email
tmsoja@ilstu.eduemail
Website
https://www.taylorsoja.com/website
  • About
  • Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Research

Biography

Dr. Soja is an Assistant Professor of History at Illinois State University. Before earning her PhD in modern British and imperial history at the University of Washington in Seattle, she attended George Washington University for her BA.

Current Courses

228.001Europe In The Nineteenth Century: 1815-1914

100.003History Lab: Foundations of Historical Analysis

402.001Seminar In European History

Teaching Interests & Areas

I teach classes on British & European history, the history of war and society, European empires, women & gender, and historical methods and digital history.

Research Interests & Areas

I am a historian of modern Britain and specialize in the histories of war, gender, and empire with a focus on the long 19th century. My research explores the relationship between violence and empire using methods including the study of material culture, family history, and group biography.

PhD History

University of Washington
Seattle, WA

MA

University of Washington
Seattle, WA

BA History

George Washington University
Washington, DC

Influential and Inspirational Faculty Member

Department of History
2024

Influential and Inspirational Faculty Member

Department of History
2024

Influential and Inspirational Faculty Member

Department of History
2023

Influential and Inspirational Faculty Member

Department of History
2023

Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Project Award

Council for European Studies Critical European Studies Research Network
2021

Journal Article

“Kitchen Window Feminism: Sarah Macnaughtan, Wartime Care, and the Authority of Experience in the South African and First World Wars,” in “Health, Healing, and Caring,” eds. Kristin Burnett, Sara Ritchey, Lynn M. Thomas, special issue, Gender & History 33, no. 3 (Oct. 2021): 668-682.

Presentations

What Comes After “What’s Your Favorite Battle?”: Rethinking War and Society in the History Classroom. History/Social Sciences Teacher Symposium. ISU History Education. (2023)
“When the Post-War Isn’t Permanent: Coming Home in the Age of Britain’s ‘Small Wars’”. Homecoming After War: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Humanities Research Centre, Warwick University. (2023)
“British Studies in the Digital World: NACBS Grad & Early Career Caucus Panel on Digital Humanities”. North American Conference on British Studies Grad & Early Career Caucus. (2022)
“Soldiers on the Move: Working Class War Stories in Britain’s Global Empire, c. 1880-1918,” International Conference of Europeanists, Council for European Studies, Lisbon, Portugal. 2022.
“Families Mobilized for Empire: Multi-Generation Military Service in the British Empire to 1918,” North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS), held online, 2020.
“Miss Macnaughtan’s Wars: South Africa, WWI, and the British Multi-War Experience,” New Voices in the History of War II, Society for the History of War, All Souls College, University of Oxford, UK. 2019.
“The Social World of Multi-War Service: Ernest Craig-Brown & Neville J.G. Cameron in South Africa, WWI, and Beyond,” North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS), Vancouver CA. 2019.

Grants & Contracts

CAS International Travel Fund. CAS. Illinois State University. (2023)
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation – Council for European Studies (Columbia University) Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation – Council for European Studies (Columbia University). Private. (2021)