Professor Chester's work focuses on South Asian history and British imperial history, as well as links with Middle Eastern history. Her areas of teaching interest include modern empires, South Asia, the Palestine Mandate, transnational resistance to colonialism, borderland studies, cartographic history, gender studies, and international affairs. She has a special research interest in imperial cartography and the borderlands of empire. In 2009, she published _Borders and Conflicts in South Asia: The Radcliffe Boundary Commission and the Partition of Punjab_ (Manchester University Press). Her current book project, under contract with Oxford University Press, is tentatively titled 'Networks of Decolonization: Britain’s Withdrawal from South Asia and Palestine .' It examines imperial and anti-colonial links between India and Mandate Palestine in the 1920s-1940s. Her next project involves the geographic imagination of Pakistan.
HIST 3020 - Historical Thinking & Writing
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
The second cornerstone course for history majors centers on the essential skills all historians use. Students will advance their reading, sourcing, and research techniques, hone critical, analytical, and synthetic skills, navigate scholarly discourse, and practice historical writing. As this simultaneously satisfies the College's upper-division writing requirement, all sections involve substantial, regular, and varied writing assignments as well as instruction in methods and the revision process. All topical variations of this course are limited to a maximum of 18 students in order to focus on supporting students as they learn to write - and think - like an historian. Topics will vary by section. Recommended for sophomores or juniors, HIST 3020 may be taken concurrently with, but not prior to, HIST 1800. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
HIST 4339 - Borderlands of the British Empire
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2024
Examines the development of the borderlands of the British empire through imperial expansion, consolidation, and early decolonization. Focuses on the 19th and early 20th centuries. Topics include domination, resistance and negotiation in areas such as India, Afghanistan, the Palestine Mandate. Aims for students to acquire skills in comparative history and to develop a better understanding of the roots of contemporary conflicts. Recommended prerequisite: HIST 1012 or HIST 1123 or HIST 1228 or HIST 1308 or HIST 1528. Same as HIST 5339.
HIST 4349 - Decolonization of the British Empire
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2022
Examines the end of the British Empire. Focuses on connections between imperial territories, such as networks of anticolonial activists and links between British decision makers. Students will acquire research skills and develop a better understanding of the roots of contemporary conflict. Prior coursework in British imperial history and excellent writing skills are required. Recommended prerequisite: HIST 1123 or HIST 1228 or HIST 1308 or HIST 1528 or HIST 4053 or HIST 4238 or HIST 4258 or HIST 4328 or HIST 4329 or HIST 4338 or HIST 4339 or HIST 4538 or HIST 4548 or HIST 4558. Same as HIST 5349.
IAFS 1000 - Global Issues and International Affairs
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2023
Introduces the student to the international affairs program. The course examines political and economic development in several countries in many different world regions. Examines historical trends and development as well as current political and economic issues.
IAFS 4500 - The Post-Cold War World
Primary Instructor
-
Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023
Capstone course for international affairs majors. Examines the ways in which the end of the Cold War, the collapse of failed states, and the rise of global terrorism changed the world. Studies how peoples, governments and nongovernmental organizations face new social, political, economic and security challenges in an era of globalization. Includes discussion, oral reports, critical book reviews, and research papers.
