My Brackenridge Experience — Connor Diaz

I can confidently say that I’ve learned more—about history, about research methodology, about working collaboratively, and even about myself—in the past few months than I have in the past few years.  The Brackenridge Fellowship is the essence of what undergraduate study should be: independent yet supported, rigorous but manageable, difficult but rewarding. The value one…

History: What’s it Good For?

The reading we did this week about how to conceptualize, articulate, and communicate the purpose and significance of our research really hit home for me.  While I was preparing my application for the Brackenridge Fellowship, I ran my idea(s) past some of my friends and family members. Most of them have no experience with academic…

Connor Diaz: My Cohort

Of the five Brackenridge Fellows in my cohort, I am the only one working on a pure humanities project. One of my cohort members, Harsh, is working on a project studying ischemic stroke risk among individuals of African descent. Grace, another member of my cohort, is working on research in the field of neuroscience. The…

Brackenridge Introduction: Connor Diaz

Hi all! My name is Connor Diaz and I am stoked to be a part of the Summer 2023 Brackenridge Fellowship. My project, currently titled “Becoming American: Adopting the ‘American’ Identity,” focuses on various formulations of what it means to “be American” throughout history. Specifically, I’m interested in how these formulations took form among displaced…