In this spotlight, the department spoke with Alexandra Mork to hear how she utilized travel funding from the history department to complete thesis research.
"In my thesis, I ask how couples sought to gain legal recognition for their marriages in states with anti-miscegenation laws—and how states responded. I am looking at couples who married 'evasively,' meaning that they crossed state lines to obtain marriage licenses and then returned to their home states. My research is focused on several couples from Virginia and one couple from Georgia who married in the late-nineteenth century.
I applied to the history department for funds to travel to Richmond and Atlanta in order to examine original case files that have not been digitized. On the research trips, I spent my days in the state archives looking at cases that librarians had pulled for me in advance. I was especially excited to find original trial transcripts for one of the couples. Since legal cases are the centerpieces of my thesis, the research trips have been instrumental to my writing process. The files I've looked at have helped me learn the names of jurors, neighbors, and family members related to the couples—all of which have opened doors to further research.
My suggestion to students interested in applying for history funding would be to clearly articulate the importance of the funds for their research; to create a detailed budget; and to consider the importance of their topic to people without prior knowledge of their subject."