Biography
I am a Lecturer in the Committee on Degrees in History & Literature, and a historian of modern Europe and its place in the wider world. I also serve as a Pre-Concentration Academic Advisor in the College's Advising Programs Office.
My research focuses on the history of twentieth-century Germany, Turkey, and the Mediterranean in a global context, especially on the themes of economic development, industrial decline, migration, and the environment. My dissertation examined how western European, and particularly West German, policymakers and business leaders sought to “outsource” a range of economic, environmental, and social problems to the southern European periphery, most notably to Turkey, during the 1970s and 1980s. My doctoral research was funded by fellowships from the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies at the Free University of Berlin, the Krupp Foundation, the Adenauer Foundation, the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (Harvard), and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (Harvard).
I received my Ph.D. and A.M. in History from Harvard. Prior to embarking on doctoral study in History, I worked in renewable energy policy at a Munich-based think tank and held a Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Fellowship in Berlin. I also hold an M.A. in International Relations from Yale and a B.A. in History and Italian Literature from Columbia.
I believe strongly in the ways that history can inform contemporary debates and policy issues. In my teaching, I seek to show students how study in the humanities can help prepare them for a wide range of future intellectual and professional trajectories.
Office hours, spring 2024:
Drop-in hours (no appointment necessary): Wednesdays, 3:00-4:00pm (in-person - please email me if you prefer virtual)
By appointment: Mondays, 1:00-2:00pm and Thursdays 1:30-3:00pm (in-person or virtual) - make an appointment on my Calendly (calendly.com/msohm).
Please note: If you are feeling sick, please either opt for a virtual appointment or reschedule. Thank you!
sohm_cv_2023_-_harvard_scholar_page.pdf | 96 KB |