Ashley Morin, PhD Student

Ashley Morin, PhD Student.

Concentration: Modern Ireland | Peace and Conflict Studies | Modern Europe

Email: ammorin@buffalo.edu

Education

  • M.A., History, University at Buffalo, 2020
  • B.A., History, Merrimack College, 2018, summa cum laude
    • Minor: General Psychology

Research Interests

My dissertation, “Defying Division: Cross-Community Cooperation during the Troubles,” considers the ongoing efforts of peace workers who attempted to bridge societal divisions during the conflict in Northern Ireland. This research prioritizes grassroots organizations and movements, as I am interested in moving beyond traditional areas of academic inquiry such as paramilitaries, politicians, and security forces. In doing so, my research pushes against the predominant narrative within literature on the conflict that Northern Ireland was a monolith of violence. In order to achieve this, I consider factors such as gender, religion, class, age, and location.

In conjunction with my dissertation research, I am broadly interested in the digital humanities. For “Defying Division,” I employ Graphic Information Systems (GIS) to spatially consider the relationship between peace and violence during the Troubles. The spatial component to the conflict attention has been awarded significant attention, but little has been done in terms of peace work and space. This provides a necessary bookend to the significant amount of work done on violence, sectarianism, and segregation. 

Awards

  • North American Conference on British Studies, Annual Travel Grant, 2022
  • Queen’s University Belfast, Travel Grant, 2022
  • Mid-Atlantic Conference on British Studies, Travel Grant, 2022
  • University at Buffalo, Department of History, Travel Grant, 2022
  • University at Buffalo, Department of History, Milton Plesur Research Fellowship, 2021
  • University at Buffalo, Department of Anthropology, Keith F. Otterbein Award for War and Peace Studies, 2020
  • University at Buffalo, Milton Plesur Fellowship, 2018-2022
  • University at Buffalo, Graduate History Association, Conference Funding, 2022, 2023
  • Peter A. Ford Prize for Distinction in the Study of History, Merrimack College, 2018
  • Bishop Markham Medal for Distinction in Academic Achievement in the Humanities, Merrimack College, 2018