Academic Career

2008-present: PhD Programme, Department of History (NUIM), IRCHSS Government of Ireland Scholar 2008-2011

2007-2008: Integrated M. Litt/PhD Programme (M.Litt phase), Department of History (NUIM) First Year M. Litt Scholarship (2007-2008)

2003-2007: Bachelor of Arts Double Honours ( B.A.) in History & English (with sociology), NUI Maynooth (conferred with honours late 2007)

Research Interests

- Main area of research is the relationship between communism and nationalism in the emerging Soviet Union and the role Mirsaid Sultangaliev had in the development of an ideology to satisfy the growing problems in the Russian Orient (see Current Research below)

- Political ideologies (communism, nationalism, socialism, fascism etc..) with specific interests in the history of communism in Russia and the 'national question' in the Russian Orient.

-The revolutionary traditions of wider Europe and the development of political ideologies.

- The study of 'empire' and comparisons between different types of empire (land-locked versus marine empire, for example) with specific interest in the consolidation and 'disintegration' of the Russian Empire

- General 19th and 20th century European history with more specific interests in the Bismarck era, European Imperialism in Africa, the First World War in Africa and the career of Paul von Lettow Vorbeck.

- General 19th and 20th century Irish history with more specific interests in the Parnell years, development of Irish nationalism and Ireland after 1922.

- Political and social significance of the mass mobilisation of populations.

- Leadership in history with specific interest in the comparisons of 'successful' leaders with those who ultimately become 'failures' and the methods employed by both groups respectively.
 

Current Research

PhD Degree (Department of History, NUIM Maynooth)

Overall research

research is focusing on the development of ideologies and practical solutions to the growing problem of nationality in Russia after the ending of Tsarism and, more specifically, the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution. Research is focusing on the role of the Tatar Muslim Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev in the development of an ideology for the people of the east in the new Bolshevik Russia and also the practical implementation of tactical solutions in the old Russian Empire. By focusing on Sultan-Galiev, who by working closely with Josef Stalin in the Commissariat for Nationalities (Narkomnats), was guaranteed contact with top levels in the Bolshevik organisation, this research hopes to frame Sultan-Galiev not just in terms of his ideological conceptions or his practical working with the Narkomnats, but by creating a whole new historiography of Sultan Galiev himself and thus transcending the existing and limited history of this subject.

Teaching

2007-2008: First Year History Tutor (2 groups)

Professional Membership

Member of CSWE

Member of the Irish Association for the Research of Central and East European Studies (IARCEES)

Member of Study Group of the Russian revolution (SGRR), a BASEES affiliate

Conferences Attended

October-December 2008, CSWE Research Seminar, NUIM, 1989: twenty years since

 - ongoing research seminar of CSWE, details at www.widereurope.ie

23 November 2007, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin: Russia's Global Perspective: Defining a New Relationship with Europe and America

 - The RIA Committee for International Affairs organized this event and focused on Russia's role in a global context within some historical understanding.

Contact Details

Please email me at seamus.m.coll@nuim.ie with any queries or suggestions.

Contact Seamus Coll