Penn offers its undergraduates an eminent faculty and a wealth of research opportunities. Use the space below to name a Penn professor with whom you would like to study or conduct research and explain why. (It is not our expectation that you contact faculty directly to answer this question.)
Throughout my childhood and early academic studies, I have developed a strong affinity towards learning about history and how individuals with power interact with society. I am particularly interested in the Soviet era, especially under Joseph Stalin's rule. At Penn, I hope to study with Professor Benjamin Nathans as well as get more involved with his current research in human rights and the lack thereof in Stalin's regime.
The horrors of the Stalinist regime completely dwarfed that of the Nazis and most other dictatorships of the 20th century. I have often marvelled at how Stalin was able to kill not only strangers (that, though horrifying, is understandable as we as humans are more impartial to people we don't know), but also colleagues, close friends and even family. The chaotic nature of the USSR during the purges was unique; there has never been a government which systematically organized its people based on pure chance and randomness. The complete lack of any morality is startling. It is important to understand how such an inherently evil regime could have come to being if we are to avoid such atrocities in the future. It also puts into perspective the progress that China has made since Mao's time and the US's own position; it seems clear to me that critics who have been calling the US an 'evil empire' did not study Soviet history.
With my international background and teachings, I believe I can bring a fresh perspective towards Professor Nathans research, and ultimately look to answer the question how a regime which strove not for good, but for evil was able to operate and last for as long as it did.
It is a bit long (around 600 characters over the limit). Any advice/comments are greatly appreciated.
Throughout my childhood and early academic studies, I have developed a strong affinity towards learning about history and how individuals with power interact with society. I am particularly interested in the Soviet era, especially under Joseph Stalin's rule. At Penn, I hope to study with Professor Benjamin Nathans as well as get more involved with his current research in human rights and the lack thereof in Stalin's regime.
The horrors of the Stalinist regime completely dwarfed that of the Nazis and most other dictatorships of the 20th century. I have often marvelled at how Stalin was able to kill not only strangers (that, though horrifying, is understandable as we as humans are more impartial to people we don't know), but also colleagues, close friends and even family. The chaotic nature of the USSR during the purges was unique; there has never been a government which systematically organized its people based on pure chance and randomness. The complete lack of any morality is startling. It is important to understand how such an inherently evil regime could have come to being if we are to avoid such atrocities in the future. It also puts into perspective the progress that China has made since Mao's time and the US's own position; it seems clear to me that critics who have been calling the US an 'evil empire' did not study Soviet history.
With my international background and teachings, I believe I can bring a fresh perspective towards Professor Nathans research, and ultimately look to answer the question how a regime which strove not for good, but for evil was able to operate and last for as long as it did.
It is a bit long (around 600 characters over the limit). Any advice/comments are greatly appreciated.
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