Torn between history and sociology, picking a major was tough for Matthew Currier ’16, but he went with history and found a niche in medieval and Renaissance coursework. Major declared, he wanted to find a way to spend a summer doing research. He turned to Assistant Professor of History John Eldevik, and they landedan Emerson Summer Grant from the College.
“We were looking into the ideology of kingship and how that develops from the early Anglo-Saxon period, up through the whole period when it ends with the Norman conquest in 1066,” Currier says.
He pored over over royal diplomas, which are royal charters, for instance, grants of land or titles, to analyze what they reveal about kingship. Currier's goal was to come away from the summer’s work with more than a 25-page paper. He wanted to sharpen his research skills. “I think I just want it to help me in my history studies down the line," he says.
