Devin Grier
Thesis title: Becoming Argonauts: Scots in the California Gold Rush, 1848-1860
PhD supervisors:
Background
Devin is a Florida native whose sights have always been on the American West. She completed her undergraduate degree in History at Florida State University in 2013. After taking a brief hiatus in the equestrian world in a professional capacity, Devin returned to academia in 2015 at the University of Edinburgh. She completed her MSc in American History in 2016, and is now pursuing doctoral study at the same institution.
Devin's time in Scotland has vastly influenced her research. Her PhD topic reflects her long-time obsession with the 'Wild West' and her newfound interest in Scottish history and culture, specifically the nineteenth century. She holds the William MacFarlane Scholarship at the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies, and manages the Diaspora Series Graduate Workshop at the University of Edinburgh.
Qualifications
2016 - MSc American History (Merit), University of Edinburgh
2013 - BA History (First), Florida State University
Responsibilities & affiliations
Undergraduate teaching
Making of the United States
Modern United States
Historian's Toolkit (First-year core course)
Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
Edinburgh University Students' Association Teaching Award Nominee
Current research interests
Scottish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century Califonia Gold Rush.Past research interests
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in ScotlandScottish Association for the Study of America (SASA) Conference, March 2017, University of Edinburgh: "Scottish 49ers, Invisible, Non-existent, or Merely Forgotten? Robert Watt’s Quest for Gold"
Notre Dame Global Dome Exchange Programe, June-July 2018, University of Edinburgh, Oxford, and University of Notre Dame (London Campus): "A Perfect Mania: Scotland's Receptoin of the California Gold Rush"
American History Workshop, September 2018, University of Edinburgh: "From Scotland to El Dorado: The Journey of Scottish Argonauts to California"