Associate Professor, Associate Chair
My research focuses on the place of humanitarianism and foreign assistance in 20th century U.S. foreign relations and international history. My first book, Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening, was published in 2013 by Oxford University Press. A history of U.S. relief efforts for foreign civilians in the era of the First World War, my book analyzes both the diplomatic and the cultural significance of humanitarian aid in these years. My second monograph, Catastrophic Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century, will be published in 2023 by the University of North Carolina Press. This book examines how the U.S. government, the U.S. military, and the American voluntary sector responded to disasters in other nations and empires across the 20th century, with a focus on humanitarian emergencies caused by tropical storms, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards. In addition to narrating the history of these humanitarian relief efforts, my book analyzes the use of foreign disaster assistance as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy. In addition to my books, I have published more than a dozen articles on the histories of 20th century U.S. and international humanitarianism and foreign assistance, focusing particularly on civilian aid during the First World War era and on global disaster assistance in the 20th century.
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About Julia Irwin
My research focuses on the place of humanitarianism and foreign assistance in 20th century U.S. foreign relations and international history. My first book, Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening, was published in 2013 by Oxford University Press. A history of U.S. relief efforts for foreign civilians in the era of the First World War, my book analyzes both the diplomatic and the cultural significance of humanitarian aid in these years. My second monograph, Catastrophic Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century, will be published in 2023 by the University of North Carolina Press. This book examines how the U.S. government, the U.S. military, and the American voluntary sector responded to disasters in other nations and empires across the 20th century, with a focus on humanitarian emergencies caused by tropical storms, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards. In addition to narrating the history of these humanitarian relief efforts, my book analyzes the use of foreign disaster assistance as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy. In addition to my books, I have published more than a dozen articles on the histories of 20th century U.S. and international humanitarianism and foreign assistance, focusing particularly on civilian aid during the First World War era and on global disaster assistance in the 20th century.
| Present | Associate Professor, Associate Chair, University of South Florida | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Professional Service and Affiliations
| 2019 - Present | Nominating Committee Member, Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era | 2017 - Present | Associate Chair, History Department, University of South Florida | 2016 - Present | Editorial Advisory Board Member, Oxford Research Encyclopedia in American History | 2019 - 2020 | Program Committee Co-Chair, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations | 2017 - 2019 | Council Member, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations | 2016 - 2018 | Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize Committee Member, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations | 2012 - 2018 | Membership Secretary, Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era | 2014 - 2016 | Senior Editor, Oxford Research Encyclopedia in American History | 2012 - 2016 | Undergraduate Director, History Department, University of South Florida | 2011 - 2016 | Book Review Co-Editor, H-SHGAPE | 2011 - 2016 | Undergraduate Committee Member, History Department, University of South Florida | 2014 - 2015 | Executive Council Member, History Department, University of South Florida | 2014 - 2015 | Program Committee Member, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations | 2010 - 2013 | Faculty Adviser, USF Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society |
Honors and Awards
- Roger D. Bridges Distinguished Service Award. Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (2018)
- Organization of American Historians (OAH) Distinguished Lecturer. Appointed by OAH president Edward L. Ayers (2017-2020)
- Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. University of South Florida (2015)
- Betty M. Unterberger Dissertation Prize. Awarded biennially by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations for a dissertation on any topic in U.S. foreign relations history (2011)
- Best Article Prize for the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Awarded biennially for the best article published in the journal (2010)
- Edwin W. Small Prize. Awarded for an outstanding dissertation in American history. Yale University (2010)
Courses
- HIS 6939/7939 - Science, Medicine, and Empire
- HIS 6939/7939 - The United States and the Global Cold War
- HIS 6939/7939 - U.S. Transnational History
- HIS 6939/7939 - The United States in an Age of Empire
- HIS 6939/7939 - The United States and the Modern World
- HIS 4936 - The U.S. and the Cold War World
- HIS 4104 - Theory and Methods of History
- HIS 3930 - The United States and Latin America
- HIS 3512 - U.S. Foreign Relations
- HIS 3342 - Globalization and U.S. Culture
- HIS 3341 - American Food and Drink History
- IDS 2192 - Global History and Politics since 1945
| 2009 | Ph.D., Yale University | |
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| 2007 | M.Phil., Yale University | |
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| 2006 | M.A., Yale University | |
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| 2004 | B.A., Oberlin College | |
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Links
Contact Information
Office: SOC 107
Phone: (813) 974-2807
Email: