Andrea “Andie” Speed PhD

Biography

Because my research focuses on child seasonal migration in the Austrian Alps, I am broadly interested in the development of modern border controls and international child protection. In my classes, I tend to focus on the development of forms of “remote control” – including the emergence of the international visa system – and how nation states can obscure regional forms of identity by treating borders as social containers. I am similarly interested in the way shifting sensibilities have informed institutional support for the “best interests of the child” over the last century. In fits and starts, human rights reformers have emphasized that children enjoy rights that are distinct from, and sometimes may conflict with, those of parents, broader families, and communities. Students in my classes will also discover my interest in maps and, through programs like QGIS, mapping. Prior to coming to Western, I taught at Vanderbilt University during my PhD. and spent several years on research fellowships in Germany.

Courses Taught

• Hist 100: Topics in World, Migration and Mobility
• Hist 200: Historical Methods
• Hist 302: Topics in World, Nations and Nationalism
• Hist 302: Topics in World, Mountains and Mountaineering
• Hist 313: Topics in Early Modern Europe, Empires
• Hist 317: Topics in Modern Europe, Gender and Sexuality
• Hist 372: Monuments and Museums
• Hist 520: Cartography and Power (Summer Teacher Institute)
• Phil 355: Philosophy of Science and Epistemology