Student Team Members
Please find a list of interns currently working at the Blue History Network below:
Ylva Axelsson
Ylva is a first-year student in the History Research Master’s program at Leiden University, officially following the Colonial and Global History track but concentrating on Environmental History. Her research mainly focuses on the interplay between local communities and global environmental concerns, often centered on the history of water management, (trans)local water justice, and the popular and scientific discourses underlying these developments. During her internship for the Blue History Network at the RIAS, her main task is to structure, organize, and moderate a series of seminars on topics related to blue history, inviting a wide range of scholars to join the ongoing conversations in this field. This gives her, along with the other participants in this Graduate Forum, the opportunity to both deepen and broaden her understanding of what blue history can mean, as well as expand the reach of the Blue History Network.
Thomas Brinkman
Thomas is a second-year student in the Research master’s program of history at the University of Leiden, in the track Politics, Culture, and National identities from 1789 to the present. His field of study has mainly been the relationship between water injustice and the Western Native American Genocide, delving into the connection between the appropriation by mining companies backed by the Federal and State governments and Native American decline. During his time at the RIAS, his main task is to help catalogue, describe, and introduce the newly formed archive on the Oceanic Society that the RIAS received recently. This gives him, and other scholars, the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the early history of US marine conservation. Furthermore, he will write a bibliographical essay specifically examining how and why water was used as a tool of power and control in conflicts with Native Americans in California during the Gold Rush era. Moreover, he will be responsible for coordinating his fellow interns, ensuring that everyone within the project group feels heard, supported, and clear about their individual responsibilities.
Taylor Dingman
Taylor is a master’s student of Global History and International Relations at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her research interests include American history, environmental history and justice, foreign policy, and international relations. At RIAS, she is part of the Blue History Network, where she works on updating and developing the Blue History Network website, and contributes to the Podcast and Re/Views through interviews with scholars on topics related to blue history. As an intern she is also working on an independent research paper that investigates the role of water in the historic relationship between Native Americans, the US government, and the environment.
Amelie Homp
Amelie is a master’s student in Conflict Studies and Human Rights at Utrecht University and currently works as a research intern at RIAS. Her research examines state repression in the US, particularly in the context of protest governance. Additionally, she is interested in the nexus between environmental degradation and warfare, along with contemporary discourse on ecocide. At RIAS, Amelie is part of the Blue History Network, where her main tasks include contributing to podcasts and reviews with scholars on water-related issues as well as helping to improve the Blue History Network concerning its layout and editing. She will also be working on a research paper connecting her interest in protest cultures and governance with environmental concerns specifically the state’s response to Indigenous water protection and water related protests.
Alexander Krauss
Alexander is a Research MA student in Colonial and Global History at Leiden University. His scholarly interests include environmental history, with a focus on river history, war history, and the history of science. He first encountered blue humanities while assisting at a museum in the Donau-Auen National Park, an experience that led him to examine environmental-historical methodology through Danube historiography in his bachelor’s thesis. At the Blue History Network, Alexander contributes by creating podcasts and reviews, expanding the bibliography, as well as supporting the development of the Blue History Network’s resources.
Maaike Timmerman
Maaike is a master’s student in Global History and International Relations at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her academic interests centre on US–China rivalry, strategic studies, geopolitics, and the role of digital methods in historical research. As a RIAS intern, she is part of the Blue History Network, an interdisciplinary initiative that rethinks history by placing water at the centre of human experience. She supports the development of the Blue History Network website, conducts and edits interviews with scholars working on water-related themes, and contributes to the network’s digital content. As part of her internship, she is writing a research paper on US and Chinese “Malacca dilemma” security narratives, exploring what a water-centred perspective reveals about debates on maritime power.
Former Members
Andrew Fehribach
Andrew is a student at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where he is completing the Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies Research Master’s program. During this time, he interns at the RIAS as a researcher for the Blue History Network project. His research background includes American folk music, captivity narratives, southern gothic literature, and the Beat Generation. The RIAS offers Andrew the opportunity to incorporate his expertise into the theoretical discourse of “Aquatic Thinking,” opening up new research projects. Andrew principally interviews individuals to be featured on the Blue History Network website, familiarizing himself with their work and writing reviews to increase meaningful discourse within the Blue Humanities. He also edits and manages the Blue History Network website and its social media accounts.
Arnold Haverkort
At the RIAS, Arnold bridges the gap between research and education by designing creative teaching materials. His internship focuses on developing accessible content about environmental justice and Indigenous rights in the United States, with particular attention to the politics of water and energy. One of the main projects is an interactive classroom simulation where students act as negotiators from the Navajo Nation, an Indigenous tribe, and the U.S. government to debate energy and water access. The roleplay invites students to confront dilemmas around sovereignty, inequality, and climate justice. Arnold is also editing and narrating a VR video series that immerses students in the history and present challenges of the Navajo Nation, including urgent issues around water access. These tools are grounded in research but speak to urgent questions of democracy, development, and sustainability. Preparing for a future in education, Arnold sees this internship as a chance to explore new ways of teaching that connect global issues to lived experience.
Jiska van Daal
To complete her master’s degree, Jiska is currently working as a research intern at the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies. Her main focus is improving the Blue History Network website, handling its layout and editing stories that make meaningful contributions to the project. Her personal interests align closely with the mission of both the RIAS and the Blue History Network, as she explores the history of the United States to better understand ongoing social conflicts. Her current research looks at student protests on American university campuses, particularly those that have escalated into violent confrontations. With access to rich sources and the expertise of RIAS researchers, Jiska sees her internship as the ideal environment to deepen her knowledge and develop her skills in U.S. historical research.
Sofia Manetti
As part of her bachelor’s degree, Sofia is currently completing an academic internship at the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies. This opportunity has allowed her to conduct independent research while also contributing to the development of the Blue History Network. Her research focuses on the communicative strategies used by Eleanor Roosevelt to promote the United Nations between 1952 and 1962. Drawing from an extensive archive, she explored a wide range of materials—from scholarly literature to radio broadcasts and DVDs—offering her valuable insight into historical media and communication methods. Additionally, she helped conceptualize and record a podcast on Marine Governance in collaboration with an expert from the University of Rhode Island. This internship closely aligns with her academic interest in communication and its influence on global affairs.
Marnix Vader
Marnix’s research internship at the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies focuses on environmental governance and public sentiment. His primary task is to prepare for and participate in the RIAS Policy Workshop in June, ‘The Montreal Moment: Ozone Depletion and the Rise of International Environmental Governance.’ To contribute meaningfully, he studies international environmental governance and assists in developing a methodology to investigate public sentiment on climate governance in the Netherlands during the 1990s. This internship aligns with his ambition to work in policy making, as he is interested in how societies interpret and respond to changes, from climate governance to political movements. Being from Oost-Souburg and now living in Vlissingen, working with the RIAS in Middelburg feels like a natural fit to him, bringing global issues into a local academic space.
Hilla Kauppinen
Maria Budkiewicz
Nur Rahmi Nailah
Alex Nagel
Maria Schild
