Meet Jae Tyler, a University Fellowship recipient. Jae is a Ph.D. student studying History.
Please give a short overview of your research.
My dissertation project examines two groups of Shawnee veterans who volunteered with the U.S. Army, one in 1837 and the other in 1846. Utilizing service records, military bounty land applications, contemporary literature, and oral interviews, the project seeks to understand the value soldiering with the U.S. Army may have held for Shawnees in the 19th century, and explore the logistical value of Native volunteers for the Army's capacity to complete its goals through this Shawnee case study. At the same time, the project will compare how perceptions of Shawnee fighters fit with perceptions of soldiers and veterans in U.S. society at large at the time and since. I envision this project, then, as part of an ongoing effort to integrate Native history into a more complex and multifaceted narrative of U.S. history through the avenue of veterans' post-battle lives and social roles during the 19th century's middle decades.
What made you choose to pursue your graduate degree here at Kent State?
Kent State, like the city of Kent, is rich with history, and I wanted to pursue advanced graduate study in a place that was clearly mindful of its past. In addition, I chose Kent State because faculty like Professors Elaine Frantz and Kevin Adams expressed an earnest desire to invest in my professional development and confidence in my success.
What do you enjoy most about attending Kent State for graduate school? and/or What do you anticipate taking advantage of at KSU?
I deeply enjoy and appreciate the abundant intellectual stimulation Kent State offers through diverse course offerings and opportunities for conversation with peers and faculty in many different departments. I have also enjoyed working within an institutional culture that prizes collaboration and communication, as a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship is extremely important to me.
What are your future goals?
My goal in producing scholarship is to use that research experience to serve the communities about which I write. Using this experience, I hope to work in the repatriation of Indigenous artifacts through helping claimants establish the historical connections that prove the validity of their claims.
What does this award mean to you and how will it aid you?
I am honored and humbled to receive the University Fellowship. I deeply appreciate the university's willingness to support my project. The fellowship will give me the time to write and, more importantly, establish the personal connections that will ensure my project is useful and valuable for historical preservation and activism.