Sarah Donovan

I am so excited to be starting my research at the William L. Clements Library! This trip has been a long time coming and I’m so happy to finally be here!

Can we start a petition to make every table of contents available for preview, everywhere and always?

This does help! Thank you so much!

Does anyone have recommendations on where to find 18th century maps of Ireland? Particularly Munster? #IrishHistory #IrishStudies

There have been some really fantastic panels so far at #BATW2025! I always enjoy this conference so much!

En route to BATW 2025 in Liverpool! I’ve been looking forward to this conference!

My diss writing mantra of the day:
Writing is thinking so it’s ok if it gets messy.

I was brave today and submitted my very first article for publication. Fingers crossed for a relatively smooth review process. 🤞🏻

Doing the citations for this article manuscript just might kill me. 🫠#CitationStation

The diss chapter I’m working on is a bit of a throwback to my undergrad thesis and I’m feeling all kinds of nostalgic about it. Man, I was so lucky to go to Lycoming College!

Today I taught my high schoolers the value of historical scholarship. Historians are detectives first, and then storytellers. History known as the topic of just dates and facts is the outcome of textbook commerce.

My students may not become historians, but they need to know why we’re valuable.

Trying a new brainstorming/outlining strategy today. I’m writing section topics in purple, themes in pink, and specific pieces of evidence in green. Im moving them around to see how they fit and it seems to be working so far! Does anyone else have any weird/new writing strategies to share?

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

Does anyone have any recommendations to make an interactive map? I’ve got everything drafted/plotted on Google Maps, but I’d love to find something more accessible/public facing. Bonus points if I can connect PDF images to the plot points

I had a 26 hour travel day on Tuesday and while I was waiting in the airport I went on a rant to my brother about passive voice.

I have a writing center appt today and I’m still very jet lagged, but I guess that doesn’t matter bc turns out I can basically teach about passive voice in my sleep 🤣

Does anyone have any advice on navigating the National Library of Ireland Catalog? I’m probably just exhausted and missing it somehow, but I can’t find any of their finding aids…

Very excited for the first full day of the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era! Looks like it’ll be a good conference #CRE2025

Does anyone doing #frontierhistory or even #earlyamericanhistory have any good recommendations for readings on the function of debt in the 1750s-1770s? Particularly debt in the frontier vs debt in urban centers like Philadelphia?

The fact that there were three Fort Loudons (in PA, VA, and TN) that were all built in 1756 and all relevant to my dissertation is the absolute bane of my existence.

Curse you the Earl of Loudon for having so many forts named after you!

Today I’m outlining a dissertation chapter, but I’m struggling a bit with thematic/chronological/geographic organization. Any tips on how to balance that?

Nearly a thousand words on the page and no thesis statement in sight. Honestly, there isn’t a complete paragraph in sight. Or very many complete sentences…but hey, I’m writing!

I love when I’m reading a book or article by someone I know and I can just hear their voice so clearly. I just keeping thinking “yup, this sounds *just* like them!” Writing is so cool.

I’ve got some exciting reading to do this week!

I’ve had a undergrad come to the writing center a couple times for a research paper and working with her is like looking in a mirror at my undergrad self. It is the most bizarre and profoundly rewarding experience to pay it forward and help someone in almost the exact same way my mentors helped me

As fried and frazzled as I am, the writing center appointments I’ve had today have been so uplifting. I am so happy to be the person to give that extra boost of confidence to these graduate and undergraduate writers. Ugh this is why I love writing centers!

I am fully booked for the writing center this week. I also have a big fellowship application due Friday. Thanksgiving break was deeply needed, but man, I’ve been pushed right back into the thick of it 😭

CFP: Ireland and the American Revolution 250. The organisers invite submissions for papers to be presented at a symposium held at Trinity College Dublin in October 2025. If you are interested submit an abstract of 250 words and a brief bio by the 1 May 2025. Please share widely.

Just finished the first draft of my very first dissertation chapter! (It’s actually chapter 2, but you know what I mean). For the first time the dissertation feels like something tangible and real and that makes me SO excited!

I’m glad I’m not in the trenches alone!

I totally do that too! I typed out “neighbours” instead of “neighbors” just last night.