Cornell’s Department of History is beginning to offer more courses in and support research and engagement in public history, a growing field within the discipline but one that doesn’t have an agreed-upon definition. With the support of this fellowship, Kristin Roebuck is helping define what it means to do public history in general, on Japan and at Cornell.

Over the past year, Roebuck has taken her first steps toward public engagement beyond the classroom, helping create an NPR podcast and publishing an op-ed. Roebuck’s goal for public engagement in 2019-20 is to hone public writing expertise to publish a substantial magazine article or two shorter op-eds. Two ideas that Roebuck is exploring: a piece that details the rise of Japanese fascism and the lessons to be learned for liberal democracy today, and another piece with the working title “How Modern Women Lost the Battle of the Sexes.”