UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1286 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 1286

Submission ID: 21026

Submission UUID: abece1bc-4519-45f6-af7a-467db0aa78db

Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal

Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=fHO0_gfxdV81SVRBWhv88aSnSvGFvTdqihRDS-IQPEk

Created: Mon, 08/18/2025 - 07:11 PM

Completed: Mon, 08/18/2025 - 10:35 PM

Changed: Mon, 08/25/2025 - 11:41 AM

Remote IP address: 46.110.204.100

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal

Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal

Research Mentor Information

Primary Research Mentor Name George Williamson

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When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Dr.

Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) gwilliamson@fsu.edu

Position Title Faculty

FSU College (if applicable) Arts and Sciences

FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation History

Headshot (optional) George 2020 w beard.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)

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Overall Project Details

Title of the Project Political Violence in Germany after Napoleon (1815-1825)

Project Keywords History, Germany, Terrorism

Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes

Number of Research Assistants Needed 2

Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) History, German Studies, Political Science, but open to all majors

Project Location: On FSU Main Campus

If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? No, the project is remote

Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): Partially Remote

Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5-10

Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)

Overall Research Project Description This project contributes to a broader research project on the assassination of the German playwright August von Kotzebue (1761-1819) by the university student Carl Sand (1795-1820) and its effects on German cultural and political life. Sand's act of political violence had wide-ranging ramifications not just in Germany but throughout Europe. Some of those ramifications included a crackdown on political dissent, heightened censorship of the press, and greater supervision and surveillance of German universities (including the removal of professors deemed too radical). The purpose of this project is to trace the impact of both the assassination and the ensuing crackdown on public opinion (as reflected in journalism, pamphlets, letters, and diaries), as well as reactions by the many British diplomats who were posted in various parts of Germany in these years (their views are conveyed in the reports that these diplomats wrote and sent back to the Foreign Office in London). The years under investigation are from 1815, the year of Napoleon's defeat by the combined forces of Austria, Prussia, and Russia at the Battle of Leipzig, until 1825, a date that marks the ramping down of the first wave of repression against political radicals (or simply political opposition) in the German lands.

Research Tasks * I will need one or two individuals to go through the British Foreign Office reports. In the summer of 2024, I visited the National Archives in London and copied hundreds of these files. They are handwritten in fairly legible English and should not be difficult to decipher. I will provide researchers with a list of names and keywords to look out for when working through these documents.
* Ideally, I'd like to have one or more researchers who have a basic command of the German language. Those researchers will look for reactions to the assassination of Kotzebue (as well as events that immediately preceded and followed it) in the German-language press, much of which is now online and accessible from the United States.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: As mentioned above, working knowledge of the German language would be useful, but it is not required, since at least one half of the project involves mostly English-language sources. Interest in the field of history and, more specifically, German history in the nineteenth century, as well as curiosity about a famous act of political violence, would also be an asset. Before we get started on the research, I will make available two articles that I have published on the broad topic of the assassination of Kotzebue and its impact.

Mentoring Philosophy I look at UROP as an opportunity for students to become familiar with and, eventually, partners in the research process as it is carried out by historians engaged in original archival research. This involves bringing students up to speed regarding the key questions underlying a research project, the sources that will be used to answer those questions, and a sense of just what is at stake in the project as a whole. The project on the assassination of Kotzebue is, in part, a study of political violence, its origins, and its effects, but it also offers a window into an era and culture that was different from our own but also quite alike. As a mentor, I will attempt to match research tasks with the interests and preferences of my UROP students. As students demonstrate competence in one area, they will be given opportunities to explore other areas of the research. Along the way, I will provide help and advice regarding the work you are doing on the project, as well as your final UROP poster presentation.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): See below.

Please add any additional information here (if applicable): For those who are interested, background on the Kotzebue assassination and its impact can be found in these articles. I have a handout available that background information for the first article. If you'd like a copy of the handout (or of the articles) you can contact me directly at gwilliamson@fsu.edu
* George Williamson. "What Killed August von Kotzebue? The Temptations of Virtue and the Political Theology of German Nationalism, 1789-1819," Journal of Modern History 72:4 (2000), 890-943. [Accessible online via Strozier Libraries at this link: https://www-journals-uchicago-edu.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/doi/full/10.1086/318549]
* George Williamson. "Thought Is in Itself a Dangerous Operation": The Campaign Against 'Revolutionary Machinations' in Germany, 1819-1828," German Studies Review 38:2 , 285-306. [Accessible online via Strozier Libraries at this link: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/582108]

Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? Yes

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Roundtable Info

Day: Wednesday, September 3
Start Time: 3:00
End Time: 6:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/8576263967

UROP Program Elements

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes

UROP Performance Evaluation Yes

Materials Grant Yes

UROP Poster Presentation Yes

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Year 2025

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