Bridgewater University recently highlighted the work of department of History and Political Science Chair Brandon Marsh as a respected author and passionate educator.
“We live in a globalized world, and it is
important that Bridgewater students gain a clear historical context and
background for crucial regions like India or the Middle East,” Marsh said. “My
scholarship and what I’m doing in the classroom are hard to separate. They
really reinforce one another…My strength in the classroom is my enthusiasm, and
students pick up on the fact that this is something I deeply care about.”
Marsh’s area of focus is the British Empire in India and Central Asia, which served as the focus of his 2015 book, "Ramparts of Empire: British Imperialism and India’s Afghan Frontier, 1918-1948."
In his work with students, he tries to foster enthusiasm for learning and a larger understanding of the complicated nature of political relations.
“I think that one of the big takeaways I
want to leave my students with is that the world is a complicated place,” Marsh said.
“Simple answers are rarely the best answers. They may be in the short term, but
in the long term, simple answers often engender bigger problems. And there’s
almost always more than one answer to any question or any problem. So I try to
teach my students that the best we can do is to try and learn as much as we can
about the world around us and tackle our problems with the tools of knowledge
and self-awareness.”