Matthew Hershey

My primary research interests are the First World War and the socio-cultural underpinnings of mass violence. I am currently writing a dissertation about suicide and self-destruction in Germany from 1914-1918 and their relations to concepts of sacrifice and duty, particularly among soldiers, titled 'Inclination toward Death: Suicide and Sacrifice in First World War Germany.' Some of my past work has explored the dynamics of German nationalism among intellectuals from 1914-1924, the relations between war culture and imperial culture on the British home front, and the conceptual history of Britain's mass internment of foreign civilians between 1914 and 1916. 

Fields of Study

• 20th Century Germany and Europe
• Violence and Warfare
• Cultural and Social History