Simon Judkins
Biography
Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, I have nevertheless long been fascinated with American politics, society, and history. Despite this fascination my path to the academy was not linear. Trained as an Italian pizzaiolo, for nearly a decade I worked in restaurants and travelled around the world. When I returned to University in 2010 I did so with a determination to devote my life to the study of history, and to work towards an academic career teaching and writing about the past. That determination has now brought me here to USC.
Education
- M.A. History, Victoria University of Wellington, 2014
- B.A. History, Victoria University of Wellington, 2012
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Research, Teaching, Practice, and Clinical Appointments
- Tutor (Teaching Assistant), Victoria University of Wellington, 2011-2012
- Research Assistant, Victoria University of Wellington, 2012-2013
- Tutor (Teaching Assistant), Victoria University of Wellington, 2012-2013
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Summary Statement of Research Interests
I am currently interested in the history of surveillance in the United States, and in California especially. This interest follows from the research done in my Master’s thesis on anti-communist and anti-labor surveillance in California during the 1930s.
Other interests include film and history, visual studies, environmental history, and labor history.
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Conference Presentations
- “Duelling Committees: 1930sCalifornian Surveillance Groups and their Legislative Allies”, European Social Science History Conference , 4/2014
- “San Diego’s Archivist-General: Ralph van Deman and right-wing political surveillance in 1930s Southern California”, New Historians Conference , 8/2012