With my current interests in media studies and being impacted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, I became interested to explore the communicative methods used within the environments of far-right, authoritarian regimes. My project 'The Dominance of Collective Mystical Thinking Within the Rise of Far-Right Politics' will delve into the performance of authoritarian governance based on magical practices, involving interaction based on set of rituals and symbolic elements that aims to distance individuals from objective reality and involve them into specific collective imaginary.  The research will focus on communicative applications, particularly looking into speech structure and non-verbal elements (context, gestures, media tools). It will analyse the online materials to understand the communicative patterns used between participants, contributing to the greater understanding of the authoritarian structure and its potentials for social control, and finding pathways for its resistance.  --- I'm incoming third year Film and Anthropology student, being interested in documentary and video-essay form. I have extensive background in cinematography and commercial videography, with passion of story making and telling.  I am interested to communicate and expand my knowledge, share my experience, especially if you are working with similar topics of Magic, Political Power, War, Displacement, Media and Communication

Hello! I’m Henry, a second-year student at the University of St Andrews. Originally from Lancashire, I moved to Scotland in 2023 to pursue an undergraduate degree in modern history. Now entering my third year, my interests primarily revolve around late modernity, covering themes of empire, oppression, and propaganda.                   For my Laidlaw research, I am focusing on youth targeted propaganda in Nazi Germany. Specifically, I am analysing the techniques used in the children’s literature of the Third Reich to skew the youth’s morality, comparing this to themes found in the contemporary U.S.. With the recent resurgence of far-right politics, I feel it is crucial to analyse the means and manner of indoctrination, particularly those centred on the youth.                    I look forward to connecting with you all and reading about your projects!

School of Classics President | Laidlaw Scholar | Foreign Affairs Review Analyst | 4x State Department Intern

Hi! I am a 4th year undergraduate scholar at Trinity College Dublin studying Global Business, and I am currently on my study abroad in ESCP Paris. My research project centres on the importance of female leaders from ethnic minorities in the business C-suite & the necessity for better racial and gender diversity on executive boards worldwide.  I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing new things on this journey!

My research is about the relationships between Indigenous Christians, the British Government, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and non-Christian indigenous peoples and how these relationships, desire for land, and Christian beliefs led to the expulsion, murder, and resettlement of Indigenous Christians in 1675-6.

Researching climate finance in Scotland - How to Fix the Hurdles that Prevent Funds from Reaching Net-Zero Housing Projects?  Studying economics with a concentration in finance. 

Hi everyone! I am a second-year at the University of St Andrews studying Modern History and International Relations. My project investigates the intersection between the performing arts and the Esperanto movement, focusing on how the performing arts were (and continue to be) used to grow and enrich Esperantujo. 

Physics undergraduate at the University of St Andrews.

Hi everyone! My name is Lilah and I am going into my fourth year at the University of Toronto studying Economics and International Relations. I am deeply passionate about climate justice, and am particularly interested in exploring how public policy can be used to mitigate the climate crisis.

Sustainable Development student at the University of St Andrews (Class of 2024) and UWC Alumna. My research focuses on exploring pathways to sustainability in the fashion industry, assessing the potential of circular economy models and thinking to address the unsustainability of current production and consumption patterns. 

I am currently at the University of St Andrews studying towards a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Neuroscience. I am committed to increasing my knowledge of the brain and its function, with a particular interest in neurodegenerative disease research. As such, my Laidlaw research project will explore the potential of neurochondrin as a therapeutic target for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and other Motor Neurone Diseases.

Hi there! My name is Finn Smyth and I am a final year student in Modern History at the University of St Andrews. For the Laidlaw programme my research focused on how Left political organisations across Scotland have performed, organizationally and ideologically, since devolution. I am also interested in modern political economy, and the emergence of modern political communications strategies and how they have been used in political campaigns since the 1980s.  My dissertation this year focuses on the modernisation of the Labour Party in the 1980s, and among recent projects I have been awarded grant funding to research the rise of populism in Europe alongside colleagues at Charles University, Prague.  

Hi I'm a Student at St Andrews, investigating the role of Russian Emigres in opinion making within the UK, both in the victorian era and today