معرفی
M.K. Williams holds the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Groningen’s Faculty of Arts, Department of History. Her research focuses on early modern diplomacy, paper’s role in statecraft, and medical humanities. She leads the Paper Princes project (NWO-VENI funded, 2012–2017), exploring paper’s impact on diplomatic practices. Key roles include Coordinator of the International Track in History and membership in exam boards.
Education: BA in International Relations (Grinnell College, 2000), MA (Columbia University, 2002), and PhD in Early Modern European History (Columbia, 2009). Postdoctoral fellowships include the Italian Academy for Advanced Study and ACLS-Mellon Early Career Fellowship.
Research Interests: Interdisciplinary approaches to diplomatic history, material culture of paper, transnational networks, and medical history (e.g., gout in early modern diplomacy). Recent projects include a 2017 museum exhibition Paper Unfolding and a 2016 conference Politics of Paper.
Awards/Grants: NWO-VENI, Whiting, Mellon, Fulbright-Hays, and ACLS-Mellon fellowships. Received a Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds grant for digitizing exhibition materials.
Teaching/Supervision: Supervises PhD candidates Frank Birkenholz (Dutch East India Company paper use) and Dannielle Shaw (English intelligencers in Central Europe). Teaches courses integrating research into early modern diplomatic practices and paper’s historical role.
Labs/Initiatives: Founded the Paper Princes Student Assistantship Program, engaging students in research and exhibition curation. Active in the Faculty’s International Classroom Working Group.
