Hannah Early Bagdanov is a PhD student in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Methodology. Hannah specializes in Middle East politics, and her current work focuses on governance in areas of conflict over sovereignty and self-determination. Specifically, she hopes to write her dissertation on governance in East Jerusalem,
an area whose status is contested under international law and remains a lynchpin in (eventual) peace negotiations. Hannah is also interested in religion and politics, and the political preferences of minority groups. Hannah has a BA from Westmont College in Political Science, and as a part of her undergraduate degree she studied abroad in Turkey, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine. This experience sparked her interest in Middle East Politics and she is an avid proponent of studying abroad during college–ask her about it! After graduating Hannah worked as a program manager for a county-level grant project that aimed to provide social services to survivors of sexual exploitation in California. Following this position, Hannah moved to Israel/Palestine where she studied Arabic and worked as a research assistant. Between trips back and forth to Jerusalem, Hannah enjoys reading novels written by authors from around the world, rowing, and camping. When it’s too cold to row or to camp Hannah enjoys cross-country skiing, cooking, and going back to California to escape the cold.
Samuel Piccolo is a PhD student in Political Theory and International Relations, interested in the idea of guilt in political thought.
This research allows him to engage with film and literature—his true passion being tall tales and long tangents. Before Notre Dame, he (ie. I, since I’m only pretending not to write this) worked as the cub reporter and senior correspondent for a small-town newspaper, where I wrote about everything from local political scandals to toothless bus-drivers. I like travelling by car or bicycle, and typically stop at every novelty attraction possible. I am pictured here at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO.