Adam Murphy
  • Political Science/ History and Social Science
  • Class of 2018
  • Meriden, CT

Eastern Student Adam Murphy of Meriden Presents Research at NEHA Conference

2017 Nov 20

Eastern Connecticut State University recently hosted the New England Historical Association's (NEHA) 99th Annual Fall Conference. A number of Eastern History Department faculty moderated or presented research at the event.

Eastern student Adam Murphy '18 of Meriden also presented his research project titled "A Professor's Experience in Indonesia: Examining the Partnership Between University of Kentucky and Bogor Agricultural College, 1957-1966." Murphy majors in Political Science and History and Social Science; he also has a minor in Asian Studies.

The NEHA is a regional affiliate of the American Historical Association and includes approximately 450 scholars who are employed in various positions related to history. It promotes scholarly interchange and seeks to enhance teaching and scholarship in history.While most of its members are college and university faculty, active participants also include graduate students, independent scholars, preservationists and museum-based scholars, historical society administrators and secondary school faculty.

This past summer Murphy also received a United States-Indonesian Society Summer Fellowship to study language in Indonesia for ten weeks. "I became fascinated with the country of Indonesia and wanted to engage in an interesting way to study United States-Indonesian relations. I picked my topic because the theme of the seminar was looking at the development of technology in Asia, so focusing on the university gave me a unique perspective in terms of exploring how science, research and education were developed after the Indonesian Revolution," said Murphy.

"Through my research I learned that I genuinely enjoy conducting research. It is exhilarating to be one of the first people to read an uncovered source and documents that have been on a shelf for 50-plus years," Murphy added.

"I have applied to present my project at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Oklahoma. I will likely also apply to present the project at the CSU Making History Conference. I enjoy opportunities to present my research findings -- some of the best constructive criticisms emerge from dialogue at these conferences."

He has also completed internships at Eastern's Pride Center and with Katerva, a nongovernmental organization that awards sustainable startups. At Katerva he researched background information about organizations that create sustainable products that assist poor communities.

He is currently working on a project in Political Science that measures levels of trust in government among college-aged individuals and doing an independent study on agrarian literature.

After graduation Murphy plans to pursue graduate school in order to further his studies. He also plans to study public policy to better research and understand methods for improving relations between the United States and southeastern Asian countries.