James J. Fortuna
Bio
My research focuses primarily on the twentieth century and is situated at the intersection of cultural and diplomatic history. I am especially interested in the architectural production of the interwar period and its relationship to the construction of national, ethnic, or civic identity in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the New Deal USA.
To date, my work has been supported by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), American Historical Association (AHA), Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), Transatlantic Studies Association (TSA), Italian Art Society (IAS), Association for the Study of Modern Italy (ASMI), the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (NERFC), and others.
I am a founding member of the Institute for the Study of International Expositions and always welcome proposals for collaborative research projects and public outreach opportunities.
You can read a bit more about my academic background and research interests here, here, or even here.
Education
PhD, University of St Andrews (2024)
MPhil, University of Cambridge (2018)
MPhil, Trinity College Dublin (2016)
BA, West Virginia University (2014)
I spent Candlemas 2020 as a doctoral exchange student at the European University Institute in Florence.
Employment
Before joining the Seminar für Zeitgeschichte in Tübingen, I was a visiting scholar at Columbia University. While in New York, I taught art history at the Cooper Union with the help of my friends at the NYC Chapter of the Living New Deal organization.
I also taught international relations in England before returning to Scotland on a lectureship in US history from 2024-25.
I occasionally still teach history and humanities electives (both online and in-person) at different community colleges in the United States. My research and teaching has taken me far from home over the years, so I do this to stay connected to the local communities that first believed in me. So far, over 4,000 Floridians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders have come through my classes – mostly unscathed!
If you'd like to see a full CV, please email me at fortunaj [at] tcd.ie.