Kelly O'Neill is a historian of the Russian Empire and an advocate of spatial history. She teaches, conducts training workshops, and regularly presents her research to audiences ranging from high school students to colleagues at academic institutions around the world. Kelly holds both a Ph.D. in history and a master's in regional studies from Harvard, the latter from our REECA Program where she now serves as director of graduate studies.
Her book, Claiming Crimea: A History of Catherine the Great's Southern Empire, reconstructs the incorporation of the peoples, places, and institutions of the Crimean Khanate (a predominantly Muslim state conquered by Catherine II in 1783) into the Russian imperial system. The book challenges the binary terms in which imperial rule has traditionally been understood - i.e., the language of center and periphery - and reveals a more complex and more flexible spatial framework. Her work on Crimea has engendered a deep and abiding interest in the Black Sea world, leading her to projects on the slave trade, wine industry, and maritime trade.
Dr. O'Neill directs the Imperiia Project at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Through this project, in collaboration with colleagues and students, she integrates history, geographic information science, and cartography. Her team produces a digital magazine and podcast along with an ever-expanding database for spatial research.