York PhD student publishes article in the Cold War History journal

Congratulations to Tom Shillam, a second year PhD student in the department, who has just had his first journal article published. 'Shattering the Looking-Glass World: The Congress for Cultural Freedom in South Asia, 1951-1955' is out in the latest issue of Cold War History.

This paper assesses the thought and philosophy of South Asian intellectuals affiliated to the CIA-funded Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF). The CCF’s founders – anti-communist European and American scholars – encouraged allies across several continents to establish 

magazines and organise conferences warning of the threats posed by ‘totalitarianism’ to free cultural expression. But South Asian members, more interested in postcolonial politics, used its resources to initiate transnational conversations about social change. Probing neglected local CCF magazines and seminar transcripts, the paper also constitutes an early intervention on intersections between the cultural Cold War and decolonisation among non-state actors in the region.

Tom is currently in New Delhi conducting fieldwork at the National Archives of India and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library towards his doctoral project: 'Socialism, Internationalism and Decolonisation in South Asia, c1947-1965'.