In the course of one year, Buchanan had his first academic article published, conducted multiple symposium presentations, and completed two summer fellowships—the second hosted at the University of Chicago.

by Sarah Murphy

It’s been a busy year for senior history major Patrick Buchanan ’25.

What started as a curiosity towards Latin American history and passion for research has led to some of the most foundational, influential moments of his early academic career. 

In the last year alone, Buchanan—a Griffith Scholar and Presby First+ first generation student—had his first academic article published, conducted multiple symposium presentations, and completed two summer fellowships. His accomplishments are interdisciplinary in nature and continue to build upon one another, initially stemming from a Presbyterian College institutional research project Buchanan began the summer before his junior year.

In 2023, Buchanan was accepted to the PC Summer Fellows—a program designed to give students research experience with direct faculty mentoring. Buchanan was invited to work directly with Jaclyn Sumner, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the PC history department. Together they completed a research project on racial democracy in Brazil.

“I got my feet wet with research during this time, and I discovered my love for Brazilian history,” says Buchanan. “PC’s curriculum and the classes that I have been able to take as early as freshman year were all critical in getting me involved with research.” 

“As a Griffith scholar, I knew Patrick was bright,” says Sumner. “But, when I had him as a freshman in my History of Mexico class, that is when I knew Patrick had the capacity to do high-level research. Freshmen rarely take my upper level history classes because I have high expectations for them. Patrick wrote some of the best essays in the class, and this has been true for everything he has done with me since.”

Following his work with Sumner, Buchanan’s enthusiasm for his summer research inspired him to enroll in a seminar class on a related topic with Emily Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor of English and director of the PC Women’s & Gender Studies Program. The class, “English 3520: Postcolonial Literature and Film,” considers how postcolonial writers rewrite the stories of the colonizers. Buchanan’s final paper for the seminar—“Contesting the (Post) Colonial Master Narrative: Epistemology, Authority, and the Transfer to Nonauthor in J. M. Coetzee’s Foe”—was published in the Spring 2024 edition of “Process,” a Journal of Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Scholarship.

“It was a really good experience for my writing,” says Buchanan. “Dr. Taylor really opened my eyes to these different ideas I had in my head from my research with Dr. Sumner and my own readings. That’s really where this paper came from, finding the words and eloquence to say what I had been thinking.”

The momentum Buchanan had begun building wasn’t slowing down any time soon. 

Following his article publication, Buchanan presented his research at multiple symposiums, including the Presbyterian College Honors Day Symposium and the 20th annual S.C. Upstate Research Symposium.

As Buchanan set his sights on Summer 2024, he chose to apply to research fellowships for undergraduates to continue expanding his experience. He was accepted to The Leadership Alliance, a partnership of 23 institutions that leverages its collective resources to address the shortage of individuals from historically underrepresented groups in doctoral training programs, academia, and the broader research workforce. Through the prestigious Alliance, Buchanan was placed in a fellowship at the University of Chicago, working with Dain Borges, Ph.D. researching slavery, social relations, and control in late imperial Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil between 1869-1889.

“I didn’t just learn skills as a researcher and historian,” says Buchanan. “I was able to engage with so many other students who have similar experiences to me. I also learned a lot from the mentorship I received, including insights about how to navigate academia. It was a very good holistic experience, as was the article I published and my PC fellowship. It all builds upon one another.”

For more information about PC History and English, visit the department websites.