Biography

Kathleen McCrudden Illert is an intellectual and cultural historian specialising in the political thought of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. She is interested in exploring the thought and political activities of those who are underrepresented in traditional philosophical canons, particularly women, and in developing new methodologies to better equip historians in this endeavour.

Kathleen was awarded her Ph.D. in 2021 by Yale University. She also holds an M.Phil. and B.A. from the University of Cambridge. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the ideas, politics, and cultural pursuits of Sophie de Grouchy (1763-1822) during the French Revolution and Napoleonic era. Kathleen argued that re-inserting Grouchy into the landscape of Revolutionary ideas ̶ where Grouchy played an important contemporary role ̶ has a considerable impact on our view of the historical development of Liberalism. Kathleen was a recipient of the Hans Gatzke Prize for an outstanding dissertation in European history, as well as numerous other research awards, including from the Fondation Napoléon and Royal Irish Academy.

As a Max Weber Fellow, Kathleen will revise and publish her dissertation as a monograph. She also intends to publish, in French and English, a ‘Collected Works’ of Grouchy, based on hitherto unattributed texts written by Grouchy.

Expertise for Teaching and Mentoring of Ph.D. Researchers
Kathleen has taught undergraduates in seminar and supervision settings at Cambridge and Yale. Courses include: History of Political Thought 1700-1890; Revolutionary France, 1789-1871; and American Revolution.

Mentor

• Glenda Sluga

Mentor

• Nicolas Guilhot

Recent research output

• MCCRUDDEN ILLERT, Kathleen (2022), Judging a declaration : Condorcet, rights and the general will in 1789, Article