Return to Sender: The Post Post-Partition in Ireland
Columbia University
Eligibility
Undergraduate Only
Accepts Applications Until
Dec 20, 2025
Project Duration
Flexible
Description
This project will explore the impact of losing local post offices on Irish communities’ short and long-term social capital development. In early 20th-century Ireland, post offices played a vital role in the identity of Irish communities. Postmasters and postmistresses served as founts of local knowledge, registered pensions, and transferred information between communities. The Post Office’s significance was acknowledged: “…the Department [Post Office] in all its operations is more closely connected with the interests, accommodations, and personal feelings of every class of his Majesty’s subjects, than any other branch of the state” (Papers relating to the Post Office 1834, p. 9, H.C. 1834 [48] xlix, 497). In 1921, an international border partitioned Ireland into two self-governing polities. This border bifurcated existing municipal boundaries, including those of post offices. Several border communities suddenly found themselves without their longstanding postal employees. Informally, some report feeling the repercussions of this loss today as a weakened sense of community identity.
Required Skills
This project is ideal for students interested in historical economics. The RA’s primary task will be to collect geographical data from digitized archival documents with care and precision. Geographic literacy, attention to detail, knowledge of Excel, and the ability to work with large datasets are required. Experience with GIS is an advantage.
Additional Information
Selected RAs will need to register for a Research Course. Students registered for research course GU4996 will receive either 1 or 2 college credits and be charged for those chosen credits (relevant only to students who pay by the credit). GS (General Studies) students have the option of participating in a research project at no cost by instead registering for GU4995 for 1 credit, for which they will not be billed. However, in the case of GU4995, the 1 credit may not be used to fulfill the minimum credit limit of a Columbia degree.
In both cases, students will receive a letter grade on their transcript for their work as an RA. However, in either case, research credit may not be used as a substitute for elective or seminar requirements in the major.