Marc Reyes, a University of Missouri history grad and current PhD candidate at the University of Connecticut, is working on a dissertation on the history of India’s atomic energy and nuclear weapons program. The scholar recently shared his thoughts about the Department of History, his education at Mizzou, how his degree led to success, his dissertation, and much more. He spent a year in India (2018-2019) with his wife, Libby, and returned to the area – Kansas City – for the birth of his son, Henry, born in 2020. He is also a Fulbright recipient and editor and co-founder of Contingent Magazine.

History Department: When did you graduate from MU and what degree did you acquire?

Reyes: I graduated in 2006 with a BA in History. I got my Master’s from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in 2014 and am finishing up my PhD at the University of Connecticut (he’s been in the program since 2014), also in History. So, I am a history major all the way from beginning to end.

History Department: You live in Kansas City, no? How are you finishing your PhD program long-distance?

Reyes: I lived in Connecticut for the first four years of my program, and then spent two years either in India or doing other international research. I teach online – whether it’s an asynchronous or synchronous course. I am teaching a synchronous class now. So, I’ve been teaching online since the fall of 2020. Last fall, I taught in a different department than history: I taught in a digital media and design department. It’s nice to be able to live back here, but still teach for UConn. They’ve been pretty flexible.

History Department: What were some of the most important concepts you learned while taking history classes?

Reyes: Probably the first one was that I learned that there’s the primary source – the source we’re looking at. But I learned of this larger field, historiography – what historians write about history.  This is largely about conjecture: what a new historian says based on new evidence, how historians talk, how they argue, how they have conversations with each other. It’s a long-running debate on what this or that means.

The first two years of history courses at Mizzou entailed learning what historians do. The second half was doing the work of history: writing, looking at primary sources and analyzing them, then interpreting them myself – you are actually doing the work of a historian. You learn what historians do and how they do it. Maybe at the time I wasn’t completely aware that’s what I was doing, but as someone who has been doing this teaching/research for a while, I try to instill some of that in the courses I teach. I have come to realize how much of that I actually learned at Mizzou.

History Department:  Would you recommend the MU Department of History to other students? Why or why not?

Reyes: I would definitely recommend the department. I would recommend it to people who are interested in history and want to major in it, and also to those who maybe need a GenEd requirement or didn’t have a great experience in high school. I would say Mizzou is different. I never had a bad encounter with the professors.

There was also a great variety of interesting courses, and the faculty was knowledgeable and approachable, but also really friendly. I remember John Frymire hosted us at a big cookout in his backyard. He grilled, introduced us to his family. It was one of those things where you know they do that in grad school, but we got to do it as undergrads. You just felt like you were part of the community of historians.

History Department: What have you done since your graduation? How did your education help with your successes?

Reyes: I’ve had two different careers. After I graduated, I worked as an auditor for a couple different Kansas City businesses. So, I didn’t immediately go to grad school. I wasn’t really sure when I was at Mizzou whether I wanted to teach or how I wanted to continue with history. But it certainly prepared me in meeting deadlines and being accountable for your work. I had to do a lot of different report writing and I had to give presentations. So, the skills I learned, not just through history but through different humanities courses, prepared me for the workforce in terms of communicating and writing, and certainly doing my part for the organization I worked for.

I did that for about five years, and then went to grad school. I don’t come from an academic family or know many people with post-graduate careers. But I felt Mizzou prepared me well for when I went to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The combination of those two schools really prepared me well for when I went to UConn. I would recommend Mizzou to students as a great place for intellectual growth.

History Department: What advice do you have for other students who may be considering a history degree or who are already in our program as they advance to master’s or PhD degrees?

Reyes:  I would say think about what you want to do with that degree. Do you want to teach? Do you want to work in a museum? Do you want to work in an archive? Do you want to work in a library? There are lots of jobs historians do that do not require a PhD. You may need a Master’s or something else, but not a PhD.

Also, when you go to apply for advanced degrees, make sure there are a lot of good people for you to work with. You don’t want to go to a place that has just one faculty member you can work with. Find a place that has a decent amount of faculty to work with, enough to create a future exam or dissertation committee.

There are lots of rewarding pathways to meaningful work. Just be open to any type of future history position. Find something that’s interesting and meaningful and challenging to you.

History Department: So, what’s next for you? What do you have planned for after graduation?

Reyes: I’m going to finish my dissertation and find a full-time job. I haven’t applied for a permanent teaching position, though I have looked at some jobs. There is a postdoctoral fellowship I want to apply for this year. I’m really open to whatever the future holds, and if I can continue to work with students and to teach in some fashion, I think that’s all I’m looking for.

Also, there’s an article I’m trying to finish based on my master’s thesis about the politics of gratitude and U.S. food aid to India. And once I finish my dissertation, I’d love to turn that into a book.