Celeste Palmer
1st Place
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, 2024
I read sources in multiple languages, including English, French and Spanish. I used both online databases and physical archives in a foreign country to find primary sources. This meant that I had to learn how to do archival research fast in order to make my research trip to Paris productive.”
— Celeste Palmer
Mexican Fertility, Agricultural Regeneration, and French Informal Imperialism in Mexico, 1861-1867
Honors thesis in History
Project Description
Palmer examines the attitudes underpinning 19th-century French imperialism in Mexico, particularly the belief that the natural environment was fertile but had been “abandoned” by the indigenous population. In addition to the books and articles obtained through the UC Davis Library, Palmer conducted primary source research using digitized Mexican government archives and French government documents at the Archives National and the Archives des Affaires Étrangères à La Courneuve in Paris.
In Their Own Words
Read Celeste’s reflective essay from their Lang Prize application.