2017 History Hello! I’m Fred, and I’ll be travelling to North America this summer after studying for an Mst in Global and Imperial History, focussing on the emergence of a national identity in Southern Sudan. I’ve had a hugely rewarding four years at Balliol. Highlights include serving as the Lindsay Bar manager for a year, which for some reason I don’t remember as clearly as I should, as well as writing a few satirical musicals, with fellow students and college staff proving to be inspiring material. Whilst in North America I want to investigate the tradition of American satire, looking at humourist writers rather than stand-up comedians. I want to follow the earlier rural world of Twain through to the urban cynicism of the likes of Lebowitz and Rakoff. I want to see how older satires, such as George Ade’s Stories of the Streets and of the Town, a description of Chicago in the 1930s, compares to what can be satirised about the city today. I want to see how the America I’ve read through the eyes of Bill Bryson and David Sedaris stacks up in reality. In short, there’s a lot I want to do, and I’m excited for the opportunity to dive head first into it, meeting old members along the way.