Julia Irwin

My research focuses on the place of humanitarianism and foreign assistance in 20th century U.S. foreign relations and international history. My first book, Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening, was published in 2013 by Oxford University Press. A history of U.S. relief efforts for foreign civilians in the era of the First World War, my book analyzes both the diplomatic and the cultural significance of humanitarian aid in these years. My second monograph, Catastrophic Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century, will be published in 2023 by the University of North Carolina Press. This book examines how the U.S. government, the U.S. military, and the American voluntary sector responded to disasters in other nations and empires across the 20th century, with a focus on humanitarian emergencies caused by tropical storms, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards. In addition to narrating the history of these humanitarian relief efforts, my book analyzes the use of foreign disaster assistance as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy. In addition to my books, I have published more than a dozen articles on the histories of 20th century U.S. and international humanitarianism and foreign assistance, focusing particularly on civilian aid during the First World War era and on global disaster assistance in the 20th century.