Galia Williams
Program: Ph.D. in History
Field of study: Eurasian History / Indigenous Studies
Advisor: Dr. T. David Curp
Degrees held: I finished my undergraduate studies in Russian Linguistics and International Economics in Russia and received M.A. degrees in International Affairs and History from Ohio University.
Research interests: My area of study is the history of Eurasia and of my ancestral Siberian homeland — Sakha Sire (Yakutia), in particular. For my dissertation, I am researching the 1879-1881 U.S. Arctic Expedition, commonly known as the Jeannette Expedition. It was an epic undertaking, led by USN Lieutenant George De Long, to reach the North Pole. My research focuses on the encounter between the stranded sailors of the Jeannette and the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, including the Sakha.
Recent accomplishments:
Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program in Indigenous Settler Relations, The Australian Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia, February-December 2025
Presentation titled “Feodora Kornilova, First Lady of Hungary and First Sakha Ceramicist” at the 17th International Conference of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF), University of Aberdeen, Scotland, June 2025
Presentation titled “The Jeanette Expedition (1879–1881): A Case Study of Survival and Survivance in the Arctic” at the 8th International Symposium on Arctic Research (ISAR-8), Tokyo, Japan, October 2025
Presentation titled “The Jeannette Expedition (1879–1881): The Indigenous Perspective” at the Oceanic and Maritime History Workshop, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, UK, November 2025
Photo credit: Holly Ittel