Jessica Forsee is a 20-something historian who graduated from Georgia Southern University’s Public History program in 2021 and currently works at her dream job as a U.S. military historian.
Jessica’s origins in history began like many others: with the books and loads of questions. These questions grew alongside larger discussions with friends on the evolution of human rights policies in the domestic and foreign theaters during her formative school years. She was raised all around the continental U.S. while observing her dad’s dynamic military career. She came into college a declared History and Religious Studies major then shifted to History and Political Science, after watching in envy while her future husband enjoyed his policy making classes.
It was a hike up Table Mountain in Cape Town in the Summer of 2017 (see above photo), where she sat among the clouds and decided to finally centered her historical research in US-African relations during her undergraduate education.
Her research passions are primarily in U.S. foreign policy with southern Africa in the 1980s and the role of public actors on U.S. policy. You can find her MA thesis (Spring 2021) on Ronald Reagan’s policy of constructive engagement here and her BA thesis (Spring 2019) on US response to the South African atrocities of Sharpeville and Soweto here.
While in graduate school, Jessica pursued a dual track of thesis and non-thesis public history studies because “without the public, history would lose all sense of self” as one of her professors once said. For her thesis, she analyzed US-Southern African relations from the perspective of non-state actors and activists. Her non-thesis public history project truly went nuclear – studying and interning at the Savannah River Site Museum to curate an exhibit on Cold War nuclear plant workers previously left out from the narrative. Copies of her non-thesis public history report are available upon request.
Her definition of ‘history’ is one centered on the introspective exercise into the past to uncover how we can create a better future. The study of the people and how their decisions shape the political, military, and physical environment remain a cornerstone for her study of history.
When she is not researching, reading, or rambling, she enjoys time with her family, running & practicing yoga, and eating Taco Bell on the beach.
These posts do not represent the institutions Jessica works with or for.
A recent resume is available upon request.
Forsee the Past 