William O'Brien
Office Assistant, Dean's Office - Graduate School
Specializations
20th Century, Empires, Intellectual, Modern, Political, Religious
Geographies
Africa and the Middle East, Asia
Biography
Will O’Brien is a Ph.D. student in the joint Peace Studies and History program within the Department of History and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He holds an M.A. in History from Notre Dame, an M.A. in Religion in Global Politics from SOAS, University of London, and a B.A. in Religion with a minor in Arabic from the University of Rochester.
Previously, O'Brien worked in foreign policy and international development in Washington, DC; London, England; and Cairo, Egypt. In his most recent roles, he served as a speech writer, research assistant, and executive assistant for senior leaders at the Atlantic Council and the United States Institute of Peace.
O’Brien’s doctoral research blends religious, political, and economic history to investigate the formation of the Libyan royal family and Libya’s experience of violent conflict, colonialism, and development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
O'Brien is a Notre Dame Presidential Fellow, a juggler, and a banjo player.