Aldri Cela
Prior to embarking on the PhD in History in Cambridge, I have gained a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree cum laude in Philosophy at the University of Milan. Thanks to the generosity of the Gates Cambridge Trust and of the Open-Oxford-Cambridge, I was then able to begin my doctoral research under the supervision of professor Annabel Brett.
Co-Convenor Cambridge Graduate Workshop in Political Thought and Intellectual History 2021/22
As an Albanian immigrant in Italy, I have grown a strong understanding of the importance of building bridges between different cultures and the powerful impact that a correct comprehension of historical events has on the world today. This personal experience was then enhanced by my permanence over the course of six months as an international civil servant at the orphanage Kituo cha Watoto Tumaini in Ilunda, Tanzania. I have a strong belief that these elements of my life have led me to the decision of dedicating my intellectual endeavours to enlighten the historical event that I consider essential for better understanding many of the challenges that we need to address today regarding cultural confrontation and religious tolerance, i.e. the encounter between Europeans and the Native Americans in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The goal of my PhD program consists in investigating this event - the greatest encounter in the history of mankind - and analyzing the questions it prompts concerning topics such as human rights and cultural and religious confrontation. Furthermore, I am vastly interested in the history of medieval thought and in the religious history of the later Middle Ages.