My work focuses on the political and cultural factors that form shape global interactions during the Cold War. As such my dissertation, “The Hungarian Crisis: Diaspora, Refugees, and US Cold War Politics” looks at how diaspora participated in a global Cold War. By examining the response of the Hungarian American community to the resettlement of Hungarian refugees we can see how Hungarians were both the recipients of a global relief effort and were key contributors to the success of those efforts. Moreover, the work of Hungarian diaspora institutions reveals how a global event can simultaneously be a local event.
Before starting at Baylor, I worked for over a decade in information technology and information security. During that time, I was also blessed to serve as an adjunct instructor for two years at different institutions. That experience convinced me that I wanted to pursue an academic career. As result of these experiences, I have a strong interest in digital humanities, the value of history, and in the theory and method of teaching history. My wife and I enjoy travelling and have several horses, dogs, and cats.
In 2023-2024, I lived in Hungary on a Fulbright US Student grant working on a digital history project, “The Post-1956 Refugee Crisis and Hungarian Émigré Communities During the Cold War,” that aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive examination of the migration and subsequent fate of some two hundred thousand people who left Hungary in 1956/57 as a result of the Soviet invasion. More information is available on the project website: https://emigracio.abtk.hu/en/
Additionally, I am currently serving as a Graduate Student Co-Representative to the Conference on Faith and History Board. If you have questions or suggestions about CFH and how it serves its graduate student members please let me know.
Patrick C. Leech 