Dr. Samuel Martland teaches history and Latin American Studies. He is an expert in 19th- and 20th-century Latin America, Chilean history, urban history, and the history of technology. Dr. Martland used his expertise and extensive knowledge of Valparaiso, Chile, to provide historical context to a devastating 2014 fire in the city that destroyed 2,900 homes. One of his most popular classes is one examining the topic Disasters and Modern Society. His research continues to focus on urban issues in 19th- and 20th-century Latin American cities. Dr. Martland also coordinates Rose-Hulman͛s student Fulbright program.
Academic Degrees
- AB, Harvard College, 1996
- AM, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1998
- PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003
Awards & Honors
Publications & Presentations
- Constructing Valparaíso: Technology, Municipal Government, and the State, 1820-1920, Colección Sociedad y Cultura, Santiago: Centro Barros Arana, Dirección de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museos, late 2016
- “Standardizing the State While Integrating the Frontier: The Chilean Telegraph System in the Araucanía, 1870-1900,” History and Technology 30, Issue 4, 283-308, 2015
- “Building Paris, Hoping to Get France: La Plata, the New Capital of the Province of Buenos Aires in the 1880s,” Urban History Association Conference, Philadelphia, 2014
- “Las Ciudades y el Fuego en el Siglo XIX: Contexto Santiaguino y Mundial del Incendio de la Compañía,” Jornada de Historia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, 2013
- “Santiago Visto Desde un Acontecimiento: A 150 Años del Incendio de la Iglesia de La Compañía,” Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, 2013
- “Work They are Called to Because of their Tranquil Habits: Women Operators in the Chilean State Telegraph System, 1870-1900,” Midwest Latin American History Conference, Chicago, 2013
- “Taming Fire in Valparaíso, 1840s-1870s,” Flammable Cities: Urban Conflagration and the Making of the Modern World, University of Wisconsin Press, 63-81, 2012
- Martland, S. and Ibarra, M., “Professionals, Politicians, and the State: The Role of Experts in Education and Communication in Progress and Modernization in Chile, 1860-1900,” Latin American Studies Association Conference, San Francisco, 2012
- “Social and Political Fault Lines: The Valparaíso Earthquake of 16 August 1906,” When the Earth Moves: Earthquakes and Popular Politics in Latin America, University of New Mexico Press, 70-99, 2009
- “Trade, Progress, and Patriotism: Defining Valparaíso, Chile, 1818-1875,” Journal of Urban History 35:1, 53-74, 2008
Research Experiences
- Communication and transportation systems and the development of the modern state
- State and society in 19th Century Chile
- Urban politics, national identity, and the idea of progress in Chilean and Argentine cities, 1820-1920
Teaching Interests
- Latin America
- Urban history
- History of technology and society
- World and global history