Klaire MasonUndergraduate Humanities Honors Fellow

Klaire Mason is a double major in history and creative writing.

She is very interested in contemporary Russian history, with specific focus on Vladimir Putin. Klaire’s honors research will focus on opposition and repression leading up to Putin's election to a third term and how it changed Russia’s trajectory from an illiberal democracy to an authoritarian one. She will attempt to address questions posed by experts in the field such as: How does Putin's third term as president of Russia serve as a catalyst for the country's transition towards authoritarianism despite widespread public discontent? Why did Russia – and Putin – take the path they did and where the country will go from there? Also, as an avid traveler who has visited 42 countries, she has combined her love of history and creative writing into four children’s historical fiction chapter books. She completed her fifth book over the summer with the support of the Loren & Gail Starr award focused on the fall of the Berlin wall from the perspective of a Soviet family who moved to East Berlin. As a creative writing major, she has also helped establish and direct Emory’s creative writing open mic night. She is excited to be the arts ambassador for the Creative Writing program (2024-25).