Mary Elisabeth Cox DPhil
Bio
I am an Economic Historian based at the University of Oxford. My interests are in how food insecurity caused by warfare impacts civilian non-combatants, particularly women and children. I am also interested in how food aid can ameliorate the impacts of war and the use of anthropometric data to evaluate allegations of war crimes.
Previous Studies
I have studied the impact of food deprivation during the First World War on women and children in Germany. I have begun and intensive study of wartime food deprivation in Austria, and am now examining impacts of the war on neutral countries including Sweden.
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Anthropmetric data show a demonstrable improvement in the nutritional status of children as soon as food aid was shipped to German children after the armistice by the American Friends Service Committee, and Save the Children, as well as other charitable groups. This facilitates comparison of best practices in delivering and rationing food aid, with implications for administration of food aid today.
Employment
I am a William Golding Research Fellow in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Brasenose College, Oxford University and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow. I also serve as a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.