He holds a Ph.D. in modern European history from the University of California- San Diego. His research concerns military culture and political violence in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Spain. His dissertation, “Honor Bound: The Military Culture of the Civil Guard and the Political Violence of the Spanish Second Republic, 1931-1936,” explored how the military culture of Spain’s gendarmerie, the Civil Guard, contributed to making it the most violent profession of the Second Republic period that immediately preceded the Civil War. He has been the recipient of J. William Fulbright and Harry Frank Guggenheim Fellowships. Outside of academia, Foster enjoys surfing, hiking, camping, travelling and drinking craft beer. His personal website is fchamberlin.weebly.com.