Welcome to my homepage. I am a historian of modern Britain and the British Empire. After receiving my BA in history from Cornell University, I worked for History Associates Incorporated and then attended graduate school at Duke University. In 2000, I received my PhD and joined the faculty at the University of Florida in Gainesville. I teach courses in modern British, Irish, imperial, and world history, as well as the History Practicum and seminars at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
My first book is about the relationship between Freemasonry and British imperialism. It's called Builders of Empire, and it examines the themes of globalization, identities, imperial power, fraternalism, and masculinity. Since publishing this book, I have written many additional pieces on Freemasonry and given several interviews (see Freemasonry link above).
I am currently working on two new projects. The first is a study of the Catholic question in the British Empire, focusing on the period after the Seven Years War when several colonies with significant numbers of Catholics were ceded to Britain by France and Spain. I am examing attitudes and policies toward Catholics both in the empire and the British Isles. The second project looks at for-profit "peopling" schemes, including efforts to bring Irish Protestants to Nova Scotia, Minorcans and Italians to British East Florida, and Scottish Highlanders to Manitoba during Britain first "age of global empire."
Contact information: (352) 273-3382 |
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Spring 2010 courses: Spring 2010 office hours |