Derek R. Peterson (born May 13, 1971) is an American historian specializing in the

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. He is currently a professor of history and African studies at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He was the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" in 2017.

Education and career

Born May 13, 1971, Peterson is from Maine, New York and attended Maine–Endwell High School. He studied history and political science at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

, graduating in 1993. His interest in African studies was sparked by a trip to Kenya in his sophomore year, and at Rochester he studied under African scholars Elias Mandala and

Sam Nolutshungu Samuel Clement Nolutshungu (15 April 1945 – 12 August 1997) was one of the foremost South African scholars, and an internationally acclaimed expert on South African politics. Born in King William's Town in 1945, he studied first in the Lo ...

. After graduating, he was awarded a

Fulbright grant The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

to study in Kenya for a year. He then went on to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, studying with Allen Isaacman, and obtained his PhD in 2000. Peterson taught at the College of New Jersey between 2000 and 2004. Between 2004 and 2009 he was the director of Centre for African Studies at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he edited a series of monographs on African studies, and initiated an academic exchange programme between Cambridge and universities in Africa. He took a position at the

in 2009, joining its newly founded African Studies Center (ASC). Peterson has been a visiting fellow at the University of Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute, was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 2016, and was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 2016. He won the African Studies Association's 2013 Hersokovits Prize for his book ''Ethnic Patriotism and the East African Revival''.

Selected publications

Monographs

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Edited volumes

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References

External links

Personal website

Lists of research output
from the University of Michigan
Interview
with the ''American Historical Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Derek 1971 births Living people 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers People from Broome County, New York University of Rochester alumni University of Minnesota alumni The College of New Jersey faculty Academics of the University of Cambridge Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge University of Michigan faculty Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy MacArthur Fellows Historians of Africa Cultural historians Historians from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers