Jump to content

Derek R. Peterson

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Derek Peterson)

Derek R. Peterson (born May 13, 1971) is an American historian specializing in the cultural history of East Africa. He is currently a professor of history and African studies at the University of Michigan.[1]

He was the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" in 2017.[2][3][4][5][6]

Education and career

[edit]

Born May 13, 1971, Peterson is from Maine, New York and attended Maine–Endwell High School.[7] He studied history and political science at the University of Rochester, 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. After graduating, he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in Kenya for a year. He then went on to the University of Minnesota, studying with Allen Isaacman, and obtained his PhD in 2000.[8]

Peterson taught at the College of New Jersey between 2000 and 2004.[2] Between 2004 and 2009 he was the director of Centre for African Studies at the University of Cambridge,[9] where he edited a series of monographs on African studies,[10] and initiated an academic exchange programme between Cambridge and universities in Africa.[9] He took a position at the University of Michigan in 2009, joining its newly founded African Studies Center (ASC).[4]

Peterson has been a visiting fellow at the University of Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute,[11] was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2016,[12] and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016.[13] He won the African Studies Association's 2013 Hersokovits Prize for his book Ethnic Patriotism and the East African Revival.[14]

Selected publications

[edit]

Monographs

[edit]
  • Ethnic Patriotism and the East African Revival: A History of Dissent. Cambridge University Press. 2012.
  • Creative Writing: Translation, Bookkeeping, and the Work of Imagination in Colonial Kenya. Heinemann. 2004.

Edited volumes

[edit]
  • Peterson, Derek R.; Hunter, Emma; Newell, Stephanie, eds. (2016). African Print Cultures: Newspapers and their Publics in Modern Africa. University of Michigan Press.
  • —; Gavua, Kodzo; Rassool, Ciraj, eds. (2015). The Politics of Heritage in Africa: Economies, Histories, and Infrastructures. Cambridge University Press.
  • —, ed. (2010). Abolitionism and Imperialism in Britain, Africa and the Atlantic. Ohio University Press.
  • —; Macola, Giacomo, eds. (2009). Recasting the Past: History-Writing and Political Work in Modern Africa. Ohio University Press.
  • —; Wolhof, Darren, eds. (2002). The Invention of Religion: Rethinking Belief in Politics and History. Rutgers University Press.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Derek Peterson". U-M LSA Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS). University of Michigan. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  2. ^ a b "MacArthur Fellows Program – Derek Peterson". MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  3. ^ Jaschik, Scott (2017-10-11). "Academics Among 'Genius' Grant Winners". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  4. ^ a b "Two University Of Michigan Professors Awarded MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grants'". CBS Detroit. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  5. ^ "University of Michigan professors earn $625K MacArthur 'genius grants'". MLive.com. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  6. ^ Hiyama, Andrew (2017-10-11). "University professors awarded 2017 MacArthur genius grants". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Katie (2017-10-11). "M-E grad Derek Peterson named MacArthur Genius Award winner". Pressconnects. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  8. ^ Knispel, Sandra (2017-10-11). "University alumnus wins MacArthur 'genius grant'". NewsCenter. University of Rochester. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  9. ^ a b "Revitalising research in Africa". Research News. University of Cambridge. 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  10. ^ "Cambridge Centre of African Studies Series". Ohio University Press. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  11. ^ "Derek Peterson". Kellogg Institute For International Studies. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  12. ^ "Professor Derek Peterson". British Academy. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  13. ^ "Derek R. Peterson". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  14. ^ "Derek R. Peterson". African Studies Association. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Derek_R._Peterson&oldid=1110498585"