I am a historian of modern empire, mostly focused on the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region.  I wrote Guardians of the Tradition: Historians and Historical Writing in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2015), and co-wrote The Many Lives of Täsfa Ṣeyon: An Ethiopian Intellectual in Early Modern Rome (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2024), together with Matteo Salvadore and Deresse Ayenachew Woldetsadik. My current research examines the relationship between experts, counterinsurgency, and the international system, specifically focusing on colonial violence in Ethiopia.  More generally, I am interested in microhistory, historical theory, and the intersecting histories of orientalism, anthropology, and area studies. 

I am a contributing editor for the journal Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and previously served as the managing editor of the journal Northeast African Studies.  My research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, the School for Advanced Research, and the PSC/CUNY.  I am also an affiliate faculty member of the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC) at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Here at CUNY John Jay, I teach HIS281 Imperialism in Africa and Asia, HIS352 Colonial Justice, HIS352 Orientalism, and HIS228 Critical Perspectives on the Middle East. I am also an advisor for the Middle East Studies Minor and the International Criminal Justice Major, so come see me about your courses, internship ideas, and post-graduation plans.  My office hours change each semester, but you can always find them listed on the bulletin board in the History Department lobby.