I am an historian of the United States and the World, with a special focus on imperialism, capitalism, and the Pacific Ocean.
In my first book, Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Samoa (Harvard University Press, 2022), I argue that the globalization of Samoa at the turn of the twentieth century was driven by a diverse group of working people on and off the islands. Check out the primary sources and research notes for my book here.
Currently, I am doing research for my next book, “War Workers,” which tells the global story of non-citizen civilians working for the U.S. military from the Civil War to Iraq. I have published on a variety of topics, including labor history, Pacific history, environmental history, and global Hiphop.
My teaching ranges from modern U.S. history in global perspective to the history of capitalism and environmental history.