Bio
Steven Press is an Assistant Professor of History and an affiliated member of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Center for African Studies, and the Stanford Center for Law and History.
Press' first book, Rogue Empires: Conmen and Contracts in Europe's Scramble for Africa (published Spring 2017 with Harvard University Press), draws on archival work in ten countries and three languages. The book offers a new approach to understanding the European Scramble for Africa by examining one of its pivotal projects: empires run by companies and individual adventurers.
Press' second book, Blood and Diamonds: Germany's Imperial Ambitions in Africa, will appear in April 2021 with Harvard University Press.
In his article in the Journal of Modern History, Press explored the exchanges between Germany, China, and Cuba that led to the USA's lease for Guantanamo Bay in 1903. His article on post-Napoleonic European nationalism appeared in Central European History.
Press received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. He taught at Harvard and Vanderbilt before coming to Stanford. His research interests include European sovereignty, international relations, and commodity networks.
Academic Appointments
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Associate Professor, History
Professional Education
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Ph.D, Harvard University
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A.M., Harvard University
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B.A., Vanderbilt University
2024-25 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - Germany's Wars and the World, 1848-2010
HISTORY 137D, HISTORY 37D (Aut) - The European Scramble for Africa: Origins and Debates
HISTORY 238J, HISTORY 338J (Win) -
Independent Studies (8)
- Curricular Practical Training
HISTORY 299F (Aut, Win, Spr) - Graduate Directed Reading
EASTASN 300 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Graduate Directed Reading
HISTORY 399W (Aut, Win, Spr) - Graduate Research
HISTORY 499X (Aut, Win, Spr) - Senior Research I
HISTORY 299A (Aut, Win, Spr) - Senior Research II
HISTORY 299B (Aut, Win, Spr) - Senior Research III
HISTORY 299C (Aut, Win, Spr) - Undergraduate Directed Research and Writing
HISTORY 299S (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Curricular Practical Training
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - Core Colloquium on Modern Europe: The 19th Century
HISTORY 331B (Win) - Germany's Wars and the World, 1848-2010
HISTORY 137D, HISTORY 37D (Spr) - How to Start Your Own Country: Sovereignty and State-Formation in Modern History
HISTORY 9N (Aut) - The History of 2023
HISTORY 1 (Aut)
2022-23 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - How to Start Your Own Country: Sovereignty and State-Formation in Modern History
HISTORY 9N (Spr) - Research Seminar in Modern Europe
HISTORY 433A (Win) - Research Seminar in Modern Europe
HISTORY 433B (Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- Core Colloquium on Modern Europe: The 19th Century
HISTORY 331B (Win) - How to Start Your Own Country: Sovereignty and State-Formation in Modern History
HISTORY 9N (Win)
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
Stanford Advisees
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Orals Evaluator
Sonya Schoenberger, Matthew Signer -
Doctoral (Program)
Jackie Olson
All Publications
- Blood and Diamonds: Germany’s Imperial Ambitions in Africa Harvard University Press. 2021
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Learning Empire: Globalization and the German Quest for World Status, 1875-1919. (Book Review)
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY HISTORY
2020; 51 (2): 325–26
View details for Web of Science ID 000567493100020
- Rogue Empires : Contracts and Conmen in Europe's Scramble for Africa Harvard University Press. 2017
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Sovereignty at Guantanamo: New Evidence and a Comparative Historical Interpretation
JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY
2013; 85 (3): 592–631
View details for DOI 10.1086/670824
View details for Web of Science ID 000330542500004
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False Fire: The Wartburg Book-Burning of 1817
CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY
2009; 42 (4): 621–46
View details for DOI 10.1017/S0008938909991014
View details for Web of Science ID 000272202600002