Dirk Bonker

Dirk Bonker is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. A specialist in the intertwined histories of the United States and Germany, he investigates militarism, warfare, and empire across the long twentieth century while interrogating how best to globalize and internationalize modern U.S. and German histories.

Education

• Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 2002

Research Interests

Bonker’s scholarship centers on military history, global and transnational history, cultural history, and the study of gender. He also engages comparative colonial studies, legal history, and the politics of governance in both Europe and North America. His work consistently probes how naval strategy, imperial ambitions, and state power intersected in Germany and the United States.

Publications Overview

Across two decades of research, Bonker has produced a major monograph—Militarism in a Global Age: Naval ambitions in Germany and the United States before World War I (Cornell, 2012)—together with numerous journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. His writings illuminate naval militarism, maritime law, imperial culture, and the transnational dynamics of power from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century.

Scientific Awards

No awards are listed in the provided material.

Advising & Grants

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Labs, Teams & Future Work

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