Douglas Flowe

Douglas Flowe is an Associate Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also serves as the Dean's Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2025-2027). His research interrogates intersections of criminality, masculinity, and race in American cities, with a focus on the carceral state and northern prison systems during the Jim Crow era.

Education:

• PhD, University of Rochester
• BA, State University of New York at Geneseo

Flowe’s award-winning book Uncontrollable Blackness (2020) explores how African American men in New York were criminalized through eugenic classifications and carceral systems. His current work, Jim Crow Prison, examines northern carceral archipelagos as pre-carceral spaces. His peer-reviewed articles address topics like Progressive Era drug policies, prison reform, and Black self-defense in early 20th-century New York.

Scientific Awards:

• Littleton-Griswold Book Prize (2021)
• Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship (2021-2022)
• Provost’s Research Excellence Award (2024)
• Circle of Excellence Silver Award (2021)

Flowe contributes to public discourse via media appearances (CNN, PBS, Fox) and co-hosts National Geographic’s Ancient China from Above. He serves on editorial boards for the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era and Annuals of the Next Generation journal.