J. P. Daughton

J. P. Daughton is Professor of History at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in French and Italian. Specializing in European imperialism, colonial violence, and global history, he earned his BA from Amherst College, MPhil from Cambridge, and PhD from UC Berkeley. His research examines political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of colonialism alongside modern religion, technology, and humanitarianism.

His book In the Forest of No Joy (2021) investigates the deadly Congo-Océan railroad construction, exposing colonial violence and development rhetoric. It was shortlisted for the Cundill Prize. Earlier work An Empire Divided (2006) won the George Louis Beer and Alf Andrew Heggoy prizes for analyzing religious-republican tensions in French colonialism.

Daughton edited In God’s Empire (2012) on French missionaries and publishes on colonial governance in leading journals. He advises graduate students in transnational history, empire studies, and environmental history.