Jill Rosenthal

Jill Rosenthal is an Associate Professor of History at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). She is affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences and the History Department, specializing in African history, migration, and humanitarian aid dynamics. Rosenthal earned her PhD from Emory University in 2014 and previously held the William H. Bonsall Acting Assistant Professorship at Stanford University (2014–2016).

Her research focuses on the intersection of migration, identity, and international aid in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly colonial border legacies and refugee flows. She teaches courses on 19th/20th century African history, refugee studies, and Cold War dynamics, emphasizing global-local interconnectedness. Her groundbreaking book From Migrants to Refugees (2023) examines how refugee aid in Tanzania-Rwanda border regions shaped nation-state formation and local community narratives.

Publications span refugee policy analyses, colonial-era aid frameworks, and post-genocide humanitarian challenges. Research methodologies include multi-sited interviews and archival work in Tanzania and Geneva. Teaching emphasizes historical memory’s contemporary relevance.