Joshua Jeffers

Joshua Jeffers serves as Associate Professor in the Department of History within the College of Arts & Humanities at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). His scholarly work centers on Native American history, early American environmental transformations, and settler colonial frameworks, with recent expansion into human-animal relationship studies.

Dr. Jeffers earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2014, establishing his expertise in indigenous-colonial interactions. His educational trajectory informs his critical examination of power dynamics in early America.

Research focuses on decolonizing historical narratives through environmental lenses, examining how ecological changes shaped indigenous sovereignty and settler expansion. His groundbreaking work on human-cat relationships bridges environmental and social history, revealing cultural shifts through the domestication of felines from predators to companions.

Professor Jeffers maintains active graduate mentorship, as evidenced by J.D. Elson's 2025 Trustees' Award recognition. His research program combines archival rigor with innovative thematic approaches, fostering student engagement in reinterpreting foundational American historical processes.