Mark Charles Rice

Mark Charles Rice is an Associate Professor in the History Department at Baruch College's Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, City University of New York (CUNY). His academic career focuses on Latin American history with special emphasis on the Andes region, particularly Peru. Dr. Rice has established himself as a leading scholar on the history of tourism, infrastructure, and cultural heritage in the Andean region, with numerous publications examining Machu Picchu's transformation into a global icon.

Dr. Rice received his Ph.D. in History from Stony Brook University and his B.A. in History from Cornell University. His educational background has provided him with a strong foundation for his research on Latin American history, particularly the intersections of tourism, infrastructure, and national identity in Peru.

Dr. Rice's research interests center on Latin American history with specific focus on the Andean region. He has made significant contributions to understanding the history of tourism in Peru, particularly regarding Machu Picchu and Cusco. His work examines how tourism has shaped national identity, infrastructure development, and cultural preservation in Peru throughout the twentieth century. He also investigates the politics of infrastructure, including road construction and its social impacts in early twentieth-century Peru. His scholarship bridges historical analysis with contemporary issues in heritage management and sustainable tourism development. Dr. Rice frequently engages with current debates about tourism infrastructure projects in the Cusco region, bringing historical perspective to contemporary policy discussions.

Dr. Rice's scholarly output reveals a consistent trajectory from early work on US-Peruvian relations and the Good Neighbor Policy's impact on Machu Picchu tourism, to more recent analyses of contemporary infrastructure projects like the proposed Chinchero Airport. His publications demonstrate increasing engagement with indigenous perspectives and the politics of heritage preservation. The temporal scope of his work spans from colonial Latin America through the early republic, the Velasco military government period, and into contemporary Peru, showing remarkable chronological breadth within his specialized regional focus.

• President's Award to Distinguished Doctoral Students, Stony Brook University
• Fred Weinstein Award, History Department, Stony Brook University
• George S. Lustig Award, History Department, Cornell University

Dr. Rice has secured multiple PSC-CUNY research grants supporting his work on Machu Picchu tourism history, road construction in Peru, and archaeological expeditions during World War II. His current research includes 'Roads and Progress in Peru,' which will be published as a historical monograph. As a dedicated educator, he teaches courses on Latin American history, US-Latin American relations, and specialized topics like 'From Silver to Cocaine: An Eco-History of Latin America.' He actively serves on numerous committees including the History Department Executive Committee and as Chair of the New York City Latin American History Workshop, demonstrating strong institutional engagement.

Dr. Rice maintains active scholarly connections with institutions in Peru and regularly presents his research at academic conferences in the United States and Latin America. His work bridges academic scholarship with public engagement, as evidenced by his op-ed contributions to major Peruvian newspapers like El Comercio, where he provided historical context for contemporary debates about the Chinchero Airport project. He serves on the Editorial Review Board for the Regional Journal of Tourism History and contributes to academic discourse through book reviews and media appearances.