Nate Holdren

Nate Holdren is an Associate Professor in the Department of Law, Politics, and Society at Drake University’s College of Arts & Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Minnesota (2014) and previously served as a Jerome Hall Fellow at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. His research focuses on legal history, capitalism, class analysis, and critical theory, with a particular emphasis on the intersections of law, labor, and disability. Holdren’s 2020 book Injury Impoverished examines early 20th-century workers’ compensation laws, arguing that while such reforms improved economic security, they marginalized humanistic understandings of workplace injury.

Education

• Ph.D. in History, University of Minnesota, 2014
• Jerome Hall Postdoctoral Fellowship, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Research Interests

• Historical analysis of workplace injury law
• Critical theory and Marxist legal frameworks
• Disability and labor rights
• Historical materialism and class analysis

Awards

• Philip Taft Award (2020) for Injury Impoverished
• Runner-up, Merle Curti Prize (2020) for Injury Impoverished

Holdren teaches courses on socio-legal perspectives, law and employment, and markets in morally charged contexts. He co-facilitates a writing group for Drake faculty and has been recognized for teaching excellence, including nominations for Teacher and Mentor of the Year. His writing extends beyond academia, addressing public audiences on topics like pandemic governance and labor rights.