Ted Cohen

Ted Cohen is an Associate Professor of History at Southern Illinois University, affiliated with the Humanities and Social Sciences school. He holds a BA from Yale University and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

His research focuses on the racialization of culture, space, and knowledge in Latin America and the African diaspora, particularly in regions not conventionally associated with Blackness. Key works include Finding Afro-Mexico: Race and Nation after the Revolution (2020), which won the Howard F. Cline Prize in Mexican History and an LASA honorable mention. Current projects explore the relationship between racism/antiracism and anthropological acculturation theory, as well as Afro-diasporic geographies in Mexico and Canada.

Recent publications analyze transnational racial politics in Brazil and Mexico, cultural genealogies of 'La bamba,' and artistic exchanges between Mexico and the U.S. His work bridges historical analysis with interdisciplinary methodologies.

• Key Awards: Howard F. Cline Prize (2020), LASA Honorable Mention (2020)

Current research projects examine 20th-century anthropological theory and the global emergence of Black Studies.