Benjamin Claude Brower

Benjamin Claude Brower is an Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in Middle Eastern Studies. His research focuses on colonial-era Algeria (1830-1962), examining social and political questions through critical theory, postcolonial studies, and literary theory.

• Research interests: Colonial violence, French empire, North African history, Mediterranean studies, symbolic violence, colonialism and secularism.
• Awards: Albert Hourani Book Award (2010), David H. Pinkney Prize (2010).

He teaches courses such as Intro to Modern North Africa, Violence and Colonialism, and French Empire: The West and Islam. His first book, A Desert Named Peace: The Violence of French Empire in the Algerian Sahara, 1844-1902 (2009), explores colonial violence in 19th-century Algeria.