Charles Walker

Charles Walker is Professor of History at the University of California, Davis, where he directed the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas and Global Centers for Latin America & the Caribbean. He held the MacArthur Foundation Endowed Chair in International Human Rights (2015-2020) and publishes extensively on Peruvian history, truth commissions, and historiography. His award-winning works include The Tupac Amaru Rebellion (2014) and Witness to the Age of Revolution (2020).

Education:

• Ph.D., University of Chicago, Latin American History
• M.A., Stanford University, Latin American Studies
• B.A., University of California, Berkeley, Latin American Studies
• Exchange program, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

Research Focus: Examines Latin American social/cultural history through lenses of rebellion, disaster, and memory. Core interests include the Tupac Amaru Rebellion's socio-political impacts, truth commission methodologies, and Andean historiography. His scholarship bridges indigenous agency, colonial power structures, and nation-building.

Publications: Research spans colonialism to modern refugee studies, emphasizing agrarian transformation and revolutionary narratives. Recent works analyze Hmong refugee resettlement and Peruvian intellectual traditions, featuring comparative methodologies and multilingual sources (Spanish/Quechua).

Awards:

• Hundley Prize • Financial Times Best Book • ACLS Fellowship
• MacArthur Endowed Chair • UC Davis Teaching Excellence Award
• José María Arguedas Article Prize • Dean's Innovation Award

Teaching: Leads courses on Latin American history, human rights (HIS/HMR 161), and U.S.-Latin American relations. Recognized for pedagogical innovation and mentorship. Current projects explore Shining Path violence and memory politics.