David Prior

David Prior is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of New Mexico. He holds a B.A. from Hamilton College and M.A./Ph.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina. His research focuses on 19th-century U.S. history, with a particular emphasis on global connections, including the Civil War, Reconstruction, nationalism, and Atlantic/international frameworks. He has published extensively in venues like the Journal of Social History and Civil War History, and edited volumes such as Reconstruction in a Globalizing World. His current projects include Reconstruction and Empire and Reconstruction’s Transatlantic Meanings, 1840-1920.

Dr. Prior is an elected Vice President of H-Net, a digital humanities network, and contributes to UNM’s Career Diversity initiative. He has received awards including the LCP-HSP Mellon Research Fellowship and the Michael P. Malone Article Award. His teaching spans courses on the Civil War, U.S. History, nationalism, and slavery.

His publications emphasize globalizing Reconstruction studies, historiographical debates, and transnational approaches. Recent work explores Reconstruction’s transatlantic dimensions and the intersections of U.S. history with broader international contexts. He actively engages in public history through curated roundtables and editorial forums.

Awards highlight his scholarly contributions and pedagogical innovation, including a Teaching Allocation Grant from UNM’s Center for Teaching Excellence.