Jennifer L. Anderson

Jennifer L. Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Stony Brook University, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a PhD from New York University (2007) and is a prominent interdisciplinary historian focusing on public, environmental, and Caribbean history, with deep engagement in issues of race, class, slavery, colonialism, labor, and material culture.

Her research centers on the intersections between human societies and natural environments, particularly in the Atlantic World. She is the author of Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America (Harvard University Press, 2012), which investigates the ecological and human toll of mahogany harvesting in the Caribbean driven by colonial American demand. Currently, she is working on a major project on Long Island's historical trajectory from slavery to freedom, supported by a 2020–2021 Scholar and Society Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Mellon Foundation. This project traces the emergence of African American communities and the persistence of systemic racism and inequality over three centuries.

Her recent publications and editorial work reflect a strong commitment to public engagement and interdisciplinary scholarship. Articles and special journal issues she has edited explore whaling, African American and Native American heritage, and food systems in the early Atlantic. The trends in her work emphasize the longue durée of racial and environmental injustice, the resilience of marginalized communities, and the importance of historical memory in shaping equitable futures.

• Scholar and Society Fellowship (2020-2021), American Council of Learned Societies and the Mellon Foundation

Anderson actively mentors students and teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate courses, including 'American Colonial History,' 'Oceans Past: Maritime History from a Global Perspective,' and 'Slavery and Freedom in the Making of the Americas.' She has also secured significant research grants and fellowships. Her public scholarship includes serving as a Scholar-in-Residence at Preservation Long Island for the Jupiter Hammon Project, co-organizing international conferences, and consulting for museums and cultural institutions. She is an editor of the Long Island History Journal, where she has produced special issues on critical local and transnational themes.

Her work bridges academic and public history, emphasizing community-based research, historical justice, and the power of narrative in understanding America’s complex past. She collaborates with historians, curators, and community organizations to bring scholarly insights to broader audiences.