Joshua H. Cole

Joshua H. Cole is a Professor of History at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, where he has taught since 2004. His research focuses on the social and cultural history of 19th- and 20th-century France, with expertise in Modern France, Gender Studies, Colonial and Post-Colonial History, and Memory Politics. He has published extensively on topics including population sciences, colonial violence, and the interplay of ethnicity in French Algeria.

• Education: Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley (1991)

His award-winning work includes Lethal Provocation: The Constantine Murders and the Politics of French Algeria (2019), analyzing anti-Jewish riots in 1934, and The Power of Large Numbers (2000), exploring population science in 19th-century France. Since 2009, he has co-authored the textbook Western Civilizations, a foundational resource for European history courses.

Professor Cole’s research demonstrates how political provocations and ethnic tensions shaped colonial regimes, particularly through electoral reforms in French Algeria and their impact on Muslim-Jewish relations. He has also contributed to collaborative studies on urban life during World War I in Capital Cities at War (1997).

His work intersects Gender Studies, Mediterranean Studies, and Violence Studies, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to historical analysis. While no explicit scientific awards are listed, his publications and teaching reflect sustained scholarly impact.