Katharine Frederick

Dr. Katharine Frederick is an Assistant Professor in Economic and Social History at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities. She specializes in industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa from the late pre-colonial to early post-colonial periods, with a focus on textile manufacturing and colonial economic dynamics. Her work has been recognized with the International Economic History Association Dissertation Prize (2022) for her manuscript on East African deindustrialization.

• PhD in Economic History (Wageningen University, 2018)
• Co-founder of 'Frontiers in African Economic History' blog (2018)
• ERC project contributor on global cotton manufacturing (2018)

Her research explores themes like urbanization in colonial contexts, labor migration, and racial inequality. Recent studies include analyses of Southern Rhodesian boom towns and global-local interactions in textile industries. She currently serves as Program Coordinator for the Research Master's in History at Utrecht University.