Laura Lisy-Wagner

Laura Lisy-Wagner serves as Chair of the History Department at San Francisco State University, specializing in cultural and intellectual history of early modern Europe with particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe's relationship with the wider world. Her research examines identity construction through transcultural interactions, utilizing postcolonial theory to analyze hybrid identities on European peripheries.

Education:

• Ph.D., Harvard University, 2005
• M.A., Harvard University, 2001
• M.A., Johns Hopkins University, 1998
• B.A., Johns Hopkins University, 1998

Lisy-Wagner's research program spans Reformation history, Ottoman-European relations, environmental history, and gender studies. Her first book Islam, Christianity, and the Making of Czech Identity, 1453–1683 analyzes Czech identity formation through discourse about the 'Turk' from Constantinople's fall to Vienna's siege. She currently writes A Short History of Early Modern Europe framing the era as one of global interactions, and researches 16th-century Bohemian fishponds to explore capitalism's environmental dimensions. Her teaching encompasses courses on early modern Europe, global history of love/sexuality, Reformation, and historical methodology.

Her publications demonstrate consistent interdisciplinary focus on cross-cultural encounters during early modernity, particularly examining European identity formation through engagement with Islamic worlds. The research combines textual and material analysis with theoretical frameworks from postcolonial studies, revealing how peripheral European regions developed hybrid identities through global connections.

Scientific Awards:

• Fulbright Grant, J. William Fulbright Commission, 2001–2002
• Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, 1998–1999
• Phi Beta Kappa, inducted 1998

Lisy-Wagner serves on the Steering Committee of the Society for Austrian and Habsburg History since 2012 and contributes to community education through history classes for church groups and Mount Diablo Unified School District. Her academic leadership extends to directing the European Studies minor and collaborating with the Office for International Programs. Current research projects include completing A Short History of Early Modern Europe for University of Toronto Press and developing a new book on 16th-century Bohemian aquaculture examining intersections of environmental sustainability, capitalist development, and technological innovation.