Michael Laver

Michael Laver is a Professor in the Department of History within the College of Liberal Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He concurrently serves as Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, overseeing curriculum development, strategic planning, international education, and interdisciplinary programming. Previously, he chaired the Department of History and directed the International and Global Studies Program, while also holding university-wide roles including Chair of Academic Senate and co-chair of Middle States Re-accreditation. Outside academia, he serves as rector of Saint John's Episcopal Church in Sodus, New York.

Education:

• B.A. in History and Psychology from Purdue University
• Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania
• Masters of Divinity from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Professor Laver's research spans History of East Asia, Early Modern History, History of Japan, History of Christianity, and History of Baseball. His scholarship examines Dutch-Japanese trade diplomacy through gift exchange, Tokugawa political strategies, and maritime networks in early modern East Asia. He analyzes how trade restrictions bolstered domestic hegemony while exploring cross-cultural encounters between European merchants and Japanese authorities.

His 15 most recent publications reveal consistent focus on Dutch East India Company interactions with Tokugawa Japan, emphasizing gift-giving protocols, commodity exchanges, and diplomatic rituals. Recurring themes include cultural mediation through material objects, political uses of trade restrictions, and maritime borderlands. Parallel work addresses global religious history, particularly Christianity's Asian trajectories and baseball's historical development.

Professor Laver collaborates on an NSF-funded initiative with Texas Tech University to integrate humanities into engineering education. Led by Iris Rivero, this project develops critical thinking and empathy skills in engineering students to address societal challenges, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary pedagogy.