Mike O'Sullivan

Mike O’Sullivan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in South Asian and global history. He holds a PhD from UCLA and has held fellowships at Yale Law School and Harvard's Center for History and Economics. His research examines Muslim communities' religious and economic histories in South Asia and beyond, with a focus on early modern and modern periods.

Educational Background:

• BA in History, Santa Clara University
• Visiting Student Programme, Mansfield College, Oxford University
• MPHIL in Early Modern History, University of Cambridge
• PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Interests: O’Sullivan’s work bridges South Asian history with broader global contexts, including private Muslim banking in Eurasia and North Africa, and the transregional activities of European trading posts in the Indian Ocean (CAPASIA project). His current book project on Ottoman banking and a forthcoming volume on Gujarati Muslim business communities reflect his expertise in economic and religious history.

Grants & Collaborations: Senior Research Fellow for CAPASIA, an ERC-funded project at the European University Institute studying European trading posts in the Indian Ocean (1500–1800), directed by Prof. Giorgio Riello.

Courses Taught:

• HIST 136: History of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh since 1750
• HIST 270: Mughal India