Rebecca Earle

Rebecca Earle is a Professor in the Department of History at the University of Warwick, Faculty of Arts. She is a leading cultural historian specializing in the history of food, colonial Spanish America, and early modern Europe. Her research explores how everyday practices like eating and dressing shape identity, political thought, and colonial encounters.

Education:

• Ph.D. in History, University of Warwick (1994)
• M.A. in History, University of Warwick (1990)
• M.Sc. in Mathematics, University of Warwick (1987)
• B.A. in Mathematics, Bryn Mawr College (1986), with minors in German and History of Art

Her research focuses on the cultural and political dimensions of food, particularly the global history of the potato, and how dietary practices intersect with colonialism, race, and Enlightenment thought. She also investigates clothing, visual culture (including casta paintings), and epistolary practices in colonial Latin America.

Her recent publications center on the potato’s role in state-building, population management, and Enlightenment ideals, reflecting a broader interest in food as a lens for understanding political economy and cultural transformation. Articles such as 'Potatoes, Population and States' and 'The Political Economy of Nutrition' highlight these themes across the Atlantic world.

Scientific Awards:

• Conference on Latin American History Bolton-Johnson Prize (2013)
• Bolton-Johnson Prize Honorable Mention (2008)
• Sophie Coe Prize Commendation (2020)
• William and Mary Quarterly Douglass Adair Award (2018)
• William and Mary Quarterly Lester J. Cappon Prize (2017)
• Agricultural History Society Wayne D. Rasmussen Award (2011)
• Association for the Study of Food and Society Book Award (2020)

Earle has supervised numerous PhD and MA students on topics ranging from food culture and colonialism to gender, race, and national identity. She has secured research funding through networks like the Warwick-Essex-Los Andes Leverhulme Trust International Research Network. She is also active in public engagement, with contributions to The Conversation, BBC, and The Independent.

She leads research on text and image in 19th-century Spanish America and maintains a personal website. Her office is located in the Faculty of Arts Building at the University of Warwick, where she holds regular office hours.