معرفی
Stephen Porter is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Cincinnati, where he has taught since 2008. He currently serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of History (beginning fall 2024), and has previously held leadership roles including director of the International Human Rights Certificate and chair of the Taft Center's Human Rights Research Group.
Porter received his PhD in History from the University of Chicago in 2009. His academic journey has been marked by significant recognition, including a fellowship at the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (2012-2013).
Professor Porter's research explores the intersection of humanitarianism and U.S. power over the long twentieth century, with particular focus on how state and civil society actors have collaborated in innovative governing and legal initiatives justified through ethical rationales. His work examines changing conceptions of ethical responsibilities and rights alongside the management of refugee crises and other humanitarian dilemmas resulting from war, persecution, and upheaval. This research encompasses both international aid initiatives for vulnerable populations abroad and U.S. immigration programs for resettling political refugees.
His publications reveal a consistent focus on humanitarian governance, refugee policy, and the historical evolution of U.S. approaches to human rights and international protection. Porter's work spans multiple decades of historical analysis, from World War II humanitarian efforts to contemporary refugee crises including those in Ukraine and Syria. His scholarship demonstrates how humanitarianism has been intertwined with U.S. power and security interests throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Among his notable recognitions are:
- 2018 Hall award for his book "Benevolent Empire: U.S. Power, Humanitarianism, and the World's Dispossessed"
- 2019 Lewis Teaching Award from the University of Cincinnati Department of History
- 2017 Rising Star Award from the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences
- 2012-2013 Research Fellow in Residence at the Institute for Historical Studies, University of Texas at Austin
Professor Porter has been deeply involved in academic service, having chaired ARNOVA's Hall Book Award Committee and served on multiple university committees related to human rights education and research. His teaching portfolio is extensive, covering undergraduate U.S. history surveys, specialized courses on human rights and security, war and society, U.S. foreign relations, refugees and immigration, and graduate-level historical methodologies.
Currently, Porter is working on a book project titled "Liberalism and Humanitarianism at War: American Approaches to National and Human Security Crises in World War II," which continues his exploration of the complex relationship between humanitarian ideals and national security concerns in American history.
