Susan G. Pedersen

Susan G. Pedersen serves as the Gouverneur Morris Professor of History at Columbia University, specializing in British imperial history, comparative European history, and international organizations. Her acclaimed scholarship examines the intersection of empire and global governance, particularly through the lens of the League of Nations.

Education:

• Ph.D., Harvard University (1989)
• M.A., Harvard University (1983)
• B.A., Radcliffe College (1982)

Her research investigates British imperial transformations, women's political roles, and welfare state development across the 19th-20th centuries. Notable works include analyses of the League of Nations mandate system, Eleanor Rathbone's political conscience, and Balfour family dynamics. She pioneered transnational approaches to imperial history by connecting diplomatic frameworks with social movements.

Recent publications demonstrate sustained focus on British imperial legal frameworks and gendered political activism, particularly examining how the Balfour Declaration reshaped Palestinian governance and how suffrage movements operated within elite British families. Her work bridges diplomatic, legal, and social history through meticulous archival analysis.

Major Honors:

• Bielefeld Wissenschaftspreis (2022)
• Cundill Prize in Historical Literature (2015)
• Guggenheim Fellowship (2006)
• Multiple elite fellowships at Oxford, Cambridge, and Berlin institutions

Pedersen founded the New York-Cambridge Training Collaboration (2014-2024), creating a tri-institutional PhD network for twentieth-century British history. Though no longer accepting doctoral students, she mentored generations through dissertation workshops and book seminars across Columbia, NYU, and Cambridge. Her grant-funded collaborations consistently advanced transnational historical methodologies.

She actively participates in scholarly communities through advisory roles for Twentieth Century British History and The Historical Journal, while fellowships at All Souls College and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences reflect her disciplinary leadership.