Viola Müller

Viola Müller is a Lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Economic and Environmental History at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Her work focuses on slavery, labor dynamics, urban history, and capitalism in the Americas. She holds a PhD in History from Leiden University (2020), an MA in Migration History (Leiden, 2015), and a BA in Latin American Studies (University of Cologne, 2012).

Her research explores fugitive slavery networks, labor coercion, and the transition from slavery to illegal labor systems. Notable achievements include winning the 2023 Willie Lee Rose Prize for her book *Escape to the City* and securing an NWO Veni Grant for comparative studies on labor coercion.

Müller has held roles at Georgetown University (visiting researcher, 2024), the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (postdoc, 2021–2023), and Utrecht University (lecturer, 2020–2021). She serves as Book Review Editor for *Journal of Global Slavery* and contributes to editorial boards for *The New American Antiquarian* and *Virginia Magazine of History & Biography*.

Her recent projects investigate how urbanization and legal frameworks impacted enslaved individuals' quests for freedom. She advocates for interdisciplinary approaches linking historical analysis with contemporary labor rights issues.