Zachary Davis Cuyler

Zachary Davis Cuyler is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He holds a PhD and is a fellow at Century International. His research focuses on the historical and contemporary politics of infrastructure, energy, and the environment in the Mashriq region, particularly Lebanon. Cuyler’s work bridges modern Middle East history with environmental and political economy studies, analyzing how fossil fuel dynamics shaped 20th-century socio-political structures.

Education: PhD in History (dissertation: “Fossil Lebanon,” defended 2023), MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University.

Research Interests: Infrastructure politics, energy transitions, labor movements, anti-sectarianism, political economy of oil, and environmental history. His scholarship emphasizes how resource extraction and energy systems intersect with state-building and socio-economic inequality.

Publications Trends: Cuyler’s articles examine Lebanon’s energy crises, oil industry legacies, and labor mobilizations. His work in Labour History and Arab Studies Journal highlights transnational infrastructure projects like the Trans-Arabian Pipeline as catalysts for socio-political change. Recent pieces address contemporary energy governance challenges in post-crisis Lebanon.

Professional Activities: Actively contributes to Middle East Report, Synaps, and Century International. His book reviews (e.g., on Victor McFarland’s Oil Powers) underscore critical engagement with resource-driven histories.

Labs/Teams: Engaged with interdisciplinary research networks focusing on Middle Eastern environmental and energy histories, though no specific lab affiliations are detailed in the texts.