Education
PhD History, UCLA
M.A. History, UCLA
B.A. History, Political Science, Duke University
Biography
Jim Meriwether long has been interested in freedom struggles in a global context, particularly those in the United States and Africa and the transnational connections between them. This interest led to his first book, Proudly We Can Be Africans: Black Americans and Africa, 1935-1961, and to his most recent book, Tears, Fire, and Blood: The United States and the Decolonization of Africa. In 2023 Tears, Fire, and Blood was named a finalist for the P. Sterling Stuckey Book Prize by the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD). He also has published numerous articles, including "'Worth A Lot of Negro Votes': Black Voters, Africa, and the 1960 Presidential Campaign" in the Journal of American History.
Prof. Meriwether earned his B.A. from Duke University, then his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from UCLA. Prior to CSU Channel Islands he taught at CSU Bakersfield.
Twice he has received a Fulbright lecturing/researching award, the first taking him and his family to Zimbabwe where he taught at the University of Zimbabwe (2000-01), the second to Kenya and the University of Nairobi (2007-08). He has served as Chair of History, Chair of Chicana/o Studies, and as interim Dean of Arts & Sciences. Most of all, he enjoys teaching students, wherever they may be, about our interconnected past and ways in which it resonates into the present.
Representative Courses Taught
- HIST 271 The United States since 1877
- HIST 343 The Long Civil Rights Movement
- HIST 374 The U.S. since 1945
- HIST 375 The United States in the World
- HIST 452 Southern Africa since 1600
Scholarship
Keywords
U.S. History, African American History, African History