Christopher J. Lee

Research Interests

My teaching and research interests concern the socio-cultural, political, and intellectual histories of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly southern Africa.  Like many colleagues in African studies and other related fields, I am primarily interested in the question of what it means to be "modern": for nation-states, for social groups, and for individual people.  Understanding the range of definitions, practices, and modalities of experience for this expression-and particularly how historical conditions in Africa have complicated Eurocentric notions of the term-is the central concern of my work.  I also have an ongoing interest in the history of the present - that is, the contemporary politics of southern Africa, and how the practice of history can be mobilized to address problems currently facing the region.  My articles have appeared in the Journal of African History, Politique Africaine, Transition, Radical History Review, the South African Historical Journal, the Society of Malawi Journal, and Interventions: The Journal of Postcolonial Studies. 

I have a strong commitment to teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels. Former students whose work I have supervised and for whom I have written letters of recommendation have gone on to graduate programs at the University of Chicago, the University of London (SOAS), Cornell Law, NYU Law, and the University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to Chapel Hill, I held postdoctoral teaching appointments at Stanford, Harvard, and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Courses Offered (as Schedules Allow)

For current course listings, consult the Directory of Classes.

• HIST 067 -- Life Histories from South Africa

• HIST 130 -- Modern Africa

• HIST 279 -- Modern South Africa

• HIST 301 -- Screening History: Africa at the Movies

• HIST 379 -- Race, Segregation, and Political Protest in South Africa and the United States

• HIST 393 -- Race and Racism in the Modern World

• HIST 540 -- African Intellectual History

• HIST 541 -- African Environmental History: Ecology, Economy, Politics

• HIST 542 -- Development in Africa and Its Discontents

• HIST 543 -- Histories of Health and Healing in Africa

• HIST 722 -- Contemporary Global History

• HIST 890 -- The Postcolonial World: History, Theory, Politics

Contact

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Department of History

CB #3195, Hamilton Hall

Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3195