Skip to main content
Professor Emeritus
CB #3195
chasteen@email.unc.edu



Curriculum Vitae

Education

PhD University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1988

Research Interests

John Charles Chasteen is a cultural historian of Latin America whose work has explored topics ranging from gaucho knife fights and guerrilla insurgencies to the history of carnival and popular dance. His research interests center chronologically on the nineteenth century and extend geographically to Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Río de la Plata. His persistent theme in half a dozen books has been the development of Latin American nationalisms and national identities. Chasteen is currently at work translating a volume of short stories by the renowned nineteenth-century Brazilian author Joaquim Machado de Assis.


Some Notable Publications

  • Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America (W. W. Norton, fourth edition)
  • Americanos: Latin America's Struggle for Independence (Oxford University Press, 2008)
  • National Rhythms, African Roots: The Deep History of Latin American Popular Dance (University of New Mexico Press, 2004)
  • Heroes on Horseback: A Life and Times of the Last Gaucho Caudillos (University of New Mexico Press, 1995)