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Philip J. Stern

Professor of History
History
Box 90719, Durham, NC 27708-0719
History Dept, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


My work focuses on various aspects of the legal, political, intellectual, and business histories that shaped the British Empire. My interests include the role of companies and corporations in colonial enterprise, overseas exploration and cartography, the historiography of British India, early modern economic thought, and digital and data visualization approaches to the problem of colonial sovereignty.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of History · 2024 - Present History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published February 3, 2025
Celebrating Duke’s New Full Professors
Published June 23, 2023
The Corporations That Made the British Empire
Published June 22, 2023
Hot Off the Press: Summer Reading From Duke Authors

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Recent Publications


Empire, Incorporated The Corporations That Built British Colonialism

Book · May 16, 2023 Philip Stern turns this view on its head, arguing that corporations drove colonial expansion and governance, creating an overlap between sovereign and commercial power that continues to shape the relationship between nations and ... ... Cite

Alcohol and the Ambivalence of the Early English East India Company-State

Journal Article Historical Journal · February 1, 2022 This article explores the various roles that alcohol played in defining the governance of East India Company fortifications and settlements in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It argues that, much like elsewhere in Europe, Asia, and the colo ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


The Sandcastle Workflow: A Malleable System for Visualizing Pre-modern Maps and Views

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Endowment for the Humanities · 2020 - 2023

Virtual and Augmented Reality for Digital Humanities Institute (VARDHI)

ConferenceCo-Director · Awarded by National Endowment for the Humanities · 2017 - 2020

Sawyer Seminar: Corporate Rights and International Law: Past, Present, and Future

Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation · 2016 - 2019

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Education, Training & Certifications


Columbia University · 2004 Ph.D.