Affiliated Department or Office
Interdisciplinary & Global Studies
Education
M.A. American Cultural History (LMU Munich, 2008)
Ph.D. History of American Civilization (Harvard University, 2015)

I am an historian of 19th- and 20th-century U.S. history, with a special focus on imperialism, capitalism, and the Pacific Ocean. In my first book, Coconut Colonialism: Workers and the Globalization of Samoa (Harvard University Press, 2022), I argue that the globalization of Samoa at the turn of the twentieth century was driven by a diverse group of working people on and off the islands. Currently, I am doing research for my next book, "War Workers," which tells the global story of non-citizen civilians working for the U.S. military from the Civil War to Iraq. I have published on a variety of topics, including labor history, Pacific history, environmental history, and global Hiphop. My teaching ranges from modern U.S. history in global perspective to the history of capitalism and environmental history.

Book Talk: Coconut Colonialism by Professor Holger Droessler (YouTube recording)

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Coconut Colonialism (2022)

Professional Highlights & Honors
DEIJ Planning Grant, 2022 - 2023
Office of Vice Provost for Research, WPI
Obama Dissertation Prize, 2015
Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies, Mainz
Certificate of Teaching Excellence, 2015
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University
Doctoral Fellowship, 2012
German Historical Institute, Washington, D.C.
Fulbright Scholarship, 2006 - 2007
University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Amherst College