Christopher McKnight Nichols
Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in U.S. History
Christopher McKnight Nichols is the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in U.S. History at the University of Pennsylvania. He specializes in American intellectual, cultural, and political history from the late nineteenth through the twentieth century, with a focus on the Progressive Era and debates over the U.S. role in the world. Dr. Nichols is the author of From Empire to Isolation: Internationalism and Isolationism in American Thought (Harvard University Press, forthcoming), which examines the dynamic interplay of international engagement, isolationist thought, and domestic reform from 1890 to 1940. Nichols has presented papers and published articles and opinion pieces in academic journals and newspapers on subjects including U.S. engagement with the world, transnationalism, the Spanish-American War, race and segregation, international pacifism, WWI, progressivism, pluralism, trans-Atlantic liberal reform, the philosophy of history, deliberative democracy, anti-imperialism, media influences on politics, religion and secular thought, diplomacy, and foreign policy. Nichols is co-editor and co-author of Prophesies of Godlessness: Predictions of America's Imminent Secularization from the Puritans to the Present Day (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Nichols studied at Harvard College, Wesleyan University, and the University of Virginia, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in History. In 2008-09 Nichols was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. During his time as an instructor at UVa Nichols was honored to receive three awards for outstanding teaching, nominated and selected by both students and faculty. At Penn Nichols teaches courses on isolationism and internationalism, the U.S. role in the world, the Progressive Era, international history, intellectual, cultural, and political history.
Courses Taught (As Schedule Allows)
For current course listings, consult the Course Directory.
- HIST 204.305. The U.S. in the Modern World
- HIST 204.304. Isolationism in American Culture and Politics
