Profile

Eric Kimball was born in the West, but raised in New England. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Communication at the University of New Hampshire, he left to pursue other interests in the non-academic world before falling again under Clio’s spell at the dawn of the 21st century. Returning to the University of New Hampshire, he “discovered” the newly emerging field of Atlantic history, which investigates the movement of people, commodities and ideas between Europe, Africa, and the Americas in the post-1492 era, and embarked upon a Master of Arts in History, focusing on Atlantic history as a major field, and African history as a minor field. Further ports of call beckoned, and so Professor Kimball completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Kimball’s research investigates the importance of the Atlantic slave economy for colonial New England and has presented his work for audiences at the McNeil Center, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Portsmouth Athenaeum, among others. A strong supporter of strengthening the bonds between the academy and the secondary school system, in the summer of 2009 Dr. Kimball was invited to present new research at the National Endowment for the Humanities - “We the People” - Summer Institute for school teachers: “The Role of Slavery in the Rise of New England Commerce, Industry, and Culture to 1860” at Brown University (click here to access the web site for this conference).

Prior to joining USU, Dr. Kimball had taught at the University of New Hampshire and the University of Pittsburgh. His present course offerings include United States to 1877, Colonial America, the American Revolution, and Atlantic Slavery.