Charles R. Foy

Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

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Areas of Interest

My scholarship and teaching activities focus on the eighteenth century Black Atlantic. As a social historian I am especially interested in how individuals accommodate themselves to larger societal forces and how identities are transformed. I have been characterized as an Early Americanist, an Atlantic historian, a historian of race and a maritime historian. My articles on black seamen have appeared in Early American Studies, Common-place, Slavery and Abolition, Journal for Maritime Research, the Proceedings of the 2007 Naval History Symposium, Seaport, and Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Power in Maritime America. In addition to my book project, “Liberty’s Labyrinth: Freedom in the 18th Century Black Atlantic,” I continue to work on the development of a Black Mariner Database that as of 2011 contains records on more than 18,500 black mariners and black maritime fugitives. Recently, I have completed an article on how the maritime community in Scarborough, England during the mid-eighteenth century created a social safety net to protect its dependents.

Curriculum Vitae

Interests

  • Early American History
  • Atlantic History
  • African-American History
  • Slavery in the Americas
  • Maritime History

Courses Regularly Taught

 

Email: crfoy@eiu.edu
Office: Coleman Hall, Room 3765