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James David Nichols, Ph.D.

Office: M-416

Office Phone: 718-281-5018

Email: JNichols@qcc.cuny.edu

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Dr. James David Nichols, Assistant ProfessorJames David Nichols is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Queensborough Community College / CUNY.

 

He received a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Art from Northern Illinois University (1998), and an M.A. (2006) and Ph.D. (2012) in History from Stony Brook University. His research specialties include the history of race, labor and borderlands. His monograph, The Limits of Liberty, traces the history of fugitives from slavery and peonage in Texas and Northern Mexico during the 19th Century.

He is currently working on a new monograph tracing the rise and fall of debt peonage and servitude in the years surrounding the emancipation of slavery in the United States. It is tentatively entitled A Fate Worse than Debt. 

Courses Taught

Dr. Nichols currently teaches HIST 127 (Growth of American Civilization I), HIST 128 (Growth of American Civilization II), HIST 136 (African American History), HIST 141 (Latin American History II), HIST 193 (History of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands in Perspective), and HIST 262 (The American Civil War and Reconstruction).

Publications

The Limits of Liberty: Mobility and the Making of the Eastern U.S.-Mexico Border (University of Nebraska Press, 2018)

“Freedom Interrupted: Runaway Slaves and Insecure Borders in the Mexican Northeast” in Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America edited by Damian Alan Pargas (University Press of Florida, 2018)

"The Line of Liberty: Runaway Slaves and Fugitive Peons in the Texas-Mexico Borderlands" (Western Historical Quarterly, Winter 2013) This article was selected the 2014 Western History Association's Oscar O. Winther Award and the Bolton-Cutter Prize for best article.

 

 

Campus Cultural Centers

Kupferberg Holocaust Center exterior lit up at nightOpens in a new window
Kupferberg Holocaust Center Opens in a new window

The KHC uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of unbridled prejudice, racism and stereotyping.

Russian Ballet performing at the Queensborough Performing Arts CenterOpens in a new window
QPAC: Performing Arts CenterOpens in a new window

QPAC is an invaluable entertainment company in this region with a growing national reputation. The arts at QPAC continues to play a vital role in transforming lives and building stronger communities.

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QCC Art Gallery

The QCC Art Gallery of the City University of New York is a vital educational and cultural resource for Queensborough Community College, the Borough of Queens and the surrounding communities.