Dr. Aaron Windel

Biography

I research political social history of modern Britain, the British Empire, the history of media technology, and rural economics of colonial development. My current book project traces the path that brought the cooperative movement to the center of British colonial development and its spectacle of community-driven rural modernization during the decades of colonial rule. Following missionaries, social science experts, and government officials, I examine how cooperatives were seen as a technopolitical solution to the crises of the late colonial-era in India, Malaysia, and Africa. This system of cooperative development was attempted to support colonial ideology and stabilize the empire. However, my focus on Africa reveals how the plans for cooperatives were challenged by anti-colonial movements that advanced visions for post-colonial development. I also teach classes on modern Britain, the British Empire, colonialism, post-colonialism, the history of technology, and the history of capitalism. Furthermore, I am accepting new graduate students in areas related to the British Empire, colonial development, and media technology.

Research Interests