Dr. Dexter Fergie

Biography

I am a US and global historian, specializing in the history of international organizations, infrastructure, foreign relations, and ideas. My book project, titled 'World’s Headquarters: United States, United Nations, Place in Global Governance, 1945-1991,' investigates the cultural, social, and political implications of anchoring the post-World War II global governance system in New York. Drawing on archives from the United States, France, United Kingdom, and India, as well as oral histories conducted with UN personnel, I examine how locating the UN in New York opened a portal to domestic and foreign relations for tens of thousands of diplomats, international civil servants, and their families. I argue that the presence of the headquarters allows for a reconsideration of processes typically deemed 'domestic' history, such as McCarthyism, within the lens of international history and decolonization, thus shifting the narrative of American history. My writing has appeared in outlets such as Diplomatic History, Atlantic, New Republic, and Bloomberg. I am also a recipient of various fellowships, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canada Doctoral Scholarship and the Truman Library Dissertation Year Fellowship. I engage in public history through exhibits and podcasts, including conducting long-form interviews with scholars on the New Books Network.

Research Interests

Experience