Dr. Philip Deloria

Biography

Philip Deloria is the Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvard University. His scholarly focus includes social, cultural, and political histories of relations between American Indian peoples and the United States, along with comparative histories of indigenous peoples in a global context. Deloria has taken on significant roles at Harvard, including serving as the Harvard College Professor and the Chair of the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature, while also acting as the interim chair of the American Studies program. His acclaimed works include 'Playing Indian' (1998), which examines the tradition of white 'Indian play' in contexts such as the Boston Tea Party and the New Age movement, and 'Indians Unexpected Places' (2004), which investigates the ideologies surrounding Native Americans in the early twentieth century. In 2019, he published 'Becoming Mary Sully: American Indian Abstract', which explores the works of a previously underrecognized Native artist and led to a significant exhibition. Deloria holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University and has taught at the University of Colorado and the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at Harvard in January 2018. His courses cover a wide range of topics including American Indian history, environmental history, and American studies methods.

Research Interests

Courses