Our 2025 Sherman Emerging Scholar was Charles Fawell from Williams College.
About the Scholar
Charles Begue Fawell is a visiting assistant professor of history at Williams College, where he teaches courses on global imperial history, modern Europe, and the history of travel. He is now finishing his first book, "Empire on the Line," which traces the rise and fall of modern French colonialism to the sea lanes linking Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. His initial publications from this project have won prizes from the Society of French Historical Studies and the Society of Dix-Neuviémistes.
Lecture
Empire on the Line: Making and Breaking French Colonialism at Sea
Fawell makes a close examination of French maritime routes to its African and Asian colonies from 1850 through 1950. During this bustling era of ever-expanding industry and steamship travel, he brings focus to other aspects of this network: logistical and political issues, social and racial divides, disease, diplomatic efforts and smuggling. Fawell argues that the resulting trafficking, labor conflicts and anticolonial activism ultimately served to undermine French imperial sovereignty.
The Roundtable
Sherman Emerging Scholar Charles Fawell (Williams College) was joined by Jessica Namakkal (Duke University), Jennifer Sessions (The University of Virginia) and Jennifer Boittin (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) to discuss his research. The roundtable was moderated by Michael Seidman (University of North Carolina Wilmington).
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