Jerome S. Handler

Jerome S. Handler is currently Senior Scholar at Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (Charlottesville, VA).
He did both his B.A. (January, 1956) and M.A. (January, 1959) in Anthropology at University of California, then his Ph.D. also in Anthropology at Brandeis University (February, 1965).

He specializes in African American social and cultural history; early African Diaspora in the New World and slavery; Atlantic slave trade; Caribbean and West African societies and cultures; peasant and plantation communities in the Caribbean; historical anthropology and the use of documentary sources; historical archaeology with particular reference to the Africa Diaspora; West Indian historical bibliography.

Jerome S. Handler, prior to being appointed a Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in the fall of 2006, had already had a lengthy career in academia. Beginning in 1962, Dr. Handler was an instructor and later professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He was also a Research Associate from 1987 to 1995 at the Center for Archaeological Investigations and served as a professor of Black American Studies from 1993 to 1995. Dr. Handler received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1956 in Anthropology and a Master of Arts in Anthropology in 1959. He was granted a PhD in 1965 from Brandeis University. Early in his career, he taught at several prestigious universities, including Colgate University in 1971 to 1972 as a visiting professor, the University of the West Indies in Jamaica as a Visiting Research Fellow in 1969 to 1970, and University College at the University of London as an Honorary Research Assistant in 1966 to 1967. Later in his career, in 1992, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Afro-American Studies at Harvard University and also was an Associate at the DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research from 1989 to 1990. Dr. Handler has also received numerous fellowships and grants for his research in anthropology, as well as publishing a wealth of professional articles. He has presented papers and lectures at conferences and seminars both in the United States and overseas.

He is a Fellow at Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (fall 1995, fall 1996 - spring 1997, fall 1997 - spring 2006) and also Senior Scholar (fall 2006-present).

At the Southern Illinois University he helds the position of Anthropology and Black American Studies, Prof Emeritus (Sept 1995-present); Center for Archaeological Investigations, Research Associate (1987-95); Black American Studies, Professor (1993-95); Dept of Anthropology, Professor (1974-93), Assoc Prof (1968-74), Asst Prof (1964-68), and Instructor (1962-64).