Peter Stearns

Who is Peter Stearns?

Peter N. Stearns is a professor at George Mason University, where he is provost with almost forty years of experience as a teacher and administrator. Stearns was Chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition, he founded and edited the Journal of Social History. While at Carnegie Mellon he developed a pioneering approach to teaching World History.

Besides his long career as a historian, he is active in historical groups such as the American Historical Society, the Society for French Historical Studies, the Social Science History Association and the International Society for Research on Emotion. He attended Harvard College and later received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. In his prolific career as an author and editor, he has written or edited over 100 works of literature. Stearns once served as chair of the Advanced Placement World History committee. His books include: