Biography
As a guitarist of traditional British and American music--including bluegrass, Appalachian, and Celtic music-- Professor Van Vugt has played in various bands in Britain and America and has performed for the Royal Geographic Society, the BBC, and French radio, among other cool gigs.
He also enjoys scuba diving and downhill skiing.
Education
- B.A., History, Calvin College
- M.A., History, Kent State University
- Ph.D., Economic History and Political Science, London School of Economics (UK)
Academic Interests
William Van Vugt's areas of research include:
- British migration
- British-American cultural / economic relationship
- American settlement and development
His latest book Portrait of an English Migration: North Yorkshire People in North America (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2021) examines the long history of migration from North Yorkshire to North America. Based on diary entries and letters, the book traces the movements of several families as they move to and throughout North America, and places their stories in the broader context of migration patterns. This work follows British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900, a work that examines the history of migration from a larger region (Great Britain) to one particular region in North America (Ohio.)
Other works include British Immigration to the United States, 1776 - 1914, published by Pickering Chatto. These four volumes are a collection and analysis of sources on British migration to the United States.
Read William Van Vugt's posts on Historical Horizons, the history department blog.
Publications
