Steve Porter

Stephen Porter is an associate professor of history at University of Cincinnati. At UC, he has served as director of the International Human Rights Certificate, chair of the Tolley Scholarship in International Human Rights, and chair of the Taft Center’s Human Rights Research Group. A former fellow of the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, he has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. Porter’s research explores the intersection of humanitarianism and U.S. power over the long twentieth century as experienced both internationally and domestically. He is particularly interested in the ways that state and civil society actors have collaborated, harmoniously and otherwise, in innovative governing initiatives seeking to justify themselves significantly through an embrace of ethical rationales. He has considered these issues in his book, “Benevolent Empire: U.S. Power, Humanitarianism, and the World’s Dispossessed” (University of Pennsylvania Press, Oct. 2016), published essays, and professional presentations.