Rate My Professor David Eaton

David Eaton is an Associate Professor of World and African history in the History Department at Grand Valley State University. He earned his Ph.D. from Dalhousie University in 2008, with his dissertation titled “Violence, Revenge, and the History of Cattle Raiding along the Kenya-Uganda Borders, c. 1830–2008,” which explored historical patterns of violence, revenge, and cattle raiding among pastoralist communities along the Kenya-Uganda border. His research and teaching focus on World History, African History, and 20th-century history. Eaton is also affiliated with the Global Studies & Social Impact program at the university, where he contributes his expertise in these areas.

Eaton has authored the textbook World History through Case Studies: Historical Skills in Practice, published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2019, with a second edition released in 2025. This work emphasizes developing historical skills through engaging case studies spanning global history. He has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Nomadic Peoples, World History Connected, and African Affairs, addressing topics in African history, colonial dynamics, and world history pedagogy. Additional contributions include “College-Level World History and the Coverage Model: A Half-Hearted Defense,” available through ScholarWorks@GVSU. Eaton co-hosts “On Top of the World: A World History Podcast” with Matt Drwenski, offering discussions on key themes and events in world history. His faculty development projects, such as “The Colonial Paradox: Law and Order on the Frontiers of Empire,” examine contradictions in colonial rule in Africa. Through teaching, scholarship, and outreach, Eaton advances the study of global and African historical narratives at Grand Valley State University.