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Donald F. Stevens, Drexel Department of History

Donald F. Stevens, PhD

Professor Emeritus
Department of History

Education:

  • PhD, History, University of Chicago, 1984
  • MA, History, University of Chicago, 1976
  • AB, History, Vassar College, 1975

Curriculum Vitae:

Download (PDF)

Bio:

Donald Fithian Stevens is Professor Emeritus of History at Drexel University where he taught for 37 years. He is the author of two award-winning books: Mexico in the Time of Cholera (2019) and Origins of Instability in Early Republican Mexico (1991). His research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies, Joint Committee on Latin American Studies.

Choice described his work this way: "Mexico in the Time of Cholera is a sophisticated piece of scholarship--not to mention one that reads like a novel. Opening a clear window onto the Republic in its earliest years, Stevens deserves high praise for a fine achievement. Highly recommended." A reviewer in Medical History wrote that "Stevens brings both thoughtfulness and playfulness to his interpretations. ... In each chapter, Stevens draws concrete and persuasive conclusions about popular expressions of Catholicism."

As a product of his teaching at Drexel, Dr. Stevens edited two volumes of essays focusing on how historians see feature films about Latin America history. The most recent volume was described by a reviewer as “filled with essays brimming with insight and analysis. This volume should become a standard reference point for teachers and researchers of Latin American history and film.

Dr. Stevens was also the editor of The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Latin American History. He served on the journal’s editorial board for 24 years.

Selected Publications:

Books

Articles and Book Chapters

  • Donald F. Stevens, 2023, “A French Comedy, the Inquisition, Dirty Dancing, and a Sociopath: Hidalgo—La Historia Jamás Contada,” in D. F. Stevens, ed., Latin American History at the Movies, Rowman & Littlefield, 67-88.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 2023, “Passion and Patriarchy in Nineteenth-Century Argentina: María Luisa Bemberg’s Camila,” in D. F. Stevens, ed., Latin American History at the Movies, Rowman & Littlefield, 89-108.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 2006, “Eating, Drinking, and Being Married: Epidemic Cholera and the Celebration of Marriage in Montreal and Mexico City, 1832-1833,” The Catholic Historical Review, 92:1, 74-94.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1999, “Lo revelado y lo oscurecido: La política popular desde los archivos parroquiales,” in Construcción de la legitimidad política en México en el siglo XIX, edited by Brian Connaughton, Carlos Illades, and Sonia Pérez Toledo, eds., El Colegio de Michoacán, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 207-26.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1999, “‘Temerse la ira del cielo’: Los conservadores y la religiosidad popular en los tiempos del cólera,” in El conservadurismo mexicano en el siglo XIX, William Fowler and Humberto Morales Moreno, eds., Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 87-101.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1992, “Riot, Rebellion, and Instability in Nineteenth-Century Mexico,” in Five Centuries of Mexican History/Cinco Siglos de Historia de México, Virginia Guedea and Jaime E. Rodríguez O., eds., Instituto Mora; Irvine, California: University of California, 1: 344-355.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1992, “Conditions and Convictions: Social Aspects of Factionalism in Early Republican Mexico City.” In La ciudad y el campo en la historia de México, Ricardo Sánchez, Eric Van Young, and Gisela von Wobesar, eds., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1: 317-335
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1986, “Economic Fluctuations and Political Instability in Early Republican Mexico,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 16: 645-665.
  • Donald F. Stevens, 1982, “Agrarian Policy and Instability in Porfirian Mexico.” The Americas 39: 153-166.