Marlene Daut & Vincent Brown

Yale University has selected two distinguished Black scholars, Marlene Daut and Vincent Brown, for endowed faculty positions in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Their appointments recognize their significant contributions to the study of Black history, literature, culture, and the African diaspora.

Marlene Daut: Professor of Black Studies and French serves as the Chester D. Tripp Professor of Black Studies and French. She joined Yale’s faculty in 2022 and teaches courses examining Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean literature, African American studies, and French colonial history and literature.

Daut research explores Caribbean history, particularly Haiti and the intellectual traditions that emerged from the Haitian Revolution. Her award-winning publications include “The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe” (2025), “Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution” (2023), “A History of Haitian Literature” (2024), and “Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism” (2019).

Beyond her scholarship, Daut contributes to digital humanities and academic publishing. She co-created and co-edits H-Net Commons’ H-Haiti platform, maintains a website dedicated to early Haitian print history and culture. Daut earned her bachelor’s degrees in English and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She received a master’s degree and doctorate in English from the University of Notre Dame.

Vincent Brown: Professor of History holds the David Brion Davis Professorship of History at Yale. He joined the university after serving as the Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of African American Studies at Harvard University.

Brown’s research examines the political dimensions of cultural practices throughout the African Diaspora, with particular attention to the early modern Atlantic world and the history of slavery. His notable books include “The Reaper’s Garden: Death and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery” (2008) and “Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War” (2020).

A multimedia historian, Brown combines traditional scholarship with innovative storytelling. He created the animated map “Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760–1761: A Cartographic Narrative” and directed research for PBS Digital Studios’ short video series “The Bigger Picture” (2022). He also produced the documentary “Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness” (2009).

In 2024, Brown served as executive producer, writer and host of “How Do You Remember the Days of Slavery?” produced by Timestamp Media, the production company he cofounded. He earned his history degree from the University of California, San Diego, and his doctorate in history from Duke University.