Craig Benjamin
| Craig Benjamin | |
|---|---|
 Craig Benjamin, eight-man from the left, attending the formation of the International Big History Association in Coldigioco, Italy on 20 August 2010 | |
| Residence | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Fields | History |
| Institutions | Grand Valley State University |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University (PhD, 2003) |
| Thesis | The Yuezhi: Origin, Migration and the Conquest of Northern Bactria (2003) |
Craig G. Benjamin is an Australian historian who is Associate Professor of History at Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University, where he teaches East Asian civilization, big history, ancient Central Asian history, and historiography. In 2014 and 2015 he is President of the World History Association.
Biography
Benjamin grew up in Brisbane, Australia. His father was a well-known TV journalist. Benjamin dropped out of college at the age of 19, spending 25 years as a professional musician and jazz educator. He earned his undergraduate education from The Australian National University in Canberra and Macquarie University in Sydney, and gained his PhD in ancient history from Macquarie University in 2003 with his dissertion The Yuezhi: Origin, Migration and the Conquest of Northern Bactria.
Having emigrated to the United States after receiving his PhD, Benjamin has since become Associate Professor of History at Meijer Honors College at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Allendale, Michigan. He teaches East Asian civilization, big history, ancient Central Asian history, and historiography. Benjamin is the recipient of several teaching awards at GVSU, most notably the 2009 Student Senate Award for Faculty Excellence. He received the Faculty of Distinction Award of the Omicron Delta Kappa Society in 2012 and was a nominee for the 2013 US Professor of the Year Award.
Benjamin has presented lectures at conferences throughout the world, and he is the author of several published books, chapters and essays on the ancient history of Central Asia, Big History and world history. He has recorded lectures for History Channel, the Foundations of Eastern Civilization of the Great Courses series of The Teaching Company, and the Big History Project. Together with David Christian and Cynthia Brown, he is the author of the first Big History textbook Big History: Between Nothing and Everything', which was published by McGraw-Hill in August 2013.
Benjamin has been Treasurer of the International Big History Association since its inception in January 2011. He is a consultant for the College Board and a member of the Test Development Committees of both Advanced Placement and SAT World History. In 2014 and 2015 he is President of the World History Association.
Benjamin lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife Pamela. Together they have two children living in Australia. In addition to his academic and musical interests Benjamin is an avid hiker, and has climbed Mount Everest. He organizes the Eastown Street Fair, a jazz festival in Grand Rapids, which draws around 10,000 people each September.
Bibliography
Books
- Worlds of the Silk Roads: Ancient and Modern, Christian, D., and Benjamin, C., eds. (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Silk Roads Studies Series vol. II, 1998)
- Realms of the Silk Roads: Ancient and Modern, Christian, D., and Benjamin. C., eds. (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Silk Roads Studies Series vol. IV, 2000)
- Walls and Frontiers in Inner Asian History, Benjamin, C., and Lieu, S., eds. (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Silk Roads Studies Series vol. VI, 2002)
- The Yuezhi: Origin, Migration and the Conquest of Northern Bactria, Benjamin, C. (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Silk Roads Studies Series vol. XIV, 2007)
- Between Nothing and Everything: Big History, Christian, D., Brown, C., and Benjamin, C. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013)
- Cambridge History of the World Vol. 4: A World with States, Empires, and Networks, 1200 BCE-900 CE, Benjamin, C., ed. Series editor: Weisner-Hanks, M. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2014)
- Readings in the Historiography of World History, Benjamin, C. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, forthcoming 2014)
Articles
- The Convergence of Logic, Faith and Values in the Modern Creation Myth, in Genet, C., Swimme, B., Genet, R., and Palmer, L. eds., Evolutionary Epic: Sciences Story and Humanitys Response (Los Angeles: Collins Fndtn. Press, 2009) 5000 words
- 'The Kushans in World History', World History Bulletin Vol. XXV No. 1, Spring 2009, ed. Tarver, H.M., 30–32
- Xiongnu and Yuezhi Military Relations, 220–162 BCE, in L. Maracz and B. Obrusanszky, eds., The Heritage of the Huns (Budapest: Hun-Idea Press, 2009, in Hungarian) 37–54
- Historiography and World History Teacher Training, Social Studies Review Special Edition, ed. A. Black The New World History (Spring-Summer 2010, vol. 49, No. 1) 8–13
- The Carthaginian Invasion of Europe. Polybius, Diodorus, and the Origins of Universal History, in World History Connected, Volume 6, No. 5 (June 2010) 5000 words
- Art of Central Asia, in W. McNeill, R. Crozier, D. Christian, and J. McNeill, eds., Art in World History (Great Barrington MA: Berkshire Press, 2011) 31–40
- Considerable Hordes of Nomads were Approaching.� The Conquest of Greco-Bactria � the First �Event in World History, in Sun Yue, ed., Global History Review, Vol. 5 (Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2012, in Chinese) 8000 words
- "The great deliverer, the righteous, the just, the autocrat, the god, worthy of worship�. Kanishka I, Kushan Dynastic Religion, and Buddhism, in M. Gervers and G. Long, eds., Toronto Studies in Central and Inner Asia vol. X (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013) 10,000 words
- The Little Big History of Jericho, in B. Rodrigue, ed., Big History Anthology, (Los Angeles and Berkeley: University of California Press, forthcoming 2014)
- The Kushan Empire, chap. 26 in The Oxford World History of Empire, P. Fiber Bang, C.A. Bayly, and W. Scheidel, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2014) 9000 words
- The World from 1200 BCE to 900 CE, chap. 1 in Cambridge History of the World Vol. 4: A World with States, Empires, and Networks, 1200 BCE-900 CE. C. Benjamin, ed. Series editor: Weisner-Hanks, M. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2014) 9000 words
- Big History, Collective Learning, and the Silk Roads, in Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference of the International Big History Association, D. Baker, E. Quaedackers, C. Brown and A, Koryatev eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2014) 5000 words
External links
References
- "Professor Craig G. Benjamin, PhD". The Teaching Company. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- Finch Hamilton, Terri (28 February 2010). "Profile: Grand Valley State University professor and Renaissance Man Craig Benjamin". The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 29 May 2015.