Bryton L. Chain

I am a Ph.D. student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in History at the University of Texas at Arlington, where my research examines colonialism, imperialism, the history of race, and white supremacy, with a geographic focus on the Caribbean and the United States. I hold a B.A. in History and a B.A. in African and African American Studies from the University of Oklahoma, where I graduated in 2023. My broader academic interests encompass the history and theory of revolutionary movements, philosophies of race, and the application of geographic information systems and digital humanities.

At the University of Oklahoma, I was a recipient of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Fellowship, through which I conducted research on the Haitian monarchy of 1811–1820. That research was awarded the 2023 Latin America and Caribbean Best Paper Award at the University of Oklahoma. I have presented my work at two professional conferences: the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where I presented research conducted during an internship examining Black Towns in Oklahoma, and the Haitian Studies Association in Atlanta, Georgia, where I presented my award-winning research on the Haitian monarchy.

Originally from Granbury, Texas, I developed an early and enduring commitment to reading and research. From childhood well into my teens, I could almost always be found with my nose buried in a book. Any manner of material was fair game, from encyclopedias to fiction to poetry.

After graduating high school, I joined the U.S. Navy, serving four years as an aviation hydraulic systems specialist. Following training across several states — including Illinois, Florida, and California — I spent three years stationed in Yigo, Guam. After finishing my contract, I moved to Fort Worth and completed an Associate of Arts at Tarrant County College before finishing my undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma. My path from semi-rural Texas to the Western Pacific to the archives continues to inform my approach to the histories of colonialism, empire, and race that define my current scholarship.