Bryton L. Chain

Bryton L. Chain is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Teaching Assistant in History at the University of Texas at Arlington, where his research examines colonialism, imperialism, and the history of race, with a geographic focus on the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. He holds a B.A. in History and a B.A. in African and African American Studies from the University of Oklahoma, where he graduated in 2023. His broader academic interests encompass the history and theory of revolutionary movements, and the application of geographic information systems, digital humanities, and public history to historical scholarship.

As an undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma, Chain was a recipient of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Fellowship, through which he 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. He has presented his work at two professional conferences: the Oklahoma Historical Society in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he presented research conducted during an internship examining Black Towns in Oklahoma, and the Haitian Studies Association in Atlanta, Georgia, where he presented his award-winning research on the Haitian monarchy.

A native of Granbury, Texas, Chain developed an early and enduring commitment to reading and research. From childhood well into his teens, he could almost always be found with his nose buried in a book, any manner of material fair game, from encyclopedias to fiction to prose.

After graduating high school, Chain joined the U.S. Navy, serving four years as an aviation hydraulic systems specialist. Following training across several states – including Indiana, Florida, and California – he spent three years stationed on Guam, an experience that immersed him in a rich confluence of cultures and histories, broadening his worldview and deepening his understanding of the people and ideas that shape our world. He subsequently completed an Associate of Arts degree at Tarrant County College District in 2020 before pursuing his undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma. That diverse path – from rural Texas to the Western Pacific to the archives – continues to inform his approach to the histories of colonialism, empire, and race that define his current scholarship.