John Henry Coatsworth


John Henry Coatsworth is an American historian of Latin America and the provost of Columbia University. From 2007 until February 2012 Coatsworth was the dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, and served concurrently as interim provost beginning in 2011. Coatsworth is a scholar of Latin American economic, social and international history, with an emphasis on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Biography

Coatsworth received his B.A. degree in History from Wesleyan University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economic history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He taught at the University of Chicago from 1969 until 1992 and at Harvard University until 2006. His other academic posts have included visiting professorships at El Colegio de México, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the National University of Buenos Aires, the Instituto Torcuato di Tella in Buenos Aires, and the Instituto Ortega y Gassett in Madrid.
Coatsworth is the author or editor of eight books and many scholarly articles on Latin American economic and international history. He is a former president of the American Historical Association and . At Harvard University, he served as the founding director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies from its creation in 1994 until 2006. He also chaired the Harvard University Committee on Human Rights Studies. He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Directors of the Tinker Foundation, the Board of Trustees and the Scientific Council of the Foundation Institute IMDEA Social Sciences, and numerous professional associations.
He has served on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly journals including the American Historical Review, the Journal of Economic History, and the Hispanic American Historical Review and as well as social science and history journals published in Britain, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Peru, and Spain. Coatsworth's most recent book is Living Standards in Latin American History: Height, Welfare and Development, 1750–2000, edited with Ricardo Salvatore and Amilcar Challú. His research and publications have focused on comparative economic, social, and international history of Latin America, especially Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Coatsworth was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 1986, served as Senior Fulbright Lecturer three times, and has received research and institutional grants from public agencies and private foundations in the United States and elsewhere. He has also acted as a consultant for program design or review to numerous U.S. universities and private foundations. In 2005, he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Controversy over the invitation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

While addressing the President of Iran's upcoming visit to the University campus on Fox News, Coatsworth was asked whether the administration would have allowed Adolf Hitler to speak on campus if he had asked. Coatsworth replied that "If he were willing to engage in a debate and a discussion to be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly invite him."
In 1933, university President Nicholas Murray Butler held a speaking engagement and reception for Germany's Ambassador the United States Hans Luther. Asked to clarify his remarks on September 24 on CNN Coatsworth said: “Look, if Hitler had come to the Columbia University in 1936, I would have been outside with the peaceful protesters. Or if I had been dean, I would have been inside presenting him to our students to be challenged. You can't choose your role in life. You can only choose the principles you have to live by. And in this case, we're providing not a platform but a classroom and we're going to challenge this guy as he has not been challenged in other places.”
Coatsworth has advocated for the U.S. to abide by and strengthen global rules and norms. “The United States faces a fundamental issue and that issue is, how do we create international and global institutions that function effectively and will continue to function effectively when the U.S. is no longer a global super power,” Coatsworth said in an April 9, 2010, interview with Charlie Rose on PBS.

Publications

Books

Published in Americas, Business History Review, Economía y Demografía, Economic History Review, Hispanic American Historical Review, Journal of Economic History, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Latin American Studies, Latin American Research Review, Library Quarterly, American Journal of Sociology.