Paul Burlin

Paul T. Burlin, Ph.D.

Professor of History

Location

Biddeford Campus

Contact

Professor Burlin's specialty is 19th-century American diplomatic history. He has published a number of articles in this area and has completed a book titled Imperial Maine and Hawai'i: Interpretative Essays in the History of Nineteenth Century American Expansion  that traces connections between Maine and Hawai'i as a way to explore large issues related to American imperialism in the 19th century. He also has an interest in the perceptions and insights "foreigners" have about U.S. history, culture and society. He is particularly interested in Brazilian observations about the United States. In addition, he has an interest in questions dealing with contemporary American culture.

Credentials

Education

Ph.D.
Rutgers University
1984
A.B.
Heidelberg College
1968

Research

Current research

19th century American missisonaries to Hawai'i

Selected publications

Books

The Role of the American Board in the World: Bicentennial Reflections on the Organization’s Missionary Work 1810-2010, WIPH and Stock Publishers, 2012.

Imperial Maine and Hawai'i: Interpretive Essays in the History of 19th Century American Expansion (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006).

Selected Articles

“James G. Blaine’s Effort to Have John L. Stevens Appointed Minister to Hawai’i in 1869,” (forthcoming Maine History).

“The US Quest for a Global Pax Americana: Myths and Realities,” in Visions of the Future in Germany and America, Eds. Norbert  Finzsch & Hermann Wellenreuther (Oxford: Berg, 2001):109-142.

"Harold Marsh Sewall and the Truculent Pursuit of Empire:  Samoa, 1887-1890," Maine History (39:2) Summer, 2000.

"Christopher Lasch: uma critica · crença americana em relação ao progresso," Vivéncia, January, 1998, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.

"Arthur Sewall: Portrait of a Nineteenth Century Shipbuilder," The American Neptune, Winter, 1995.

"As Elites Novas e Vehlas," Caderno de História, December, 1995, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.

"Maine Migrations: Arthur and Harold Sewall in the Pacific," Maine History, Summer-Fall, 1995.

"American Exceptionalism and the Late Twentieth Century Flight From History, " The Maine Scholar (10) Autumn, 1997             

Media Publications

“Empire without End,” Maine Sunday Telegram, October 20, 2002.

“The Drumbeat of War,” Maine Sunday Telegram, October 24, 2004.

"Reflections on the American Election of 2004,” Tingis, December 2004.

 

 

 

Other scholarly activity

Reviews

  • Review of Environmental History by Ian Simmons, The Environmental Professional, Vol. 17, No.1, March, 1995. 
  • Review of Coastal Maine: a Maritime History by Roger Duncan, The American Neptune, Summer, 1995. 
  • Review of 'Eastland': Legacy of the 'Titanic' by George Woodman Hilton, The American Neptune, Summer, 1996. 
  • Review of The United States in the Pacific: Private Interests and Public Policies, 1784-1899 by Donald D. Johnson (with Gary Dean Best), The Pacific Historical Review, Spring, 1997 (with Jacques Downs) 
  • Review of The War of 1898, The Spanish-American War in Historiography, by Louis Pérez, Michigan Historical Review, Winter, 1999.
  • Review of James G. Blaine: Architect of Empire, by Edward P. Crapol (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Inc., 2000), Maine History, Summer, 2001.
  • Review of New Deal, New Landscape: The Civilian Conservation Corps and South Carolina’s State Parks, Tara Mitchell Mielnik (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2011), The Journal of Tourism History, Winter 2014.
  • Review of Mr. Speaker: The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed The Man Who Broke the Filibuster, by James Grant (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2011), Maine History, July 2014.
  • Review of Hawaiian by Birth: Missionary Children, Bicultural Identity and US Colonialism in the Pacific, Joy Schulz (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2017), Journal of American Ethnic History, Spring 2020.  
     

Conference Presentations and Invited Lectures (selected):

  • "Like Father, Unlike Son: The Politics of Arthur and Harold Sewall," 18th Annual International Maritime History Symposium, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine, May 10, 1993.
  • "Two Euro-American Males Teaching for Diversity," 18th Annual National Conference of the Society for Scholars and Educators, Buffalo, New York, March 17, 1995.
  • "Maine Migrations: The Sewalls in the Pacific," Washburn Center History Conference, Turner, Maine, June 9, 1995.
  • "Harold Marsh Sewall and the Maine-Pacific Connection," American Historical Association,  Pacific Branch, Maui, Hawaii, August 7, 1995.
  • "The Myth of American Exceptionalism and the Flight From History," paper presented to the University of New England Faculty Colloquium, April 2, 1997.
  • "Slavery and Race Relations in Brazil," an invited lecture presented as part of the University of Southern Maine's "Brazil Immersion Program," April 4, 1997.
  • “Harold Marsh Sewall and the Truculent Pursuit of Empire; Samoa, 1887-1889,” University of Hawaii Symposium on Maritime History and the History of the Pacific, February 16, 1998.
  • Maine Public Radio, Maine Things Considered, “Maine’s Involvement in the Annexation of Hawai’i.” (interview) August 13, 1998.
  • “Imperial Maine: the Sewalls and Doles in the Pacific,” University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, April 11, 1999.
  • “US Visions of Pax Americana: Myths and Realities,” Krefeld, Germany, May 14, 1999.
  • “Reflexões Sobre Os Estados Unidos no Final do Século e do Milénio,” delivered at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, September 14, 1999; and at the Universtário de Barra Mansa, Brazil, November 23, 1999.
  • “Christopher Lasch no Contexto Historiográfico,” Universitário de Barra Mansa, Brazil,” November 24, 1999.
  • Chair, panel titled “Imagined Places, Marginal Worlds in the Progressive and Depression Era,” New England Historical Association, Stonehill College. Easton, Massachusetts, October 21, 2000.
  • “From Religion to Business: Maine Missionaries in Hawaii,” New England Historical Association, Salve Regina University Newport RI, April 21, 2001.
  • “Maine Merchant-Capitalists and Missionaries in Hawai’i: 1832-1850,” SHAFR Conference, Washington, DC, June 16, 2001.
  • “God and Mammon in Hawaii,” New England Historical Association, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI, October 19, 2002.
  • “Empire without End,” Citizens Offering New Alternatives, Walpole, ME,  January 17, 2003.
  • “Peter Allan Brinsmade and the Tragic Pursuit of a ‘Pious Capitalism’,” American Historical Association, Pacific Branch, August 2, 2003.
  • “Imperial Maine,” presentation to the University of New England Faculty colloquium, April 22, 2004.
  • “Imperial Maine,” Kennebec Historical Society, Augusta, ME, May 19, 2004.
  • “Elisa Bond in Hawai’i, 1841-1896,” American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch, San Jose, CA, August 6, 2004.
  • “Luther Severance in Hawai’i,” Southwestern Social Science Association, New Orleans, LA, March 24, 2005.
  • Respondent, Second Annual College of Arts and Sciences/Environmental Studies Symposium,” Westbrook College Campus, Portland, Maine, April 10, 2006.
  • Maine Public Radio,  Maine Things Considered, Imperial Maine and Hawai’i. (interview)
  • “Empire and the American Way of Life,” College of Arts & Sciences’ Core Connection Address, September 20, 2006.
  • “Imperial Maine and Hawai’i” invited lecture, Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine, October 31, 2006.
  • “Missionary Dilemmas,” Organization of American Historians Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 1. 2007.
  • “Dissent within the Hawaiian Missionary Community,” Pacific World & American West Conference, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, February 8, 2008.
  • “Internal Missionary Community Controversies in Hawai’i, 1820-1845,” New England Historical Association, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, April 18, 2009.
  • “The United States in the Twenty-First Century: Republic of Empire,” Center for Global Humanities, University of New England, March 29, 2010.
  • "The Salary Controversy Among Early 19th Century Missionaries to Hawai’i,” Congregational Library, Boston, Massachusetts, September 25, 2010.

  • “Internal Missionary Controversies in Hawai’i,’ PCB-AHA Conference, San Diego, CA, August 12, 2012

  • “Pay or Communalism,” NEHA Conference, October 13, 2012. -“O Segundo Mandato de Obama,” invited lecture, Universidade do Rio Grande do Norte, June 3, 2013. 
     

Funded grants

  • Fulbright-Hays Curriculum Development Grant- Sole author- $58,000 - Brazil - July, 1993 - developed curriculum on race and race relations in Brazil and infused material into a comparative slavery/race relations course.
  • USIA Institutional Affiliation Grant - Co-author - $60,000
  • Visiting Professor appointment, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, January-June, 1996. Taught a graduate course in Portuguese on Christopher Lasch in historiographical context.
  • Assisted with planning for a conference on the Spanish American War - received funding from the Maine Humanities Council.
  • Awarded a senior Fulbright appointment to teach from August, 1999 to December, 1999 at the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.  Taught a thematic American history course in Portuguese and lectured on Christopher Lasch in historiographical context at several universities in Brazil.
  • Awarded a research grant from the Faculty Research Committee of the University of New England to conduct archival research in Honolulu, Hawaii in May 2000 and May 2001.

Invited plenary presentation

“Imperial Maine,” Kennebec Historical Society, Augusta,, ME, May 19, 2004.

“Elisa Bond in Hawai’i, 1841-1896,” American Historical Association, Pacific Coast Branch, San Jose, CA, August 6, 2004.

“Luther Severance in Hawai’i,” Southwestern Social Science Association,  New Orleans, LA, March 24, 2005.

Respondent,  Second Annual College of Arts and Sciences/Environmental Studies Symposium,” Westbrook College Campus, Portland, Maine, April 10, 2006.

Maine Public Radio,  Maine Things Considered,  Imperial Maine and Hawai’i. (interview)

“Empire and the American Way of Life,” College of Arts & Sciences’ Core Connection Address, September 20, 2006.

“Imperial Maine and Hawai’i”  invited lecture, Maine Historical Society, Portland ,Maine, October 31, 2006.

“Missionary Dilemmas,” Organization of American Historians Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 1. 2007.

“Dissent within the Hawaiian Missionary Community,” Pacific World & American West Conference, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, February 8, 2008.

“Internal Missionary Community Controversies in Hawai’i, 1820-1845,” New England Historical Association, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, April 18, 2009.

“The United States in the Twenty-First Century: Republic of Empire,” Center for Global Humanities, University of New England, March 29, 2010.

“The Salary Controversy Among Early 19th Century Missionaries to Hawai’i,” Congregational Library, Boston, Massachusetts, September 25, 2010.

“Internal Missionary Controversies in Hawai’i,’ PCB-AHA Conference, San Diego, CA, August 12, 2012

“Pay or Communalism,” NEHA Conference, October 13, 2012.

“O Segundo Mandato de Obama,” invited lecture, Universidade do Rio Grande do Norte, June 3, 2013.

Research interests

US foreign policy