Education
Ph.D., History, Yale University, 2002
M.A., History, Yale University, 1998
B.A., History, Yale University, 1996
Regional and Thematic Interests
South Asia
History
Profile
Professor Chester’s current research examines connections between British India and the Palestine Mandate in the decades leading up to Britain's withdrawal. This project has been supported by funding from the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, the American Institute of Indian Studies, and the Smith Richardson Foundation. Her recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Historical Geography, Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, and an edited volume on Order, Conflict, and Violence (Cambridge University Press). She teaches courses on British imperialism and anti-colonial movements in South and West Asia, on post-Cold War South Asia, and on international affairs more broadly.
Selected Publications
2009 Borders and Conflict in South Asia: The Radcliffe Boundary Commission and the Partition of Punjab. Manchester, UK: Manchester UP.
2008 “Factors Impeding the Effectiveness of Partition in South Asia and the Palestine Mandate.” In Order, Conflict, and Violence, edited by Stathis Kalyvas et al, 27-96. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
2008 “Boundary Commissions as Tools to Safeguard British Interests at the End of Empire.” Journal of Historical Geography 34, no. 3: 494-515.