Jonathan Mercantini, Ph.D.

Jonathan Mercantini is Acting Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Associate Professor in Kean University’s Department of History where he has taught since 2007. Prior to his appointment at Kean he taught at the University of Miami and Canisius College. He has also taught at Princeton University. He earned his Ph.D. in American History from Emory University.

Among his major publications are: Who Shall Rule at Home: The Evolution of South Carolina’s Political Culture, 1748-1776 (Univ. South Carolina Press, 2007), The Stamp Act of 1765, Broadview Sources Series (Broadview Press, 2017), and essays on slavery in South Carolina and New Jersey. His current research projects include: Make History@Kean: William Livingston’s World – an exploration of the 18th Century Atlantic World funded by a Humanities Initiatives Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2014 he worked with the New Jersey Historical Commission to plan activities for the 350th Anniversary of New Jersey. He received Emmy Nominations from the New York Region and the Mid-Atlantic Region for his work on It Happened Here – New Jersey a weekly series on New Jersey History topics featured on New Jersey Public TV and online. He has received external grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other agencies to support his research on the history of New Jersey and of South Carolina in the 18th and 19th Centuries.