Eduardo Acosta

Eduardo Acosta received his PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2022. He is a historian of early modern South Asia, working on the intellectual and environmental history of Eastern India during the 17th and 18th centuries. His research focuses on processes of temporalization and historical periodization, especially the coinage and use of the concept of the `medieval’ outside Europe. Acosta is currently working on his first book project, which stems partially from his dissertation. The book investigates how rivers and the natural landscape of Bengal inflected the understanding of historical time in the early colonial period, by paying attention to the deep imbrication between human and riverine history in Bengal. For his research, Eduardo Acosta engages with sources in English, modern and medieval Bengali, and Sanskrit. He has taught survey courses on the early modern history of South Asia; specialized courses on the conceptual history of time outside Europe; and introductory humanities classes to global ancient and medieval literature.