Daut graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in English and French in 2002 and went on to teach in Rouen, France as an Assistante d’Anglais before enrolling at the University of Notre Dame, where she earned a Ph.D. in English in 2009. Since graduating, she has taught Haitian and French colonial history and culture at the University of Miami, the Claremont Graduate University, and the University of Virginia, where she also became and remains series editor of New World Studies at UVA Press. In July 2022, she was appointed as Professor of French and Black Studies at Yale University.
She lives in the New Haven, CT area with her spouse and children.
An award-winning author, scholar, and professor specializing in Haitian history and culture, Marlene L. Daut's most recent book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe(Knopf, 2025), a finalist for the Cundill History Prize, explores the fascinating life of Haiti’s only king while delving into the complex history of a 19th-century Caribbean monarchy. Her other books include Tropics of Haiti: Race and the...
The dramatic story of a pivotal figure in the Haitian Revolution, who shook the Atlantic world to its core.
Born to an enslaved mother in Grenada, Henry Christophe first fought to overthrow the British in North America, before joining the Black freedom fighters of Saint-Domingue in their quest to gain independence from France. But, at one point,...
The American Comparative Literature Association has awarded A History of Haitian Literature, edited by Kaiama L. Glover and me, the 2026 René Wellek Prize for an Edited...
“So What’s Your Book About?”: A Branding Mini-Clinic
March 5: 12:45 PM
Your book might be brilliant, but can you explain the gist of it to a stranger in one sentence? This mini-clinic will help writers clarify their message to better position their work for media and public attention. Publicist Nanda Dyssou and four authors who have effectively branded and pitched their books, generating lots of media, event, and public interest, will guide attendees in inventing a tagline and an elevator pitch...
Join us for the next program in our "Declaration Deep Dive" series, a collaboration between KTM&HC and Ridgefield Library to commemorate America 250.
On Sunday, March 15 at 2pm, Dr. Marlene Daut, professor of French and African American Studies at Yale University, will discuss her research on the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), including its connections to the Declaration of Independence (1776). Details coming soon!
The 2026 Modern Intellectual History Lecture, on “The King of Haiti and Black Statecraft in the Nineteenth Century,” will be given by Marlene L. Daut (Yale University) at Vanderbilt University on March 19 from 2:15–3:45 PM in the Black Cultural Center Auditorium.
