A member of the St. Olaf faculty since 2000, Professor Hahn’s scholarly and teaching interests are centered in the fields of colonial American, Native American, and Atlantic world history.  A native of Flint, Michigan, Hahn attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology.  After working for two years as a field archaeologist, Hahn developed what has proven to be a life-long interest in North American colonization, and he returned to school to earn a master’s degree in history from the University of Georgia.  Hahn then completed his doctoral work at Emory University, specializing in Native Americans of the colonial South.  At St. Olaf, Professor Hahn teaches courses on the American Revolution and early U.S. republic, the Trail of Tears, the Native American West, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Professor Hahn has also taught in the American Conversations and Enduring Questions programs.

Concerning his scholarly activities, Dr. Hahn’s first book, The Invention of the Creek Nation, 1670-1763 (University of Nebraska Press, 2004), recounts the internal and external political history of the Muskogee (Creek) Indians in the era prior to the French and Indian War.  Hahn’s second book, The Life and Times of Mary Musgrove (University Press of Florida, 2012) unravels the story of Mary Musgrove (ca. 1700-1764), who was born to a Creek Indian mother and English father and became entangled in a protracted land dispute in the fledgling Georgia colony.  Additionally, Hahn has authored several book chapters on Creek Indian history, and regularly reviews books for scholarly journals such as Ethnohistory, The Journal of Southern History, The Journal of American History, American Anthropologist, and the Journal of British Studies.

More recently, Professor Hahn’s research interests have led him into the field of Caribbean history and piracy. One article published in 2017 tells the story of Richard Tookerman, a self-proclaimed “gentleman” from South Carolina who was arrested in Jamaica and taken to London in 1721 to stand trial for piracy. His forthcoming book, A Pirate’s Life No More: The Pardoned Pirates of the Bahamas (University of Georgia Press, 2025) explores the lives of 209 ordinary seamen pardoned for piracy in 1718.  In addition to explaining what pirates did after they “retired,” the book explores the theme of socio-economic class in British America, and connects piracy to land-based communities in the Bahamas, Jamaica, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and beyond. Hahn’s current research project involves the intersection between piracy and the slave trade in South Carolina, as exemplified through the life of William Rhett, the colony’s long-time collector of customs who later earned fame by capturing the pirate Stede Bonnet.

Hahn has two adult children and his wife, Mary, practices law in Northfield. When not working, Professor Hahn enjoys indulging in some of his favorite pastimes, ranging from college football to world travel. Having retired from playing ice hockey, Hahn, a certifiable golf addict, can be seen on the links at odd hours of the day working on his (admittedly mediocre) game.  Professor Hahn is also known to wear a Scottish kilt for no particular reason!