I am an historian of Early Modern Europe and the Atlantic World with a focus on the late eighteenth century and the revolutions of France and the United States. I earned my Ph.D. in 2004 at the University of California at Berkeley, where I focused on the relationship between religion and state-building in Old Regime and Revolutionary France. Following my doctorate studies I taught at Temple University (Philadelphia) before arriving at CUHK in 2014. My first two books both examined the role of religion in shaping the history of the French Revolution. My current research has expanded to include the history of North America, and focuses on the history of militias and citizen-soldiers in the Atlantic World, from the rise of renaissance criticisms of mercenaries through to the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and its declaration that a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state. Focusing on the history of citizen-soldiers and militias allows me to rethink some classical questions about the role that violence played in the French Revolution, and particularly the role that Parisian National Guardsmen played in shaping the events there. It also allows me to contribute to larger discussions in the United States about the history of gun violence and private weapon ownership.