"Harvard's history department is very strong on the Middle East, China, Japan and Southeast Asia," Bose said. "I will provide a connection between those areas...I'm interested in breaking out of the constraints of area studies and looking at comparisons and connections."
Although Bose had been a leader in Tufts' strong South Asian studies program, he said that he did not hesitate to accept Harvard's offer.
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"It wasn't a difficult decision. It was an honor which I wanted to accept," he said.
Bose's latest book, "The Indian Ocean Rim: an Inter-regional Arena in the Colonial Era, c. 1850-1950," will be published next year.
--Staff writer Daniel K. Rosenheck can be reached at rosenhec@fas.harvard.edu.