David Luke Howell is an American historian specializing in the social, cultural, and economic history of early modern Japan. He is the Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Professor of Japanese History at Harvard University, where he holds a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Howell's scholarship focuses on the transformation of social relations, economic life, and identity in Japan from the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) into the modern era. His work is regarded as influential in shifting the historiography of Japan toward regional and translocal perspectives.
Source: “David Howell (historian)”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt