On History and Memory
I am fascinated by the confluence of history, memory, and museums.
My research looks at the intersections of American history, Native American history, and memory studies with an eye toward how these were reflected in museum spaces. I explore how these memories created spaces that were not only important zones of contact where these histories collided, but were also spaces shaped by individuals who built and interpreted them. I am endlessly fascinated by the ways in which these individuals defied or reinforced damaging stereotypes, shaped public knowledge and historical memory, influenced American and Native Americans’ sense of their own national or cultural identities, influenced politics and political culture, and embedded that work in spaces that still exist as monuments to the many ways that “authenticity” and identity—in all their forms—were shaped and challenged over time.
As a public historian, I have worked for years in various capacities at public humanities organizations and historic house museums. Museums and cultural centers are vital community resources and I have dedicated my career to studying their history, strengthening their ties to the community, and making them more accessible. I have served in various roles and worked on projects for the National Park Service, the Roosevelt House Institute for Public Policy, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, The Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
As a college educator, I am also interested in exploring the many ways that these topics can enrich classroom pedagogy. I encourage students to read unfamiliar sources and scholarship and to engage with varied museum exhibitions, digital history projects, and the public history sites in their own backyards. These exposures remind them that history is more than names and dates—history is us.