Where you are currently getting your Ph.D.: Penn State University

What brought you into grad school for journalism: I knew I wanted to be a professor while sitting in a media law class during my undergraduate. But, it was important for me to work first. I worked for an alt-weekly, and after a handful of years, I knew it was time for grad school. Luckily for me, in my master’s program, I was randomly paired to work with Pamela Walck, who opened up the journalism history world to me. 

Why journalism history: My journalism history origin story starts with historical fiction. As a young girl, I loved the Dear America book series, which looked at a historical event through the eyes of a fictitious young girl. I still love historical fiction, but, as the saying goes, I’ve found that real life is even stranger than fiction. I love finding new stories and figuring out how to tell that story best. 

Current research project: I am finishing my dissertation, which looks at sex discrimination class-action lawsuits at press organizations during the 1970s. After the 1964 Civil Rights Act banned sex discrimination, women working at U.S. magazines, newspapers, and wire services sued for equal rights in contentious decades-long battles. It is a project rooted in oral history and sheds light on modern-day inequities inside U.S. newsrooms. 

Fun fact about yourself: I love folk music, and I play guitar and sing. I am most attracted to narrative folksongs and have written a few songs based on stories I’ve dug up while researching.