What does your job entail?
I teach a variety of courses on twentieth century U.S. history. My favorite is a course on community organizing where we use models and case studies from across the twentieth century, like the Flint Sit-Down Strike, or the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to think about seemingly timeless dilemmas of actually making social change. I also advise students in the History Department on their senior essays and theses. I serve on college-wide committees and all the normal work of a CC professor. And I work on my own scholarship as well. I’m currently co-writing a book about progressives and the left in the United States and their relationships to global politics.
Where did you work before CC and what were you doing?
Before coming to CC, I spent four years as a lecturer in Harvard University’s History and Literature concentration. It’s a great little corner of Harvard where undergraduates get a major role in designing their own course of study.
Tell us a little about your background.
I was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For undergraduate studies, I went to Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. There, I plunged into a lot of college activism, which continued after graduating when I moved to Washington, D.C. I worked at MoveOn.org and Public Citizen for about three years and then decided to get a PhD in History. That kept me in D.C. a while until I moved back to the Boston area to work at Harvard.
What do you like to do when not working?
When I have energy – going out for hikes, having friends over, and cooking. When I have less energy – films and TV.
Wild card: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Maybe an astronaut? I’ve always and continue to love science fiction.
