Education

• B.A. Wellesley College
• M.A. University of Virginia
• Ph.D. University of Virginia

Bio

I have been on the faculty at USC since 2005, specializing in the ways that cultural institutions shape racial, ethnic, and religious identity. I am the author of Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era (University of North Carolina Press, 2009) and Red Hot Mama: The Life of Sophie Tucker (University of Texas Press, 2018) as well as several articles and book reviews.  My work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, the Chicago Tribune and several other media outlets as well as the Journal of American History, American Quarterly, and Reviews in American History. I have spoken at the National Jewish Book Council, the American Jewish Historical Society, the National Museum of American History, as well as various universities and professional conferences. My research has been supported by the Smithsonian, the New York Public Library, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as grants from the University of South Carolina. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on American Cultural History, Racial and Ethnic History, and the History of Sexualities. I supervise several doctoral students in the History Department at USC, as well as M.A. students in Public History. I also serve as a consultant on digital and documentary film projects which bring history to a wider audience.

Activities

I am currently working on a book project interrogating the relationship between Gender and anti-Semitism in the U.S. from 1920-1960.