Education

• Ph.D. History, University of South Carolina
• M.A. Public History, University of South Carolina
• Graduate Certificate Women’s & Gender Studies, University of South Carolina
• B.A. History, University of Maryland

Bio

I recently earned my Ph.D. in History from the University of South Carolina. My dissertation, “In the Saddle: Gender and the Rise of a Female Equestrian Culture,” analyzes middle-class American women’s growing participation in recreational and competitive horseback riding from 1830 to 1890. I argue that equestrian practice allowed many women to challenge gender expectations, develop expertise in a historically male-dominated field, and construct female-dominated social networks. By the final decade of the nineteenth century, these women’s commitment to equestrian practice had transformed horsemanship from an activity traditionally associated with manliness into a feminine sport and hobby. My research has been generously supported by the American Antiquarian Society and the Bilinski Fellowship program.

I currently serve as an Instructor in the History Department where I teach surveys on United States history and the American founding documents. My commitment to student success has been recognized by the Student Disability Resource Center Two Thumbs Up Award.

Selected Public History Projects

“Voices of Revolution in South Carolina,” Temporary Exhibit at the South Carolina Historical Society (Summer 2025)

“Enslavement at Fat Oxen: Patterns Across Generations,” Permanent Interpretive Panel at the Fat Oxen House (Fall 2025)

“The Toll of War,” Traveling Exhibit at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine (Fall 2022)

Selected Publications

“Riding through Norms: Creating and Performing Athletic Femininity at American Ladies’ Equestrian Exhibitions, 1850–1890,” Gender & History 38:2 (July 2026): 554-66.

“Enslaved & Free African Americans in Antebellum Frederick, Maryland,” Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 5:4 (December 2024): 56-62.

“Artifact NY: Seeking Freedom in New York City,” New York History Journal 105:1 (Summer 2024): 171-74.

“The Ross House Slave Quarters,” Perspectives on History 61:7 (October 2023): 44.