I am a Professor of History at the University of Toronto, where I teach queer and trans history, the history of U.S. capitalism, oral history, and the history and theory of photography. Currently, I serve as the Director of the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative at the University of Toronto, leading interdisciplinary projects that merge digital tools with humanities scholarship. From 2020 to 2024, I was the Associate Vice President of Research, Strategic Initiatives, at the University’s Mississauga campus.
I earned my PhD in American Studies from Yale University in 2000. My research has been supported by organizations such as the Getty Research Institute, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Library of Congress Kluge Center, and the American Philosophical Society.
In addition to my academic work, I’m actively involved in public scholarship as a volunteer and former President of the Board at The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives, the world’s largest and oldest queer community archive. I also lead the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory, a collaborative, SSHRC-funded project that connects faculty, graduate students, archivists, and librarians across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. This project, which runs until 2025, creates and preserves LGBTQ+ oral histories in the digital age. In an effort to connect broader audiences with these histories, the Collaboratory has also begun experimenting with digital research creation in a variety of forms, including animated video shorts, audiograms, and immersive public and digital exhibits.
Earlier in my career, I directed the Centre for the Study of the United States and the American Studies Program at the Munk School of Global Affairs from 2007 to 2013. During this time, I organized over 250 public events and lectures, making the Centre a leading hub for U.S. scholarship in Canada.
Notable Publications
Work! A Queer History of Modeling (Duke University Press, 2019)
“Queering Photography,” a special issue of Photography and Culture (2014)
Feeling Photography (Duke University Press, 2014, co-editor with Thy Phu)
Cultures of Commerce: Representation and American Business Culture, 1877–1960 (Palgrave, 2006, co-editor with Catherine Gudis and Marina Moskowitz)
The Corporate Eye: Photography and the Rationalization of American Commercial Culture, 1884–1929 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005)
Getting to Know Me
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My current research in queer and trans history arose from a sobering experience of institutional homophobia at my university. I had been out for over 15 years before starting my position, and my research focus was originally on the visual culture of Taylorism and the history of capitalism. But when I was hired in 2000, I experienced a bit of culture shock, realizing I was the only out queer female faculty member on campus.
I came to understand I had an ethical responsibility to be more visible as a queer faculty member. Unless I signaled my queerness through research and teaching, LGBTQ2+ students would miss the opportunity to see themselves represented, even partially. Over time, I began volunteering at The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives and teaching LGBTQ+ history at the graduate level as a way to bring students into the archives.
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Join or create a writing group with people you trust, even if they aren’t in your field. Avoid jerks, divas, and anyone who leaves you feeling diminished rather than supported.
I’m also reflecting a lot on the craft of writing and its role in reaching broader audiences. Think about who you want to connect with through your scholarship and craft a narrative voice that resonates with that audience. Alternatively, find a piece of writing you admire and analyze why it works for you—then consider whether it could be a model for your own work. Don’t assume your committee (dissertation or tenure) will automatically criticize your choices.
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It took me a while to get here—I didn’t start my PhD until I was 30. Before that, I had quite a varied path: I attended law school, worked as a carpenter, woodworker, and cabinetmaker in Massachusetts and Maine, lived and worked in Nicaragua as part of grassroots organizing against U.S. imperialism in Central America, and ran a continuing studies program for an arts school. Growing up in the U.S., I reached a point where I thought maybe I could get healthcare if I became an academic.
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I’ve often thought I might be an organizational psychologist. I didn’t even know this was a field until well after I’d started my PhD in another area. That said, I’m not entirely sure it would have been the best fit for me either.