I have presented my work in a wide variety of places over the years from high schools, colleges, and community groups to research libraries, public history sites, and faculty seminars. My early research on the origins of the penitentiary system in the U.S. focuses on women’s crime and punishment while also analyzing how race, class, gender, and sexuality shaped the system’s early decades. Recent talks illuminate queer/trans histories of the 18th & 19th century U.S. and U.K., drawing from my research on female husbands and other gender nonconforming practices prior to the invention of homosexuality. The newest talks examine the history of medical injustice towards LGBTQ people, including the legacy of entrenched stigma as well as individual and collective resistance, which ultimately became the LGBTQ health movement. I am always eager to help audiences think about connections between the past and present! Some of the places I have presented:

Libraries & Archives

American Antiquarian Society, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Cary Library, Countway Library, Eastern State Penitentiary, Fredericksburg Area Museum, George Washington’s Mt. Vernon, German Historical Institute, Historic Deerfield, Huntington Library, James Monroe Museum, Kinsey Institute, Library Company of Philadelphia, Longfellow House, Maine Historical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, National Park Foundation, National Theater Institute, New York Historical Society, Newberry Library, Schlesinger Library, Vermont Humanities Council, Wellfleet Public Library

Colleges & Universities

Brown University, Bryn Mawr College, Carlton College, Carnegie Mellon University, Clark University, Community College of Rhode Island, Cornell University, DePaul University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Greenfield Community College, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, Mt. Holyoke College, New School for Social Research, Penn State University, Pratt Institute, Rutgers University, Skidmore College, Smith College, Stanford University, Texas Tech, University College London, University of Arizona, University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania, University of South Carolina, University of Southern Maine, University of Texas, University of Western Ontario, Utah State University, Vassar College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, Western New England Law School, Yale University