Kristen Petersen

Kristen Petersen, PhD

Associate Professor of History and Social Sciences

School

School of Arts and Sciences

Department

School of Arts and Sciences

Office Location

White 202A

Boston

About

Kristen Petersen is associate professor of History and Social Sciences, coordinator of the Women’s Studies Minor and LIB 133 American Culture, Identity and Public Life (Introduction to the Social Sciences). She teaches courses in immigration, social justice activism and women’s studies. In 2000-2001 and 2015 she served as historian and curator for exhibit design of Dreams of Freedom, Boston’s immigrant heritage museum. She was the Polly Logan Scholar at the Center for the Study of Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMASS Boston in 2004-5. Prior to her teaching career, Kristen was executive director of the Waltham Rediscovered Community History Project. She is co-author of the book, Waltham Rediscovered: An Ethnic History of Waltham, MA and As Tough As It Gets: Women in Boston Politics, 1921-2004.

Education

  • MA History, University of Massachusetts-Boston
  • MA American Studies, Brown University PhD American Studies, Brown University
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, American Studies, Brandeis University
 

Research Interests

  • Immigration experiences
  • Fairy tales
  • Gender in American popular culture

Featured Affiliations

New England Historical Association, executive committee Co-Chair, University Promotion Review Committee

HBSSC Representative Arts & Sciences Assessment Committee Member, School of Art s& Sciences Anti-Racist Teaching Group Center for Healthcare Humanities Advisory Board

Member, NEASC Subcommittee Standard 4: Organization of Administration and Academic Planning, Institutional Effectiveness

Education

  • MA History, University of Massachusetts-Boston
  • MA American Studies, Brown University PhD American Studies, Brown University
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, American Studies, Brandeis University
 

Research Interests

  • Immigration experiences
  • Fairy tales
  • Gender in American popular culture

Publications

Awards and Honors

More Affiliations