Mary Potorti, PhD
Associate Professor of Politics and Social Sciences
she/her/hers
School
School of Arts and Sciences
Department
School of Arts and Sciences
Office Location
W202A
Boston
About
Education
- PhD., American studies, Boston University
- B.A., American studies and history, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Research Interests
- The Black freedom struggle
- Social justice movements
- Racial equity
- Intersections of politics and food
- U.S. government and politics
Programs
- Biotechnology (BS)
- Chemistry (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)—Degree Completion
- Health Sciences (DHSc)
- Health Sciences (MHS)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Acupuncture (BS/MAC)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Occupational Therapy (BS/MSOT)
- Medical and Molecular Biology (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Medicine (BS/MD with SGU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Dental Medicine (BS/DMD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Optometry (BS/OD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with LECOM)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with ATSU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Physician Assistant Studies (BS/MPAS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Veterinary Medicine (BS/DVM with SGU)
- Public Health (BS)
- Public Health (MPH)
- Public Health Graduate Certificate
Featured Affiliations
Association for the Study of African American Life and History
New England American Studies Association
Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association
Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association
National Women’s Studies Association
Education
- PhD., American studies, Boston University
- B.A., American studies and history, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Research Interests
- The Black freedom struggle
- Social justice movements
- Racial equity
- Intersections of politics and food
- U.S. government and politics
Programs
- Biotechnology (BS)
- Chemistry (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)—Degree Completion
- Health Sciences (DHSc)
- Health Sciences (MHS)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Acupuncture (BS/MAC)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Occupational Therapy (BS/MSOT)
- Medical and Molecular Biology (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Medicine (BS/MD with SGU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Dental Medicine (BS/DMD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Optometry (BS/OD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with LECOM)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with ATSU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Physician Assistant Studies (BS/MPAS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Veterinary Medicine (BS/DVM with SGU)
- Public Health (BS)
- Public Health (MPH)
- Public Health Graduate Certificate
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Schultz, C., Potorti, M., Gardner, M., and Petersen, K. “Introducing the Social Constructions of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Class in a Health Sciences Curriculum.” Proceedings of the 2023 H-Net Teaching Conference, Vol. 2, 2024: 37-50. https://doi.org/10.33823/phtc.v2i1.229
Potorti, M. “‘Feeding the Revolution’: The Black Panther Party, Hunger, and Community Survival.” Journal of African American Studies, Vol. 21, Special Issue on the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party. Springer Publishing Group, 2017: 85-110. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12111-017-9345-9
Potorti, M. “Feeding Revolution: The Black Panther Party and the Politics of Food.” Radical Teacher, Vol. 98, Radical Teaching and the Food Justice Movement. University of Pittsburgh, Winter 2014: 43-50. http://radicalteacher.library.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/radicalteacher/article/view/80/44
Book Chapters
Potorti, M. “‘What We Eat is Politics’: Hunger and the Vote in Mississippi.” In Reginald K. Ellis, Peter B. Levy, and Jeffrey L. Littlejohn (eds). The Seedtime, the Work, and the Harvest: New Perspectives on the Black Freedom Struggle in America. Southern Dissent Series. University Press of Florida, 2018: 115-153. https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813056678
Potorti, M. “Eat to Live: Culinary Nationalism and Black Capitalism in Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam.” In Dawn-Marie Gibson and Herbert Berg (eds). New Perspectives on the Nation of Islam. Studies in Religion Series. Routledge, 2017: 68-94. https://www.routledge.com/New-Perspectives-on-the-Nation-of-Islam/Gibson-Berg/p/book/9780367875176
Potorti, M. “Planning for the People: The Early Years of Baltimore’s Neighborhood Design Center.” In Jessica I. Elfenbein, Thomas L. Hollowak, and Elizabeth M. Nix (eds). Baltimore ’68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City. Temple University Press, 2011: 226-245. http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781439906637
Honors
Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, Honorable Mention, MCPHS, May 2022.
Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellow, Emerson College, May 2017.
Mary Kelley Prize (awarded for best conference paper by a graduate student or non-tenure track scholar), New England American Studies Association Conference, Regis College, Apr 2016.
Visiting Fellowship, W.E.B DuBois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University, Jul–Sep 2013.
Angela J. and James J. Rallis Memorial Award, BU Center for the Humanities, May 2012.
Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize, BU Center for the Humanities, May 2012.