Curriculum Vitae


Education

2020    Ph.D., American and New England Studies Program, Boston University.
           “Docile by Design: Commercial Furniture and the Education of American Bodies, 1840-1920.”

2012    Master of Arts with Honors, History of Decorative Arts & Design, Cooper Hewitt Museum.
           “Enduring Furniture at an Affordable Price : Reconstructing Nineteenth-century Business Models.”

1997    Bachelor of Fine Arts, Product Design, Parsons School of Design.

1989    Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Rutgers University.

Publications
Refereed Journal Articles

2021    “Bleacher Bugs and Fifty-Centers: The Design of American Baseball Stadium Seating, 1880-1920,” Buildings & Landscapes, Spring 2021.

2020    “Tied to the Desk: The Somatic Experience of Office Work, 1870–1920,” Interior Design, November 2020.

2019    “Take Three: The Doctor’s Office,” Modern American History, July 2019.

Web-based Publications

2014    “American Childhood in 25 Artifacts: School Desk,” The Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association, October 2014.

Conference Proceedings

2012    “University of Design: To What Degree?” IDSA Educational Symposium, Co-authored with Rama Chorpash and Patricia Beirne, August 2012.

Reviews

2020    Review: "Object Lessons: How Nineteenth-Century Americans Learned to Make Sense of the Material World by Sarah Anne Carter, Journal of Design History, May 2020.

2016    “Understanding through Performance Black Boston: A City Connects,” Transfers 6 (3), Winter 2016: 138–141.

2015    “Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye,” Objective, Journal of History of Design and Curatorial Studies, Spring/Summer 2015.

Catalog Essays

2010    “Parsons Women: Designing a Career,” in Inspiring Women: Selected Designers from Parsons School of Design Archive.

Awards and fellowships

2019    Dissertation Fellowship, Boston University.

2018    Dissertation Fellowship, Winterthur Museum.

2015    National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, Bentley University.

2015    Dewey Lee Curtis Scholarship, The Decorative Arts Trust.

2015    Outstanding Teaching Fellow, Boston University.

2014    Sewell C. Biggs Scholarship, Winterthur Museum.

Conference activity
Conferences organized

2016    Conference Co-organizer, “The Dynamic City: Futures for the Past,” Boston University, April 1-2.

Panels Organized

2018    Panel Co-organizer, “Material Culture Caucus: Cultural Landscapes as Sites for Emergence and Activism,” States of Emergence, American Studies Association, November 9-12.

Papers Presented

2020    “De-centering the Bauhaus: Industrial Design Education at Parsons School of Design and RISD,” College Art Association, February 12-15.

2019    “Bleacher Bugs and Fifty-Centers: The Design of American Baseball Stadium Seating, 1880-1920,” Landscapes of Succession, Vernacular Architecture Forum, May 29-June 1.

2018    “Upfront & Personal: Furniture Design and the Feminization of Clerical Offices,” Design and Displacement, Design History Society, September 6-8.

2018    “Commercial Furniture and the Gendering of Office Work,” States of Emergence, American Studies Association, November 9-12.

2016    “The Long History of Urban Planning,” Reclaiming Urban Renewal, Lawrence History Center Symposium, May 7.

2015    “Paternalism Inscribed on the Industrial City: The Case of Lawrence, Massachusetts,” Society of Architectural Historians, New England Chapter, February 28.

2012    “Queens Art Pewter: A Brooklyn Tale of Modern Mettle,” Brooklyn Aesthetics Conference, April 21.

2012    “Quality Furniture at an Affordable Price: Reconstructing Nineteenth-Century Business Models,” Society of Industrial Archaeology, June 2.

Discussant

2021    Roundtable: “Diversity and Inclusion in Pedagogy” Nineteenth Century Scholars Association, March 11.

2017    “Material Culture Caucus: Material Culture Pedagogy Across the Curriculum,” Pedagogies of Dissent, American Studies Association, November 9-12.

2015    “Brooklyn’s making history: Late 19th & Early 20th Century,” Wanted Design, May 9.

2012    “Design Education for New Manufacturing,” Design for Manufacturing Summit, September 20.

Departmental Talks

2021    “Racism, Classism and the Design of American Public Spaces,” Parsons School of Design, April 9.

2014    “Buying Time: The Commercialization of Leisure in New England, 1890-1920,” Americanist Forum, Boston University, March 5.

2014    “The Hand and The Machine: 19th Century Factory-made Furniture,” Reconsidering Craft: Its History and Practice, Boston University, November 14.

Teaching  
Parsons School of Design

MFA Industrial Design History (Fa 20)
MFA Design Studio 4: Thesis (co-taught, Sp 19, Sp 20).
BA/BFA Design History, 1850-Present (Fa 18).
BFA Thesis Prototyping (Sp 08, Sp 09, Sp 10, Sp 11, Sp 12, Sp 13).
BFA Thesis & Analysis Studio (Fa 11, Sp 12, Fa 12, Sp 13).
BFA Process & Presentation Drawing (Fa 07, Fa 08, Fa 09, Fa 10, Fa 11, Fa 12).
BFA Materials and Processes 4 (Fa 08, Fa 09, Fa 10, Fa 11, Fa 12).
Pre-College Product Design (Su 11, Su 12).
CE Basic Drawing (Fa 07).
BFA Furniture Design (Fa 00, Fa 01).

California State University

BA World Design & Visual Culture (Sp 21)

Cooper Hewitt Museum

Pre-college, Design: A City of Neighborhoods (Little Italy, Chinatown, Morningside Heights (Su 10).

Pratt Institute

BFA/MFA Production Methods: Ecology & Production (Fa 09, co-taught).

Montclair Art Museum

Portfolio Prep (Fa 2008, Sp 09).

Watercolor Techniques (Sp 09).

Research Experience

2018    Classical Excellence in Boston: The Furniture of Isaac Vose, 1789–1825, Massachusetts Historical Society, Exhibition catalog photo manipulation, rights acquisition, and management.

2014    Research Fellowship, Boston Furniture Archive, Winterthur Museum.

2009    Windgate Fellowship, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Archive and database of craftsman and institutions to prepare for an exhibition on twentieth century studio craft and the G. I. Bill.

Academic service
Parsons School of Design

Curriculum Development and Coordination, Product Design, BFA and Continuing Education (Fa 07-Sp 13).

Capstone Exhibition Design and Coordination, Product Design, BFA (Sp 11, Sp 12, Sp 13).

Boston University

President, Graduate Student Association, American & New England Studies Program, 2014-2015.

Undergraduate mentor, 2015-2016.

Vernacular Architecture Forum

Editorial Assistant, Buildings & Landscapes, the Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, 2014-2015.

Board Member, 2020-2023.

Community Involvement

Library volunteer, Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, 2013-2015.

High School to College Mentor, Hyde Square Task Force – Latino Community Center, 2016-2017.

Nonacademic Work
Parsons School of Design

Director of Administration, 2001-2007.

Assistant Chair Product Design, 2000-2001.

Capital Construction and Design

Master cabinetmaker, 1999-2000.

Boxwood Design, Inc.

President, 1997-2000.

Languages

English (fluent).

Spanish (conversational).

Professional Memberships

American Historical Association (AHA)

American Studies Association (ASA) – Materials Culture Caucus.

College Art Association (CAA).

Design History Society (DHS).

Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

Nineteenth-Century Studies Association (NCSA)

Society of Architectural Historians (SAH).

The International Society for Landscape, Place, and Material Culture.

Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF)