My main area of research is the cultural and medical history of France and the Francophone regions of the lower Mississippi Valley. I have written about French political satire, medical disputes and dueling in New Orleans, and sickle cell and segregation in Mississippi. I am currently working on a history of the old Mississippi state mental hospital that once stood on the present-day campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. My work has included publications and presentations on popular politics and political agency and on the politics of medicine. My most recent project analyzes the social and political scandal that resulted from increasing duties of the state hospital’s psychiatric nurses in 1918. This summer I will teach in Millsaps’ study abroad program in London, England.
As the current chair of the history department, I enjoy working with the History Club on trivia nights, movie screenings, and weekend trips. I’m grateful that I get to do a job that I love. These days, teaching and studying the past feels more important than ever as we try to understand the complexities of human experience. When I’m not working, I like to spend time traveling, swimming and hanging out in New Orleans.