I am a public historian and historian of American entertainment with a special interest in the history of film, television, and comedy. In my scholarship, I explore how people living in the United States have interacted with popular entertainment, and how popular culture shapes and reflects historical debates and developments. By probing the production, exhibition, reception, and cultural conversations about entertainment performance and products, I strive to engage a broad public in discussing Americans’ understandings of themselves and their place in the world throughout the nation’s history. I believe that popular culture is a unique and accessible lens to introduce the museum’s audiences to complex narratives involving race, sexuality, gender, identity, representation, economics, migration, social change, and power.

Positions

• Curator, Entertainment Collection, National Museum of American History 2016 -

Research Areas

• Comedy
• Humor
• Motion pictures--History
• Television and history
• Television--History
• Theater--United States--History--19th century
• Theater--United States--History--20th century