Students
From the Blog
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Announcing a Post-doctoral Search for the 13/14 Academic Year
 Anna Links, second-year MA candidateI am interested in creative placemaking, public art, civic identity, and place-responsive programming.
I am in the MA program to further my understanding of civic cultural infrastructure and the distinctions of American public cultural life.
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 Carly Griffith, second year MA candidateI am a passionate advocate of arts and humanities education as well as advocacy for the cultural sector as a vital component of engaged communities. My own work experience has included museum education, public programs and outreach, and arts and cultural management. My research interests are in cultural landscape studies and American history. |
 Paul Margrave, first-year MA candidateMy research interests are in public and community participation in the arts, with a particular focus on disability arts and work with seniors. My work attempts to make the arts as accessible as possible, understanding access in its broadest sense and embedding it as a fundamental concern in the development of projects. I decided to study for the Public Humanities degree in order to understand more about the work I have been engaged in and to explore how it connects with the wider cultural field. CONTACT ME. I'm a Program Ambassador. |
.thumbnail.jpg "Abigail Ettelman, first-year MA Candidate") Abigail Ettelman, first-year MA CandidatePublic Humans tend to have wide ranging interests in the world; my work is no different. I am primarily interested in increasing museum access to and for varying populations, but I am also interested in positive, non-exploitative ways that traumatic and community memory can be expressed in the museum context. I believe that museums can be places of healing as well as community engagement and am committed to creating spaces for this work in the world. |
 Jamie Topper, first-year MA candidateI love rhythm, culture and craftsmanship. I have been working in the fields of arts education and ecological design since my undergraduate work in Anthropology and Sculpture (Beloit College, ’96). I came to Brown to explore opportunities in museum exhibit design and fabrication, audio exhibition, ecological design, or applied ethnomusicology. |
 Anna Ghublikian, second-year MA candidateMy interests include performance studies, creative scholarship, and curation. At Brown, my research and projects have allowed me to explore these interests in both practical and theoretical ways. |
 Jacquelyn Harris, second-year MA candidateI am a product of learning by traveling, and so came to the Public Humanities program with the end goal to work in educational tourism. My subject area interests lie in large part in Germany, especially Cold War and post-reunification history, which necessarily includes lots of memory and memorial work. I'm interested in multi-faceted cultural engagement and learning, and hope to work to enable others to have those kinds of experiences. |
 Kim Arcand, part-time MA candidateI study the perception and comprehension of science images across the novice-expert spectrum. I’m also active in the creation, distribution, and evaluation of large-scale science exhibitions in public spaces such as parks, libraries, malls, metros and prisons. Most recently, I have co-authored a non-fiction book “Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos” for Smithsonian Books that is aimed at attracting more novice science readers, particularly women. |
 Lily Benedict, first-year MA candidateMy interests lie in merging the sciences and humanities in public outreach. Since completing a BA in Anthropology at Cornell University, I have worked at the Museum of Natural History in Providence, creating educational programming and exhibits in the natural sciences. I also serve on the board of the Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art, developing and conducting education outreaches that merge art and science. I am especially fond of anything stuffed, pinned, or preserved in a jar. |
 Ashley Bowen Murphy, second-year PhD candidateMy master's thesis on Civil War reenactors introduced me to the complicated and fascinating issues around war commemoration. My research focuses on 19th century commemorative practices, Civil War veterans, and the politics of commemoration. Prior to entering Brown, I worked on health equity and social justice research for a national public health organization. I have a BA in art history from Reed College and an MA in communication, culture, and technology from Georgetown University. |
 Nathan Storring, first-year MA candidateWhether through exhibitions, writing, digital media or events, in my work I always hope to provoke conversation about contemporary issues in city-building and city-living. I am also interested in investigating how cultural institutions can build more meaningful relationships with the cities around them. Before attending Brown, I graduated with a BFA in Criticism & Curatorial Practices from OCAD University (previously the Ontario College of Art & Design), and since then I have served as the curator of Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, Ontario. |
 Lauren Abman, first-year MA candidateI love thinking of museums as interactive learning installations. After three years of working with community and family programs at the Denver Art Museum, I joined the Public Humanities program to gain multiple perspectives on object storytelling and connecting communities through art. |
 May Wijaya, first-year MA candidateI came to the program from Australia where I had completed my undergraduate degree in communications and international studies. My professional background is in major events and tourism where I worked for over three years. My interests are in strategy development in cultural policy, creative placemaking and cultural tourism. I look forward to consulting in these areas upon graduation. I was drawn to the program's flexible course structure which allowed me to pursue a range of interests while gaining a sound theoretical base and valuable professional development skills. |
 Nathaniel Weisenberg, second-year MA candiadateIf my life has had an "aha!" moment so far, it would be during my freshman year of high school, when I visited the New England Holocaust Memorial, six abstract glass towers that grip you like iron. Since then, from reading about the Holocaust and Jewish history to studying abroad in a Spain still dealing with the legacies of its distant and not so distant past to working for a human rights education organization, I have been fascinated by history, memory, human rights, and place. I applied to the public humanities program because I wanted to learn and to practice: to understand concepts like sites of conscience and the complications of this kind of work while getting involved in oral histories, exhibits, and other public projects going on right here in Providence. |
 Emily McCartan, second-year MA candidateI'm interested in a lot of things, particularly in media literacy, sacred space, youth engagement, community identity and national mythology, wearing hats, and all the times in history when people did things that were really, really hard. While my focus at the JNBC has been on hands-on education programs for young people (from preschool curators to middle school archaeologists to high school dancers), I am also deeply committed to advocating for policies that support the role cultural organizations play in a strong and fulfilled society, and have been known to play board games for academic purposes. At the end of the day, I believe in promoting the kinds of institutions, access, and opportunities that help people cultivate an appreciation for the many things there are to be interested in. |
 Thomas Chen, PhD in American Studies CandidateAs a PhD Candidate and Public Humanities alumnus: I am interested in Asian American history and cultural studies, urban planning and politics, and geographies of racism and capitalism in the transnational United States. My dissertation examines the history of race and redevelopment in Boston's Chinatown from the 1950s to the 1990s. As a public humanist, I am committed to teaching, research, and writing that is relevant and responsive to diverse publics in direct and meaningful ways. |
.thumbnail.jpg "Gerald Carbone, second-year MA candidate") Gerald Carbone, second-year MA candidateI published a couple of books about the American Revolution, served on a library's board of trustees, and volunteered as a docent at the John Brown House Museum. Naturally I wished to be a better writer, a better trustee, a better tour guide. So I enrolled in the Public Humanities program at Brown University and can say now, on the cusp of graduation, that I am a more-nuanced historian, better-informed trustee, smarter docent, and better-educated person than I was when I began. |
 Adrienne (Adj) Marshall, second-year MA candidateI am interested in the cultivation of community dialogue, which grapples with concepts of collective memory, community identity, and cultural preservation. My research looks at the ways in which marginalized communities utilize the story telling process and artistic practice in building community cohesion and addressing issues of prejudice and oppression. After hours I moonlight as a Gallery Coordinator for AS220 and performer with Extraordinary Rendition, a radical community marching band. |
 Theresa Polixa, second-year MA candidateMy interest in Public Humanities is informed by my work as an interpretive park ranger for the National Park Service at Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, MA. I am curious about linguistic accessibility to NPS sites: how my experience with historic interpretation can mesh with linguistic interpretation, how the notion of "literacy" can be expanded to comprise various forms of communication (ie: visual literacy, geographic literacy, as well as language literacy, etc.) I am especially interested in learning methods to use when working with ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) audiences, as well as with younger audiences. |
.thumbnail.JPG "Alison Roberts, second-year MA candidate") Alison Roberts, second-year MA candidateI am interested in how visual art can be used as a tool for soft power and cultural diplomacy. Prior to Brown I received a MFA with honors in printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a BA with honors and distinction in American Studies from Kenyon. I currently work for the US Department of State's Office of Art in Embassies and am a 2013 Fellow with NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art Program. |
 Raina Fox, first-year MA candidateI am fascinated by the ways we negotiate our identities in relation to individual, social, and cultural memories, especially contested narratives. Cultural institutions are uniquely situated to connect communities with these complicated histories, and I am interested in the ways that they can intentionally use humanities tools to remember, share, reflect, and inspire action around the social justice and other issues such memories elicit. CONTACT ME. I'm a Program Ambassador. |
.thumbnail.jpg "Robin Ness, part-time MA Candidate") Robin Ness, part-time MA CandidateI am interested in linking the past and present through art, and in the conjunction of contemporary artistic practice with cultural heritage sites. Working with artists, art, and historic sites in the urban harbor areas of Providence and Gothenburg to revitalize the past through creative practice, will be central to my activities within the program. The MA in Public Humanities degree will accent my BFA degree from Rhode Island School of Design, inform my work in Digital Production Services at Brown, and will expand my professional and artistic opportunities in creating, interpreting, preserving, and transmitting the cultural heritage record. |
.thumbnail.jpg "Rachel Shipps, first-year MA candidate") Rachel Shipps, first-year MA candidateI'm interested in people and their experiences with arts and museums. Things I like include museum education, public programs, archives and art practices that enhance and change the experiences of individuals and communities. Before coming to Brown, I worked with young people in therapeutic and educational settings and have also volunteered, interned and worked in exhibition research, visitor services, education and public programming. |
 Crystal Ngo, PhD candidate in American StudiesMy intellectual interests constellate around the US-Vietnam War: its epistemology, its effects on ideas of identity and community, and its perpetuation in contemporary culture and society. More broadly, I study the materiality and visuality of migration experiences as well as exhibitionary theories and practices. Before coming to Brown, I worked in community organizing, nonprofit development, and association management, and public humanities has helped me relate my research to my past work and to the many frameworks in and beyond academe. |
 Alex Goodman, second-year MA candidateI am interested in museum education, in particular, creating enriching opportunities for the youngest visitors. Through experiences with institutions such as those offered at the National Portrait Gallery, The Kreeger Museum, The Walters Art Museum, and The Corcoran Gallery of Art, I have learned that one of the greatest challenges that today's museum staff face is creating an environment that welcomes a broad range of visitors into their space as money is increasingly cut from their budgets. I plan to use my time in the Public Humanities program to investigate the theoretical and academic knowledge, and the practical skills to transform museums from repositories of artifacts and knowledge to active, engaging, integrated learning centers for all ages and levels of sophistication. CONTACT ME. I'm a Program Ambassador. |
 Victoria Charette, first-year MA candidateMy background is primarily in art history, however, after working as a gallery guide at the Yale University Art Gallery during my time as an undergraduate there, I knew I wanted to work with the public as well. Museum education fuses both my love of research and desire to engage the public through thoughtful and creative programming. As a master's student in the Public Humanities program here at Brown, I hope to continue my education in these and similar pursuits, all while gaining practical experience in a variety of cultural institutions. |
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 Peggy Chang, part-time MA candidateI joined the public humanities program part-time as a mid-career educator / professional in higher education administration. My experience with the program's coursework and practicums has confirmed my dedication to the university as a site for public engagement about difficult social issues. As a graduate student I have been able to hone my skills in facilitating public conversation and working in the digital realm. |
 Keila Davis, first-year MA candidate Museums enable audiences of all racial, gender, age, and educational backgrounds to connect to a time period, culture, or occurrence. They can be a useful method for spreading knowledge, defying stereotypes, and building communities. My pervasive love of history, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to share that with others led me to study Public Humanities. I received my B.A. in history from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA and my primary research interest is The Civil Rights Movement, particularly the involvement of women and students. Currently I am doing collections research for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. My goal is to join the museum industry and present the public with fascinating programming and exhibits that highlight the pivotal voices of the Civil Rights Movement that are often forgotten. CONTACT ME. I'm a Program Ambassador. |
 Anna Wada, second-year MA candidateI graduated from Carleton College in 2011 as an East Asian history major, with an interest in the remembrance of wars and natural disasters in modern Japan, and the role that commemorative rituals have played in the construction of national identity. While learning how collections and exhibitions are being managed at cultural institutions, I am also exploring the broadening definitions of "curatorial practice" and "heritage" beyond the institutional setting. Through a variety of methods such as oral history, digital exhibitions, and public art, I would like to continue thinking about creative ways to encourage thoughtful engagement with personal and shared narratives of the past. |
 María D. Quintero, second-year MA candidateI am deeply invested in making the exploration of the past accessible to underserved individuals by reinvigorating museums. I design and develop creative exhibitions as spaces that offer personal engagement and open dialogues about people's history in marginalized communities. As the recipient of the fellowship for the Study of the Public History of Slavery, the Public Humanities program has provided me the opportunity to draw from many academic methodologies to highlight stories of injustice through the lens of human experience. |
.thumbnail.JPG "Jane-Coleman Harbison, second-year MA candidate") Jane-Coleman Harbison, second-year MA candidateI am a generalist interested in museums, heritage sites and other cultural institutions relating to the history of the Atlantic World, the slave trade, and U.S. history from the early colonial period to the age of Jacksonian democracy. I have experience in exhibit design, public programs, marketing, evaluation and academic scholarship in the field of public humanities and museum critical theory. |
 Erendina Delgadillo, second-year MA candidateI am interested in bringing controversial, contested, and oftenoverlooked histories to light via museum and museum-like spaces. In particular, I focus on histories of and from traditionally marginalized ethnic and racial communities. Grounded in these histories, I am invested in exploring how to use the tradition of the museum setting to engender new understanding and conversation. |
 Victoria Fulton, second-year MA candidateI’ve always been fascinated by stories—telling, hearing, sharing, and questioningthem. I’m interested in projects that encourage young people to articulate andexplore their own stories and to connect with the stories of others. I count oral andcommunity history, cultural heritage, memorial culture, youth programming, andeducational policy among my far-flung professional and academic interests. I’m alsoa sometimes-public artist, filmmaker, and writer interested in exploring the layeredpast lives of physical spaces. |
 Elena Gonzales, PhD Candidate in American StudiesElena Gonzales is a fifth year doctoral candidate in American Studies at Brown University, where she received her Masters in public humanities in 2010. Her research and projects focus on curatorial work for social justice. Her dissertation charts this type of work across diverse museums and argues that exhibitions work for social justice most effectively when engaging both intellectual and embodied emotional responses. Since coming to Brown, Elena has been the co-curator of two exhibitions, has worked at the National Museum of American History and the Anacostia Community Museum at the Smithsonian, and has taught a curatorial studies class for undergraduates. In 2012 Elena became a Ford Dissertation Fellow. She is also a Visiting Scholar in American Studies at Northwestern University. |
 Laura Mitchell: First-year MA in Public HumanitiesI am interested in the intersection of story and place and in the development of creative ecosystems. Through interdisciplinary coursework at UCLA and work with museums and cultural agencies, I have been able to explore community culture and the diverse relationships that underlie cultural networks. At Brown, I hope to immerse myself in various facets of public humanities, including cultural policy and planning, museum identity, and educational programming, in order to help foster cultural engagement and civic participation. |
 Rebecca Soules: First-year MA candidateWith my experience working at small museums and historic sites, I am primarily interested in the challenges faced by small museums in the twenty-first century, particularly with regards to educating and inspiring young visitors. My personal interests in historic handicrafts and costumed interpretation also encourage me to explore the ways in which museums can be more tactile, inviting, and stimulating in the digital age. My concentration in American Civilization at Brown as an undergraduate also developed my interest in using oral history, historical ephemera, and other overlooked primary sources to broaden the historical record. |
