I research the United States, especially its cultural history and legal history as they pertain to the intersection of gender, sexuality, and religion. As part of this, my current project examines how during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, broadly construed (1870s–1940s), federal antipolygamy and antiprostitution laws policed the sexual behavior of women who were plural wives and sex workers, undermining their personal privacy and bodily autonomy. Whether formally or informally, Americans imagined, surveilled, and punished plural wives and sex workers in similar ways: as agentless victims, infectious vectors, living evidence, and outright criminals. These tropes and techniques set patterns for future policies of sex policing in the United States. In other work, I have written, presented, or taught on religion in U. S. history, women in the American West, white supremacy and Confederate nostalgia, and public memory in Mormonism.

Advised by:

Research and Teaching Interests:

  • American Religions
  • Cultural History
  • Legal History
  • Public History
  • Sexuality and Gender
  • United States

Current Projects:

“Promiscuous Religion: Plural Wives, Prostitutes, and Policing Sexuality in Protestant America, 1874–1946” (title tentative)

Selected Publications:

  • “Scripture Study in the Shadow of the Christian University: The Reorganized Church, from Exploring the Book of Mormon to the Position Papers, 1960–1970.” The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 45, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2025): 101–111.
  • “Welded.” In “Genre,” edited by William Morris and Liz Busby. Special issue, Irreantum 20, no. 2 (Fall 2023).
  • “Confederate Markers in the Intermountain West,” Intermountain Histories (Fall 2021)
  • “Mapping the Polygamy Underground,” Intermountain Histories (Fall 2021)

Course Experience:

As a Teaching Assistant:

  • HIST 17A (early America, up to 1820)
  • HIST 17B (United States, 1820–1920)
  • HIST 17C (United States, 1920–present)
  • HIST 4C (Modern Europe, 1650–present)

Awards:

  • Donald Van Gelderen Memorial Prize, UCSB Department of History (2025)
  • Crandell–Ryskamp Prize in Family History, Juanita Brooks Utah History Conference (2024)
  • Annaley Naegle Student Award in Women’s History, Redd Center for Western Studies (2023)
  • Valeen Tippetts Avery Award for best student paper, Arizona History Convention (2023)