Jennifer Cote
Curriculum Vitae
Department of History and Society, University of Saint Joseph
1678 Asylum Avenue
West Hartford, CT 06117
(c)860.970.2628 (w)860.231.5281
Email: jennifercote@usj.edu Website: drjencote.com
Education
Ph.D., Boston College, Boston, MA. Received August, 2007.
Dissertation Title: “‘Nobody Ever Paid Me for Anything:’ Crafting a Professional Social Work Identity in Progressive-Era Boston.”
Examination Fields: American Women’s History, American Social/Urban History, American
Immigration and Ethnic History, and Latin American Women’s History.
Bachelor of Arts, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. Received May, 2000, cum laude
and with high honors.
Professional Appointments
Associate Professor (Summer 2014-present), Department of History and Society, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT
Director, First-Year Seminar Program (Summer 2014-present), University of Saint Joseph
Curriculum Developer and Instructor (Fall 2016), University of Saint Joseph Home School Academy. Created and implemented world history curriculum for home school students, middle/high school level.
Assistant Professor (Fall 2008-Summer 2014), Department of History and Society, University of Saint Joseph
Courses Taught: American History (1492-1865 and 1865-present), United States Women’s History, US Women’s Social Movements of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Gender and Sex in 1950s Film, First-Year Seminar on Salem Witch Trials, Colonial America, African American History, Civil Rights Movements, History Workshop, American Cities, Introduction to Women’s Studies, First-Year Seminar on Women and Body Image, First-Year Seminar on American Diversity, First-Year Seminar on Women’s Higher Education, First-Year Seminar on New England Mythology. Advises undergraduate history majors and independent honors studies.
Visiting Assistant Professor (Fall 2007-Spring 2008), History Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
Courses Taught: American Civilization I (1492-1865), American Civilization II (1865-present), Europe and the World: I (1348-1794) and Europe and the World II (1794-present). Advised undergraduate history majors.
Adjunct Faculty (Fall 2006-Spring 2008), Humanities Department, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Courses Taught: American History from the Colonial Period to the Civil War and American History from the Civil War to the Present; directed two independent studies.
Teaching Fellow (Fall 2004-Spring 2005; Fall 2006-Spring 2007), History Department, Boston College
Courses Taught: Western Civilization I (1348-1794) and Western Civilization II (1794-present).
Teaching Assistant (Fall 2001-Spring 2003; Spring 2004), History Department, Boston College
Led group discussions for Western Civilization I and II.
Teaching Assistant (Fall 2003), History Department, Boston College
Led group discussions for American Civilization I
Manuscripts in Process
“Fifty-Six Women and Four Lonely Men”: Professionalization and ‘Pink Collars’ in American Social Work. Under review at the University of Massachusetts Press.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“‘None of My History Classes Were Like This:’ An Experiment in Mastery Pedagogy.” The History Teacher, 50, no. 4 (August 2017): 597-627. http://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/A17_Cote.pdf
“The Same Old Situation: A Personal Essay about Sexual Harassment in the Academy.” Women in Higher Education, 26, no. 4 (April 2017): 1-12.
“‘The West Point of the Philanthropic Service:’ Reconsidering Social Work’s Welcome to Women in the Early Twentieth Century.” Social Service Review, 87, no. 1 (March 2013): 131-157. Finalist for 2014 Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize, awarded to best article published in Social Service Review 2013.
“‘Habits of Vice:’ The House of the Good Shepherd and Competing Narratives of Female Delinquency in Early Twentieth Century Hartford.” American Catholic Studies, 122, no. 4 (Winter 2011): 23-45.
“There is No New Gospel of True Womanhood: Progressive Era Activism in the Boston League of Catholic Women.” American Catholic Studies, 118, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 21-42.
“Class and the Ideology of Womanhood: The Early Years of the Boston Young Women’s Christian Association.” The Historical Journal of Massachusetts, 32, no. 1 (Winter 2003): 1-20.
Encyclopedia Entries
Encyclopedia of the Civil War
“Hoop Skirts” and “Union Widows.” Lisa Tendrich Frank, editor. ABC-CLIO, 2015.
Encyclopedia of Domestic Abuse
“Michael Kimmel.” Laura Finley, editor. ABC-CLIO, July 2013.
Notable American Women
“Selma Burke” and “Dolores del Rio.” Susan Ware, editor. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004 (93-94, 162-163).
Book Reviews
Review of Freedom Journey: Black Civil War Soldiers and the Hills Community, Westchester County, New York by Edythe Ann Quinn (Excelsior Editions, 2015). The Connecticut History Review, 2017.
Review of White Trash: The 400 Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg (New York: Viking, 2016). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 2016.
Review of Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics by Timothy Stewart-Winter (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 2016.
Review of Ninigret: Sachem of the Niantics and Narragansetts: Diplomacy, War, and the Balance of Power in Seventeenth-Century New England and Indian Country by Julie A. Fisher and David J. Silver (New York: Cornell University Press, 2014). Connecticut History Review, Spring 2015.
Review of Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution by Linda Hirshman (New York: Harper Collins, 2012). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, February 2013.
Review of Sex in the Office: A History of Gender, Power and Desire by Julie Berebitsky. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, November 2012.
Review of What Adolescents Ought to Know: Sexual Health Texts in Early Twentieth-Century America by Jennifer Burek Pierce. (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2011). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, February 2012.
Review of The Girls’ History Reader, 2 vol. (Urbana: University of Illinois, 2011) edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell and Leslie Paris. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, October 2011.
Review of A Few Good Women: America’s Military Women from World War I to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2010). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, February 2011.
Review of Unspeakable: Father-Daughter Incest in American History (Johns Hopkins UP, 2009) by Lynn Sacco. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, July 2010.
Review of “Prohibition is Here to Stay:” The Reverend Edward S. Shumaker and the Dry Crusade in America (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009) by Jason S. Lantzer. American Catholic Studies, Spring 2010.
Review of Fit to Be Tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America (Rutgers UP, 2009) by Rebecca M. Kluchin. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, May 2010.
Review of Making Marriage Modern: Women’s Sexuality from the Progressive Era to World War II (Oxford UP, 2009) by Christina Simmons. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, September 2009.
Conferences and Presentations
Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
Presented paper, “‘The West Point of the Philanthropic Service’: Reconsidering Social Work’s Welcome to Women in the Early Twentieth Century.” (June 2017).
University System of Georgia Teaching and Learning Conference: Best Practices for Promoting Engaged Student Learning.
Presented session with two students, “‘The Murder of Ada Brown’: A Model for Problem-Based Learning in Humanities and Related Fields.” (April 2017).
Association for the Study of Connecticut History Spring Meeting: “Using Local Sources”
Presented session, “‘The Murder of Ada Brown’: A Model for Problem-Based Learning in Humanities and Related Fields.” (April 2017).
Conference for College Composition and Communication
Part of Panel, “Building Interdisciplinarity Through Critical Thinking Assessment: A Report from Five Disciplines.” (March 2015)
Association for the Study of Connecticut History Fall Meeting: “Women in Connecticut, Broadly
Considered”
Presented paper, “‘Habits of Vice:’ The House of the Good Shepherd and the Gendering of Crime and Reform in Early Twentieth Century Hartford.” (November 2011)
Second Joint Conference of the Canadian and the American Catholic Historical Associations
Presented paper, “‘Habits of Vice:’ The House of the Good Shepherd and the Gendering of Crime and Reform in Early Twentieth Century Hartford.” (April 2011)
New England Historical Association Spring Meeting
Presented paper, “‘Giving Blossom to a Highly Skilled Profession:’ The Creation of Social Work Standards in Early Twentieth Century Boston.” (April 2010)
American Catholic Historical Association Annual Meeting
Presented paper, “‘There Is No New Gospel of True Womanhood:’ Progressive Era Activism in the Boston League of Catholic Women.” (April 2009)
Boston College History Department Dissertation Workshop
Presented paper, “‘The West Point of the Philanthropic Service:’ Looking Toward Future Projects,” to bi-weekly seminar meeting. (May 2008)
Western Association of Women’s Historians Annual Meeting
Presented paper, “‘The Strength of Two Institutions:’ Science and Social Work in Progressive-Era Boston.” (Spring 2008)
The Social Science History Association Annual Meeting
Presented paper, “‘Nobody Ever Paid Me for Anything:’ Women’s Professional Culture and Social Work in Early Twentieth Century Boston.” (November 2006)
New England Historical Association Spring Meeting
Presented paper, “Class and the Ideology of Womanhood: The Early Years of the Boston Young Women’s Christian Association.” (April 2002)
Grant Projects
Project director, “Digitizing Democratization: The Mercy Colleges.” Planning grant, National Endowment for the Humanities, Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access unit. Unfunded. (July 2015)
Consulting historian, Klingberg Family Centers Archive Evaluation and Learning Experience project. Planning grant application reviewed at Connecticut Humanities. Unfunded. (February 2015)
Applicant, Education Technology Grant, University of Saint Joseph. Requested funds to provide all students in HIST 247 (U.S. Women) with tablets. Unfunded because university had no policy for giving or lending technology to students. (Spring 2014)
Faculty Mini-Grant, Saint Joseph College. Requested funds so as to implement music in U.S. history survey courses. Funded. (Summer 2010)
Awards and Fellowships
Winner, Father John Stack Teaching Excellence Award, University of Saint Joseph (May 2019)
Nominee, Council on Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor Award (November 2018)
Finalist, Father John Stack Teaching Excellence Award, University of Saint Joseph (Spring 2018 and 2017)
Participant, Council of Independent Colleges and Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Civil War in American Memory Seminar (June 2018)
Applicant, Alumnae Fellowships, Mount Holyoke College, unfunded (Spring 2017)
Applicant, The Mount Writers-in-Residency Program, unfunded (Fall 2016)
Sabbatical, University of Saint Joseph (Spring 2016)
Finalist, 2014 Social Service Review Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize, awarded to best article in SSR
2013 (January 2014)
Participant, Council of Independent Colleges and Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilded Age Seminar (July 2013)
Dissertation Fellowship, Boston College (2005-2006)
Alumnae Fellowship, Mount Holyoke College (2005-2006)
Clarke Chambers Travel Fellowship, University of Minnesota (2005-2006)
Summer Dissertation Fellowship, Boston College (Summer 2004)
University Fellowship, Boston College (Fall 2000-Spring 2007)
Mary Lyon Scholar, Mount Holyoke College (May 2000)
John Lax Prize in American Studies, Mount Holyoke College (May 2000)
Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges (1999-2000)
Susan Jones Prize in Women’s Studies, Mount Holyoke College (May 1999)
Professional Scholarly Service
President, Association for the Study of Connecticut History, April 2017-2019; Vice President, 2015-April 2017; Member, Board of Directors, 2013-2015. In addition to broadening annual conference themes, rebuilt website (asch-cthistory.org), implemented new credit card procedures, introduced merchandising options to increase organizational visibility and viability, and presided over transition of journal editorship.
Genealogical Consultant, Summer Sleuth, Summer 2017-present. I provide consulting services to private clientele.
Member, Board of Directors, Connecticut Coalition for History (formerly Connecticut Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History), April 2017-2019.
Panel Moderator, “Religion and the Politics of War and Peace,” Biannual Conference of the Peace History Society, Fall 2015, West Hartford, CT.
Panel Moderator, “Women at Work in the Quiet Corner,” Association for the Study of Connecticut History Fall 2013 Conference, Pomfret, CT.
Panel Moderator, “The Home Front and the Legacy of the War,” Association for the Study of Connecticut History Fall 2012 Conference, New London, CT.
University Service
Director, First-Year Seminar (Spring 2014-present)
Member, Grievance Committee (Fall 2020-present)
Undergraduate Advisor (Spring 2009-present)
Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee (Fall 2017-Spring 2019); Member (Fall 2016-Spring 2017).
Vice-Chair, Executive Committee of the Faculty Committee of the Whole (Fall 2016-Spring 2019); Member
at Large (Fall 2013-Fall 2015)
Member, Coeducation Task Force (Fall 2016)
Member, Academic Program and Resource Allocation Group (Fall 2016)
Member, Student Academic Success Committee (Fall 2016)
University Writing Portfolio Reader (Spring 2009-Spring 2018)
Consulting Member, General Education Revision Committee (Fall 2016-Spring 2017)
Member, Portfolio Steering Committee (Spring 2014-Spring 2016)
Member, Presidential Search Committee (Fall 2014-Spring 2015)
Member, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee (Fall 2014)
Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (Fall 2012-Fall 2015)
Faculty Advisor, History Club (Fall 2009-Fall 2015)
Member, Diversity Committee (chair, 2012-14; member fall 2014-fall 2015)
Member, American Experience General Education Assessment Team (Spring and Summer 2014)
Member, Writing and Revising General Education Assessment Team (Spring and Summer 2014)
Acting Chair, Women’s Studies (Spring 2014)
Diversity Coordinator (Fall 2012-Spring 2014)
Coordinator, History Major (Fall 2012-Spring 2015)
Member, President’s Task Force on Diversity (Fall 2011-Spring 2012)
Co-Chair, Faculty Affairs Committee (Fall 2011-Spring 2012)
Member (Fall 2009-Spring 2012)
Member, Academic Records Committee (Fall 2009-Spring 2012)
Secretary, History Department (Fall 2008-Spring 2011)
Co-chair, Symposium Day Committee (Spring 2009-Spring 2011)
Member, McAuley Lecture Committee (Spring 2010)
Member, Women, Culture, and Society General Education Assessment Team (Summer 2010)
Outside Search Committee Member, English Department (Spring 2009 and 2010)
Outside Search Committee Member, Religious Studies (Fall 2009)
University Lectures and Speaking Engagements
Presenter, Faculty Development Day. Participated in discussion, “Pedagogy and Previous Stack Award
Winners.” (August 2020)
Presenter, Faculty Development Day. Facilitated discussion, “Using Current Events in the Classroom” (August 2017)
Faculty Speaker, Sophomore Focus (November 18, 2016)
Election Forum Guest Lecturer, Open Class. Presented discussion on media representations of Hillary
Clinton (October 26, 2016)
Election Forum Open Class. Lecture, “Mudslinging and Mayhem: 1820s Roots of the Current Electoral
Madness” (October 25, 2016)
Presenter, Faculty Development Day. Presented with Dr. Kristin Cistulli, “Failing Forward: How
Confusion and Error Promote Learning” (August 26, 2016)
Faculty Speaker, Sophomore Focus. (November 18, 2015)
Faculty Speaker, Mercy Bridge Program. (July 13, 2015)
Faculty Speaker, Sophomore Focus. (March 30, 2015)
Lecturer, Women’s History Month. Presented paper and discussion, “B*TCH: The Internet Meme
and Women in Politics” (March 13, 2013)
Lecturer, part of the “Citizen Twain: Using Humor and Satire to Effect Social Change” Teacher
Quality Partnership Grant (Summer 2012)
Speaker, The Vagina Monologues. Presented paper, “The Hoohaa Monologues: Historicizing the
Vagina Monologues” (February 17, 2012)
Faculty Speaker, Sophomore Focus (September 26, 2012)
Saint Joseph College Faculty Scholarship Sharing. Presented paper, “‘Habits of Vice:’ The House
of the Good Shepherd and the Gendering of Crime and Reform in Early Twentieth Century Hartford.” (April 2011)
Lecturer, Women’s History Month. Presented paper, “Martyrs in the Fight for Social Justice: The
Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 1911” (March 23, 2011)
Faculty Speaker, Sophomore Focus (February 28, 2011)
Leader, Alumnae Book Club (March 2010)
Lecturer, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. Presented paper, “Volunteer Nurses in the Civil War.”
(April 6, 2009)
Lecturer, Women’s History Month. Presented paper, “The Gendered Curriculum in Early Social
Work Education.” (March 23, 2009)
Honors Independent Studies and Student Research Sponsorship
Advisor to Matthew Lombardo, Honors Independent Study (Fall 2020)
Advisor to Joseph Islam, Junior Independent Study, untitled (Spring 2020)
Advisor to Isabella Russo, Honors Independent Study, “The Panoptic State of Sterilization: An Analysis of
20th Century Eugenics Movement in America” (Spring 2018)
Sponsor of Mikayla Rosengrant, senior capstone project, “Nazi Germans and Medical Experiments
during the Holocaust” Sponsored for USJ Symposium Day, 2018.
Advisor to Jessica Saltzman, Honors Independent Study, “Gender Theory.” (Fall 2015)
Advisor to Quinn McDonald, Honors Independent Study, “‘It Sends Forth Bitter and Sweet’: Black
Americans and White Notions of Respectability Surrounding the Colonization of Liberia.” (Fall 2014). Sponsored for Symposium Day, 2015.
Advisor to Sheila Rawling, Honors Independent Study, “The Witch is Here to Stay.” (Fall 2014).
Sponsored for Symposium Day, 2015.
Advisor to Emma Dulz, Honors Independent Study, “The Feminism of Mother Ann Lee.” (Fall
2012). Sponsored for Symposium Day, 2012.
Advisor to Victoria Stuart, Honors Independent Study, “Exotic, Strange, Peculiar: Nancy Drew
(The Mystery Stories).” (Summer & Fall 2011)
Advisor to Melissa Lauretti, Honors Independent Study, “Let Us Be Heard: Young Girls In 17th–
Century Salem Exercise Control within a Patriarchal Legal System” (Summer & Fall 2010).
Sponsored for USJ Symposium Day, 2011.
Advisor to Sarah Hawkes, Honors Independent Study, “The Real Rosie the Riveter: Redefining
the Domestic Role of American Women during World War II” (Summer & Fall 2009)
Sponsor of Sarah Hawkes, “Class Controversy: The Failures of Busing in Boston” Sponsored for
USJ Symposium Day, 2010.
Sponsor of Theresa Rametta, “The Place Called “Salem Village”: The Perfect Catalyst for the
Crisis of 1692” Sponsored for USJ Symposium Day, 2010.
Community Service
Noah Webster Historical House and Museum
Presented talk, “Women and Higher Education: A West Hartford History.” (June 2015)
UCONN Adult Learning Program (educational presentations to senior citizens)
Presented talk, “Colonial New England Witchcraft Beliefs.” (March 2015)
UCONN Adult Learning Program (educational presentations to senior citizens)
Presented talk, “Gilded Age Women.” (March 2014)
Tunxis Community College.
Presented talk, “Roots of Diversity in Connecticut History: Snapshots of Significance.” (October 2013)
West Hartford Public Library “Favorite Lectures” Series.
Presented talk, “The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.” (May 2013)
State History Day, Central Connecticut State University.
Judge, Junior Group Project division. (April 2013)
Keynote Speaker, Our Lady of Cavalry Retreat Season. (September 2012)
Presented talk, “Do What You Love: How I Found Happiness in Everyday Life”
Membership in Professional Organizations
Council on Undergraduate Research
Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
Coordinating Council of Women in History
Association for the Study of Connecticut History
New England Historical Association
Connecticut Society of Professional Genealogists