GRADUATE FIELDS OFFERED

Professor Margaret O'Mara
Department of History
University of Washington

Graduate students work with me in three fields:

Twentieth Century - Development of the United States from 1877 to the present, with particular emphasis on the changing relationship between state and society, economic and technological shifts, and struggles for civil and economic rights. 

Policy and Political History - Development of the American state and political culture, with particular emphasis on the twentieth century.  Readings will consider the role of the federal government, contested and dynamic definitions of citizenship, expansion and contraction of the national state, the role of extra-governmental institutions, and grassroots activism on the left and the right.

Urban History - Urbanization and suburbanization of the United States from the colonial era to the present, including consideration of comparative examples from outside the US.  Students will read seminal works from the urban historiography and key contributions to the field from social history, intellectual history, and political history, as well as from the disciplines of urban planning, public policy, and sociology.

Students and I work together to tailor reading lists within these fields to individual interests, while ensuring inclusion of major contributions to and debates within the literature.

Prospective and current graduate students who are intersted in working with me are welcome to contact me directly with a brief statement of interest.