Courtney Kisat, Ph.D.

I am an educator of history and social studies pedagogy. I see my primary role in the classroom as a facilitator of these connections and like to design learning experiences which are engaging and create opportunities for student growth. My teaching is informed by my work as a historian, in which my fields of specialization include rural American history, social welfare history, gender studies, and social studies education.

Select Publications

"A Handsome New Home: Social Welfare Reform in Rural Missouri,” Missouri Historical Review (Fall 2020)

"Mothering a Movement: Women’s Clubs in Missouri,” Gateway Heritage: The Magazine of the Missouri Historical Society (2020).

“The Language of Pictures: Images of Poverty in New Deal America,” in Wylie Lenz, ed. The Representation of Poverty in Popular Culture: Essays in Representations, Beliefs and Policy,” (McFarland, 2020).

"Completely Sold on Birth Control”: Rural Extension Work of the Kentucky Birth Control League, 1933–1942. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 2018.

Select Presentations

“Investigating Farm Security Administration Photographs in Missouri, 1934-1940,” Keynote Presentation for MOCHE summer institute, July 12, 2021.

“Teaching Historical Agency in Reconstruction-Era America,” MOCHE Annual Conference, October 12-13, 2021.

“Teaching Difficult Histories,” Ohio Valley History Conference in Frankfort, KY. Oct. 3-5, 2019.

Related Articles

https://www.weku.org/eastern-standard/2020-01-27/jan-30-eastern-standard-preview
Links to an interview with Eastern Standard Public Radio about my research into the work of the Kentucky Birth Control League.

Links To Work With

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/mhr/id/60336/
This article summarizes legal, social, and cultural transitions in social welfare in Missouri from 1820 to 1920, with evidence that rural Missouri women used civic improvement clubs to drive successful campaigns which closed county “poor farms” and institutionalized the disabled.

Awards and Honors

Southern Women’s Historical Association A. Elizabeth Taylor Prize for Best Article in Southern Women’s History.

Professional Organizations

National Council of History Education
Southern Women’s Historical Association
Missouri Council of History Education
Missouri Council of Social Studies

Best Advice for Students

Be resourceful, ask questions, and always seek out new opportunities to learn and grow!