Heather Reel

Heather Reel earned a PhD in Childhood Studies from Rutgers University, an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Wesleyan University. Her research and teaching interests include history of youth; girlhood studies; histories of medicine, health and the body; and Black childhoods in the 20th century. Broadly, her work examines the figure of the child as a historically critical site of public interest, celebration and anxiety in twentieth century America and a driving force of political, social, and cultural formation. In particular, she is interested in the ways in which girls have been made carriers of an enormous range of social and cultural meanings and ideological investments. Other interests include visual and material culture, history of emotions, and “the popular” in American history.

Education & Training

PhD: Childhood Studies, Rutgers University
MA: Developmental Psychology, Columbia University
BA: African American Studies, Wesleyan University