Allison J. Abra Department of History, University of Southern Mississippi Liberal Arts Building 447, 118 College Drive, Box # 4057 Hattiesburg, MS 39406 601-266-4455 [email protected]
Current Position
University of Southern Mississippi 2012 – present Assistant Professor, Department of History Fellow, Center for War & Society
Education
Ph.D. University of Michigan History 2009 Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dissertation: “On with the Dance: Nation, Culture, and Popular Dancing in Britain, 1918- 1945.” Dissertation Committee: Sonya Rose (co-chair), Kali Israel (co-chair), James Cook, Beth Genné. Fields of Study: Modern Britain; Modern Europe; U.S. Cultural History/History of Popular Culture; Women’s Studies.
M.A. Queen’s University History 2001 Kingston, Ontario
B.A. University of Manitoba History (First Class Honors) 1999 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Publications
“Dancing in the English Style: Professionalisation, Public Preference, and the Evolution of Popular Dance in 1920s Britain.” Brett Bebber, ed. Leisure and Cultural Conflict in Twentieth-Century Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2012.
“Doing the Lambeth Walk: Novelty Dances and the British Nation,” Twentieth Century British History 20:3 (2009): 346-369.
Works-in-progress On with the Dance: National Identity, Americanization, and Popular Dancing in Britain, 1910- 1960, (book manuscript).
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“Essential Amusements? Leisure and Citizenship during the People’s War,” in Consuming Behaviors: Identities, Politics and Pleasure in Twentieth Century Britain, Erika Rappaport, Sandra Dawson, Mark Crowley, eds.
Fellowships and Grants
University of Michigan Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, 2009-2010. Dissertation Finishing Fellowship, Rackham Graduate School, 2009. Janey and Melvin Lack Fellowship, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, 2008- 2009. Community of Scholars, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, 2007-2008. Research, Study, and Travel Grant, Department of History, 2006. University of Michigan Regent’s Fellowship, 2005-2006; 2002-2003.
Council on Library and Information Resources Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, 2006-2007.
Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan / International Council of Canadian Studies Commonwealth Scholarship, 2002 (declined). Queen’s University Queen’s Graduate Scholarship, 2000-2001.
University of Manitoba Gordon Rothney Scholarship in Modern World History, 1998. University of Manitoba Entrance Scholarship, 1995.
Awards and Distinctions – Scholarship
Junior Fellowship, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba, 2011-2012. Duncan Tanner Essay Prize, Twentieth Century British History (peer-reviewed journal), 2008. Graduate Student Research Award, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, 2006. Pre-Dissertation Award, International Institute, University of Michigan, 2003. Lovell Clark Prize for History, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba, 1998.
Allison Abra 2 Kleiforth Prize in American History, University of Manitoba, 1997.
Dean’s List, Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba, 1996-1999.
Awards and Distinctions – Teaching
University 1 Excellence in Teaching Award (Nominee), University of Manitoba, 2012.
Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching (Nominee), Trent University, 2011.
Presentations
Conference panels
“At the Palais: Mass Observation and the Cultural Mechanics of Popular Dancing in Interwar Britain,” paper given at the North American Conference on British Studies, Montreal PQ, November 9-11, 2012.
“‘They must get their entertainment where they can:’ The Class and Gender Politics of Dog and Horse Racing in Wartime Britain, 1939-1945,” paper given at the Western Conference on British Studies, Las Vegas NV, September 20-22, 2012.
“‘Are we at war?’ Leisure and Good Citizenship during the People’s War in Britain, 1939- 1945,” paper given at the Canadian Historical Association meeting, Waterloo, Ontario, May 28-30, 2012.
“Adorning and Grooming the Male Body in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” panel chair, North American Conference on British Studies, Denver, Colorado, November 18-20, 2011.
“Protecting Britishness? American Popular Culture and the Construction of Race and Nation in Interwar Britain,” paper given at the North American Conference on British Studies, Baltimore, MD, November 12-14, 2010.
“Alternative Educations: Rock, Film, and Youth Subcultures,” panel chair and commentator, Graduate Student Conference on European History, University of Michigan, March 20, 2010.
“How I Met Your ‘Other:’ Reconciling Imperial Experience with Domestic Expectation in Nineteenth Century Britain,” panel chair and commentator, North East Conference on British Studies, Brown University, October 2-3, 2009.
"Reconceptualizing Americanization in Early Twentieth-Century Britain," paper given at Reading the Atlantic: An Atlantic Studies Symposium, University of Michigan, April 24, 2009.
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“Violence and Colonialism,” panel chair, Topographies of Violence Symposium, Eisenberg Institute of Historical Studies, University of Michigan, April 16-17, 2009.
“Performing the People’s War: Popular Dance and National Identity in Britain, 1938-1945,” paper given at the North American Conference on British Studies, Cincinnati, OH, October 3-5, 2008.
“The Dance Evil? Popular Dance and the Quest for Respectability in Interwar Britain,” paper given at the Western Conference on British Studies, San Antonio, TX, September 19- 21, 2008.
“Dancing in the English Style: Modern Ballroom Dancing and National Identity in Interwar Britain,” paper given at the Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies, Huntington Library, March 28-30, 2008.
“Approaching the Atlantic: Research Sources and Methods in Atlantic Studies,” roundtable participant, Atlantic Studies Symposium, University of Michigan, March 21, 2008.
“An ‘Absolutely National Development:’ America, Race, and the Evolution of Modern Ballroom Dancing in Interwar Britain,” paper given at Reconsidering Europe: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference in European Studies, University of Michigan, March 15, 2008.
“Sexual Knowledge and Representation,” panel chair and commentator, Reconsidering Europe: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference in European Studies, University of Michigan, March 15, 2008.
“Doing the Lambeth Walk: Novelty Dances and the Performance of Englishness, 1937- 1939,” paper given at the Drama Interest Group conference, University of Michigan, March 23, 2007.
“Jitterbugs and Colour Bars: Race, Nation, and Dance Culture in Wartime Britain, 1939- 1945,” paper given at the 11th Annual New Frontiers in Graduate History, York University, February 15-17, 2007.
“Jitterbugging towards Victory: Public Dancing and the People’s War in Britain, 1939- 1945,” paper given at Construction Sites: Building Histories’ Conference, University of Toronto, February 12-13, 2005.
Invited presentations
“Teaching Atlantic and Transnational Histories,” invited presenter, Atlantic Studies Workshop, University of Michigan, November 5, 2010.
Allison Abra 4 “From Flapper to Good-Time Girl: Women, Respectability, and Public Dancing in Britain, 1919-1945,” paper given at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan, February 20, 2008.
Public presentations
“American Popular Dance Invades Britain, 1919-1939,” Soup & Bread lecture series, St. John’s College, January 17, 2012.
“Dancing with the Stars and Stripes: American Popular Culture and the Construction of Race and Nation in Interwar Britain,” A Day in History, Trent University, March 7, 2011.
Public History Work
Docent, Names Instead of Numbers: Remembrance Book for the prisoners of Dachau Concentration Camp, Westminster United Church, April 2012.
Teaching Experience
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi Assistant Professor, Department of History, 2012-Present Courses taught: World Civilizations from 1500 Modern British History
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba Instructor, Department of History, 2011-2012 Courses taught: World History, 1800-Present Introduction to the History of Western Civilization
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario Assistant Professor (Limited Term), Department of History, 2010-2011 Courses taught: Modern British History The Era of the Second World War Film and History 10 Days that Shook the World (team taught)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Instructor, London Summer Program, July-August 2010 Course taught: A History of Britishness in the Modern World
Lecturer, Department of History, 2009-2010 Courses taught: Women and Gender in European History (cross-listed with Women’s Studies) Americanization and British Invasion: A Transnational History of Popular Culture
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Instructor, Department of History, 2008 Course taught: The Writing of History: European Women and the Second World War
Graduate Student Instructor, 2003-2008 Courses taught: Modern Europe Europe in the Age of Total War Modern Scotland (study abroad) British History, 1688-Present Culture and Politics in Britain, 1901-1939
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario Teaching Assistant, Department of History, 2000-2001 Course taught: Modern World History
Other Academic Positions and Training
Director, London Summer Program, Center for Global and Intercultural Study, University of Michigan, 2009-2010.
Graduate Resident Adviser, St. Peter’s College Academic Summer School, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2003-2005.
“Thinking and Teaching in Global Dimensions,” selected participant for month-long faculty seminar, University of Michigan, May-June 2009.
Professional Service
Council and Assembly Member, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba, 2011-2012. Committee Member, Visiting Speakers/Canadian Studies, St. John’s College, 2011-2012. Facilitator, Milestone Meetings, Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan, 2009- 2010. Founder and coordinator, European History Workshop, University of Michigan, 2007-2009. Chair of organizing committee for Reconsidering Europe: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference in European Studies, University of Michigan, 2007-2008. Organizing committee for Gender and the Archive workshop series, University of Michigan, 2004-2005. Organizing committee for Gender and History workshop series and conference, University of Michigan, 2003-2004. Executive Committee, Graduate Organization of Student Historians, University of Michigan, 2002-2005.
Allison Abra 6 Member of the Legislative Internship Programme hiring committee, along with representatives from the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, and Brandon University, 2002. Undergraduate representative to the medieval search committee, Department of History, University of Manitoba, 1998-1999.
Professional Affiliations
American Historical Association North American Conference on British Studies Canadian Historical Association
Languages
French (spoken; reading) Spanish (reading)
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