Monica Kristin Blair
Field & Specialties
20th Century American History
Public and Digital Humanities
History of Education
Southern History
Education
PhD, History, University of Virginia, 2021
M.A, History, University of Georgia, 2015
B.A., History, University of Florida, 2013
Biography
Blair recently defended her dissertatioin entitled, “From Segregation Academies to School Choice: The Post-Brown History of School Privatization." In addition to her doctoral research, Blair has also collaborated on several digital and public history projects, including Jefferson’s University—Early Life Project (JUEL), Participatory Media, UVA Reveal, and the American history podcast Backstory.
Current Research
Monica's dissertation, “From Segregation Academies to School Choice: The Post-Brown History of School Privatization” examines the role of race, region, religion, and politics in the post-war movement to provide public funding for private education in America.
Awards & Honors
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University, 2021-2023
National Fellow, Jefferson Scholars Foundation, 2020-2021
Jefferson Scholars Foundation Fellowship, 2018-2020
Remaking American Political History Conference Honorarium, 2019
Corcoran Department of History Conference Travel Grant, University of Virginia, 2019
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Research Travel Grant, 2018
Bordin-Gillette Fellowship, Bentley Historical Library, 2018
Raven Fellowship, University of Virginia, 2018
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Summer Research Fellowship, University of Virginia, 2018
Co-Author, First Prize, Huskey Research Exhibition, University of Virginia, 2018
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Student Council Research Grant, University of Virginia, 2018
Corcoran Department of History Conference Travel Grant, University of Virginia, 2018
Praxis Program in the Digital Humanities Fellowship, Digital Scholars’ Lab, University of Virginia, 2017-2018
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Summer Research Fellowship, University of Virginia, 2017
Gregory Travel Grant, University of Georgia, 2014
Gregory Grant for Civil War and Southern Studies, University of Georgia, 2013-2015
Graduate Fellowship, University of Georgia, 2013-2015
Courses Taught
Instructor
US Since WWII: People, Politics Power
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Whiteness: History of a Racial Category
Intro to American Studies
US Foreign Policy Since 1914
American History to 1865
American History Since 1865
Guest Lectures and Workshops
“Podcasts and Public History in the Classroom” workshop leader for BackStory’s “How to Podcast” boot camp for grades 9-12 teachers, Virginia Institute for the Humanities, 2019
“Academics and Social Media,” Forum for Interdisciplinary Dialogue, Jefferson Scholars Foundation, 2019
“Using Community Digital Archives in Historical Research,” invited talk, Washington and Lee University, 2018
“The Korean War in Global Perspective” for U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1914, University of Virginia, 2017
“Civil Religion in the American South” for Intro to American Studies, University of Virginia, 2016
Media Appearances
Interview for VoicEd Radio's In Converstaion with Stephen Hurley, "A Primer on School Privatization," February 19, 2020
Interview for the BackStory history podcast, Episode 263, "The BackStory Prize: Our Choice For The Best Public History Project in America," January 11, 2019
Interview for the documentary Albemarle's Black Classrooms (ABCs), 2017