Rebecca White

Rebecca White pic
Title

Assistant Professor of History

Telephone 207.621.3255
Bio

Courses Taught

  • HTY 103 Introduction to US History I
  • HTY 104 Introduction to US History II
  • HTY 330W Rebels, Renegades, Revolutionaries: Women in U.S. History (new in 2020)
  • HTY 340 A Queer History of the United States (new in 2020)
  • HTY 341 Slavery and Emancipation

Teaching Philosophy

My central focus in all of my history courses is to introduce students to a social history of ordinary people in US History, to examine critical turning points from multiple points of view, and to think about the ongoing consequences of events into the present day. I also actively train students in the historical method, which involves using our present interests and concerns to shape personally resonant historical inquiry. Rather than simply recite facts, I emphasize the interpretive nature of historical writing, and encourage them to carefully examine all source materials and develop their own evidence-based conclusions.


In addition to teaching, I am actively involved in UMA campus life in multiple ways that my teaching, research, and social justice interests. These include being Co-Chair of both the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) and WICCD (Women Invigorating Curriculum and Cultivating Diversity) faculty committees and serving as faculty co-advisor for the Student DEI Action Club.

Publications

“Family Matters: The Policies and Practices of Mothers’ Allowances in New Brunswick, 1944-1966.”  Accepted for publication by Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region in July 2024.

“In Voices Both Loud and Quiet: Women’s and Gender Activism at the University of Maine,” In Becoming Modern: The University of Maine, 1965-2015, edited by Howard Segal and Ann Acheson, 485-512. Orono, University of Maine Press, 2024.

“Better than the Poorhouse?: The Origins of Mothers’ Aid in Maine,” Maine History, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Winter 2017), 39-63.

Education

B.A. College of the Atlantic, Human Ecology, 1998.

M.A University of Pittsburgh, European History, 2002.

Ph.D. University of Maine, Canadian-American History, 2015.