BA, Montclair State College; MA, University of Rochester; Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, American Studies

My primary interests are in American Studies, Working-Class Studies, and Women's Studies. More recently,my research has focused on "vernacular" photography, how workers are visually presented.
My most recent books are  Hands: Physical Labor, Class, and Cultural Work (Rutgers University Press) which won Honorable Mention for the John Hope Franklin prize of the ASA, and American Working-Class Literature, co-edited with Nicholas Coles (Oxford University Press).  This 900 page anthology traces the literary expression of the working class from the 17th century to the present. My edited books include Calling Home: Working-Class Women's Writings (Rutgers), Liberating Memory: Our Work and Our Working-Class Consciousness (Rutgers), and What We Hold in Common: An Introduction to Working-Class Studies (The Feminist Press).  I was general editor of the journal Women\'s Studies Quarterly (1997-2001). I also publish poetry and essays. My community involvement includes projects on teaching about work and appreciating teachers as workers. I am also very interested in issues of job safety and occupational health, and served on the board of ROCOSH (Rochester Council on Occupational Safety and Health) for several years.