Mary Jo Festle
Elon University

Welcome

Mary Jo FestleI'm a professor of History at Elon University and have been since 1993. After growing up in Chicago (as a fanatical Cubs fan), I attended Knox College as an undergraduate and did an interdisciplinary independent major in Social Change.

Then I studied 20th century U.S. history at UNC-Chapel Hill, doing a master's thesis on the Black civil rights movement. My doctoral dissertation combined my interests in twentieth century history, sex, race, class, and culture by focusing on the changes in women's sports since 1950.

More recently, I've been interested in oral history methodology, medical history, and the history of disability.

At Elon, I've enjoyed teaching a wide variety of courses related to U.S. history as well as some interdisciplinary courses. I've participated in travel courses and served as coordinator of the Women's and Gender Studies Program and director of the Honors Program.

If you'd like to learn more about my courses, scholarship, and interests, please feel free to explore this site. 

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