Peggy Ann Brown, Ph.D.
Washington, D.C. Independent Historian
My Resume
Special Competencies: Knowledgeable, detail-oriented professional experienced with archival, manuscript, library, and database research on a wide variety of topics and time periods. Project reports fully describe sources, list what was found and not found, analyze materials, and include full and accurate citations and locations of documents. Also skilled and experienced at researching and writing on historical, popular, and association topics and issues; telephone and in-person interviewing; editing; and proofreading.
Educational Background
Ph.D. American Civilization, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Awarded distinction in all doctoral fields:
∙ Americana at the Library of Congress
∙ American Cultural History
∙ American Religious History
∙ English Social History
B.S. in News-Editorial Journalism, William Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.
Work Experience
1993-Present Independent Historian/Researcher
Conduct archival/library research for corporate, academic, and private clients; research and write articles; edit and proofread periodicals and books. Research topics have covered the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries and have included research at the Library of Congress, National Archives, George Washington University Archives, Hawaii State Archives, Smithsonian Libraries, George Mason University Special Collections, and DC Public Library Special Collections, among others. Articles have appeared in American Forests, Benjamin Moore Ensemble, Independent Gasoline Marketer, American Academy of Physicians Assistants Newsletter, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Secure Retirement, Digestive Health and Nutrition, Osteopathic Progress, Washington Home and Garden, New Physician.
Please see Research Clients tab above for examples of the wide variety of research projects I have undertaken for clients. For information on my own research, see My Research tab.
2005 Writer, North Star Games, Greenbelt, Md.
Researched and wrote trivia questions for new board game, Wits and Wagers. Additional questions provided for 2011 and 2013 editions.
Coordinated media campaign for release of Wits and Wagers at University of Maryland game festival. Received coverage in Washington Post, community newspapers, and local television news.
2001-2005 Researcher for Irving R. Levine
Provided research assistance to former NBC news correspondent in his manuscript collection at the Library of Congress and personal collections. Conducted background research on his forty years of reporting and wrote synopses of events and broadcasts for possible autobiography.
2003, 2007 Abstractor, APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities, Alexandria, Va.
Abstracted more than 3,000 magazine articles, book chapters, and conference presentations for reference database on campus physical
plant management for association website.
Additional Work Experience
Editor, American Studies International and ASI Newsletter, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Director of Public Relations and Publications, Association of American Colleges, Washington, D.C.
Research Assistant/Editor, Vice Chancellor's Office for Research and Graduate Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.
Associate Editor, American Road, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich.
Editorial Assistant, Broadcast Engineering, Overland Park, Kans.
Creative Products
Dissertation
“Not Your Usual Boardinghouse Types: Upton Sinclair’s Helicon Home Colony, 1906-1907.” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Washington
University, 1993.
Conference Presentations
“Vodka, Women, and “Home on the Range”: Reporting on the 1955 American Agricultural Delegation to the Soviet Union.” Presented at the Joint
Journalism Historians Conference, New York City, N.Y., March 13, 2010.
"Russians Don’t Have Horns: Satisfying American Curiosity about the Soviet Union in the Mid-1950s. The 1955 American Agricultural Delegation
to the Soviet Union.” Presented at the Mid-Atlantic Popular American Culture Association Conference, Alexandria, Va., October 28, 2010.
"The Awakening--1920s Ku Klux Klan Musical Normalizes Racist Themes." Presented at the Mid-Atlantic Popular American Culture Association
Conference. Online, November 11, 2021.
"1927 D.C. KKK Musical Reinforces Racist Stereotypes." Presented at the D.C. History Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2, 2022.
Selected Academic Publications
"Edward Bellamy," Oxford Literature Database, 2018
"Diplomatic Farmers: Iowans and the 1955 Agricultural Delegation to the Soviet Union," The Annals of Iowa 72 (Winter 2013): 31-62.
"Reconstructing APPA's Early Years. Founding Members Build Campuses and the Profession," Facilities Manager Magazine, September/October
2013
"Temperance: Historical Development: Prohibition Experiments” and “Key Moment: Nancy Reagan Initiates ‘Just Say No’ Campaign” in The
Encyclopedia of American Reform Movements, ed. by John R. McKivigan and Heather L. Kaufman. New York: Facts on File, forthcoming.
“Presidential Leadership: Understanding the influence of Academic Disciplines,” Public Purpose, April/May 2008.
Tappert, Tara Leigh, and Peggy Ann Brown. “Resources List: Artists’ Biographies…” In Revivals! Diverse Traditions 1920-1945: The History of
Twentieth Century American Craft, ed. by Janet Kardon, 236-268. New York: Harry N. Abrams with the American Craft Museum, 1994.
“Edward Bellamy: An Introductory Bibliography.” American Studies International, October 1988.
Fellowships/Research Awards
State Historical Society of Iowa Research Grant, 2010-2011
George Washington University Library of Congress Fellowship, 1988-1989
New Jersey Historical Commission Research Grant,1987-1988, for dissertation research on Helicon Home Colony, Englewood, New Jersey
American Studies International Fellowship, 1985-1988