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About Me

I am a historian with an active research agenda, focused on two key areas:  the history of women in sport and the role of fiction for teenage girls as a means of informal education.  I am a Visiting Research Fellow of the Centre for the History of Women’s Education at the University of Winchester.   I have recently published, with Professor Stephanie Spencer, British and American School Stories, 1910–1960: Fiction, Femininity, and Friendship (Palgrave, 2019) and a chapter in Sportswomen’s Apparel in the United States (Palgrave 2021).

Other publications include articles in the Women’s History Magazine (U.K.), the Journal of American Culture, and the OAH Magazine of History, as well as a chapter in Sport, Rhetoric, and Gender: Historical Perspectives and Media Representations. I have presented research at the annual meetings of the Women’s History Network (UK), the American Historical Association, the History of Education Society (UK), the Berkshire Conference on Women’s History, the International Standing Committee on the History of Education, and the Popular Culture/American Culture Association.

I enjoy travelling, cheering for my favorite teams, reading, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

Recent Publications

Publications:

“’Exercise requires the greatest freedom’:  Athletic Clothing for American Women, 1880-1920,” in Sportswomen’s apparel in the United States: Uniformly discussed, ed. Linda K. Fuller (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Fiction, Femininity, and Friendship: British and American School Stories, 1910 – 1960. Co-authored with Stephanie Spencer (New York: Palgrave, 2019).

“Celebration, commemoration and collaboration: milestones in the history of education.” Co-authored with Andrea Jacobs, Camilla Leach, and Stephanie Spencer. History of Education 48:2 (February 2019), 151-155.

 “The Binder,” A History of Education in 50 Objects, History of Education Society (UK), http://50educationobjects.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-binder.html?fb_action_ids=10152215531713335&fb_action_types=og.likes

“Research Posters as a Mode of Scholarly Presentation,” History of Education Researcher 92 (November 2013): 32-35.

“Reflections,” History of Education Researcher 89 (May 2012): 3-4.

Conference Presentations:

“Learning College Culture: Twenty Years of Freshman Handbooks from Mount Holyoke College, 1938-1957,” History of Education (UK) Society 2020 Virtual Conference: ‘Education, Otherwise,’ November 2020.

“How to Play the Game: Instructions for American Female Athletes in the Early 20th Century,” International Online Conference, International Centre for Historical Research in Education, University College London, July 2020

“Educating the ‘Career Girls and Homemakers of Tomorrow’: Co-ed Magazine and American Teenagers, Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (UK), London, England, November 2019.

“‘I have been very proud of my girls’: Principals and Headmistresses in British and American School Stories, Women’s History Network Conference, London, England, September 2019.

“‘This is wartime you know’: World War I and the Grace Harlowe Overseas Series,” Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (UK), Limerick, Ireland, November 2018.

“Moving through school: The role of sociability in British and American school and college stories,” Children’s History Society Conference, London, England, June 2018.

“‘The dormitory of their generous dreams’: Collaboration and Civic Engagement in the Marjorie Dean College and Post-Graduate Novels,” Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (UK), Winchester, England, November 2017.

“Career Girls and Homemakers: Advice for High School Girls,” Society for the History of Children and Youth’s 9th Biennial Conference, Camden, NJ, June 2017.

“Engaging the Senses:  Co-ed Magazine as a Source of Informal Education,” Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (UK), Malvern, England, November 2016.

“Writing of the Body: gendering sickness and health in schoolgirl novels,” co-authored with Stephanie Spencer, International Standing Conference for the History of Education, Chicago, IL (USA), August 2016.

“Materialities: Covers and Illustrations in British and American School and College Stories,” co-authored with Stephanie Spencer, Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (UK), Liverpool, England, November 2015.

Media Coverage

Social Media

@nancyrosoff

Country Focus

Expertise by Geography

United Kingdom, United States

Expertise by Chronology

20th century

Expertise by Topic

Children & Youth, Sports, Women