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Emily Masghati specializes in the history of foundation philanthropy, examining its influence on social science, higher education, and African American intellectual history. Her manuscript, tentatively titled “The Rosenwald Generation: The Fellowship Program that Changed America,” traces the cohort of social scientists sponsored by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which from 1928 to 1948, ran an expansive fellowship program for African American intellectuals, the first of its kind to institutionalize support for nonwhite scholars. Uncovering the procedures, dynamics, and consequences of these fellowships, the project establishes a pivotal chapter in the politics of academic knowledge production and race thinking in mid-twentieth century America.

Masghati is currently a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. In addition to teaching U.S. history, she teaches Global Social Thought, Introductory Demography, and a Research Practicum. Masghati earned her MA (2014) and PhD (2019) in history from the University of Chicago. Her research has received the support of Duke University, Emory University, the University of Chicago, and the New York Public Library. She has also conducted research for several nonprofits, including the Illinois Humanities Council and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She is currently assisting the University of Chicago Graham School in designing courses on women authors, philosophers, and social scientists that will be offered through the Graham School’s Liberal Arts Open Courses program.

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Expertise by Geography

United States

Expertise by Chronology

20th century

Expertise by Topic

Higher Ed, Race, Urban History