Participant Info

First Name
Nicole
Last Name
Breault
Affiliation
University of Texas at El Paso
Website URL
https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/history/people/faculty-pages/nicole-breault.html
Keywords
law, governance, urban, social, cultural, local, material culture, policing, gender, space
Additional Contact Information

Personal Info

Photo
About Me
My research is focused on law, culture, and society in eighteenth-century British North America with interests in the history of governance, institutions, material culture, urban spaces, and gender.

My current book project examines the work of the nightly watch—a method of local-level policing—in the context of an empire in crisis. I utilize an exceptional archive of materials composed by Boston’s night watch to demonstrate the multi-dimensional nature of peacekeeping prior to the advent of modern scientific policing principles. Each chapter examines the everyday work of the watch alongside critical events of the 1750s to 1790s to illuminate how local authorities contended with internal and external forces that shaped their methods of governing.

I am interested in joining panels/discussions on legal history, gender, history of surveillance and policing, society and culture, urban life,  space, governance, and general topics in early America.

Recent Publications
Media Coverage
Country Focus
United States
Expertise by Geography
Atlantic, England, North America, United States
Expertise by Chronology
Pre-17th century, 17th century, 18th century, 19th century, Early Modern
Expertise by Topic
American Revolution, American Founding Era, Gender, Government, Indigenous Peoples, Law, Local & Regional, Material Culture, Museums, Public History, Rebellion & Revolution, Urban History, Women