Heather Reel earned a PhD in Childhood Studies from Rutgers University, an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Wesleyan University. Her research and teaching interests include history of youth; girlhood studies; histories of medicine, health and the body; and cultural histories of reproduction, childbirth and childrearing. Broadly, her work examines the figure of the child as a historically critical site of public interest, celebration and anxiety in twentieth century America and a driving force of political, social, and cultural formation. In particular, she is interested in the intersection of gender and age, and the ways in which girls have been made carriers of an enormous range of social and cultural meanings and ideological investments. Other interests include visual and material culture, “the popular” in American history, and critical approaches to motherhood within gender, sexuality and women’s studies.
Courses Taught at Pitt
- GSWS 1130 - Gendered Bodies
- GSWS 0500 - Intro to Feminist Theory
Education & Training
- PhD, Childhood Studies - Rutgers University
- MA, Developmental Psychology - Columbia University
- BA, African American Studies - Wesleyan University