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EDUCATION

Loyola University Chicago - Doctor of Philosophy, 2023

  • Joint doctorate program in Public History and American History

  • History Graduate Student Association Vice President, 2018-2019 

Eastern Illinois University - Master of Arts, 2014

  • Master of Arts in Historical Administration

  • Graduated with distinction 

University of Missouri-Kansas City - Graduate Level Coursework, 2013

  • American History 

Cornell College - Bachelor of Arts, 2012

  • History major

  • Graduated Cum Laude 

 

TEACHING

Austin Peay State University- Assistant Professor, Fall 2023-present 

  • Developed course framework, lessons, and assignments for the Modern United States History Survey and for the Early United Staes history Survey.

  • Taught both on-campus courses and online courses, including an accelerated-schedule Maymester course.

  • Serve as the Faculty Advisor for History Club, and coordinate multiple field trips annually as well as other events to promote public history career options.

Loyola University Chicago - Teacher of Record, Fall 2020-Spring 2021 

  • Developed course framework, lessons, and assignments for 100-level Western Civilization class and 200-level American History Since 1865 class

  • Taught the courses independently and online with synchronous and asynchronous sessions 

  • Participated in Loyola’s Teaching Effectiveness Seminar 

  • Earned Loyola’s Ignatian Pedagogy Certificate 

Loyola University Chicago - Teaching Assistant, Fall 2017-Spring 2020; Fall 2021-Spring 2022

  • Taught History 101 and 102: Western Ideas and Institutions (to the 17th c., and from the 17th c.) 

  • Taught History 103 and 212: American Pluralism and The United States Since 1865

  • Lead weekly discussion sections of undergraduates

  • Wrote paper prompts and quizzes, and graded and delivered feedback to students

  • 2019-2020 Head Teaching Assistant: supported new assistants with advice and tutorials

  • 2021-2022 Senior Junior Professor: supported new assistants with advice and tutorials

  • Transitioned to online instruction during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 pandemic 

 

WRITING 

Articles

  • LiaBraaten, Cate. “Slide Rules: Adults and Children on Chicago Playgrounds.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 114, 3/4 (2021): 9–28.

  • LiaBraaten, Cate. "Making Historic Country Schools Modern Community Spaces," Guest Editorial, Midwest Open Air Museum Coordinating Council Magazine, 2015. 

  • LiaBraaten, Cate. "From “grim Blot upon the Landscape” to Superior School: Progressivism’s Effect on the Space and Architecture of One Room Schools." The Journal of Illinois History 17 (2014): 119-34.                                               

Other Writing

 

PUBLIC HISTORY WORK 

Center for Women’s History and Leadership -Museum Council Member, Summer 2021-present 

  • Serve in an advisory capacity as the organization develops a new strategic plan and long-term goals  

Frances Willard House Museum - Museum Operations Manager, Fall 2018-Spring 2021

  • Oversaw day-to-day administration and operational functions

  • Scheduled tours, maintained gift shop, managed membership and donor database

  • Assist with museum outreach through website and media releases 

  • Consulted on public programs and events 

Frances Willard House Museum - Curator, Summer 2020

  • Curated and developed a video series, “Suffrage Sundays,” to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment 

  • Wrote and narrated video series

  • Collaborated with videographer

  • Promoted the video series 

Loyola University Chicago - Conference Organizer, Summer- Fall 2019

  • Served as the co-chairperson of the Loyola History Graduate Student Association’s 16th Annual Conference 

  • Developed the conference theme, “Conscience-Driven History,” and solicited submissions from graduate student scholars across the country

  • Created panels based on thematic content of presentations and developed the conference program

  • Managed a group of faculty and graduate student volunteers

  • Organized a lunch panel of professional historians, developed questions, and moderated the panel

  • Organized day-of logistics including catering and space rental, and managed a multi-faceted project that required collaboration with many parties for a successful event 

Evanston Women’s History Project - Intern for Women’s History, Summer 2018

  • Researched local women’s history in archival collections

  • Wrote essays and artifact entries, photographed documents, and updated Omeka website: https://evanstonandthe19th.omeka.net/ 

  • Prepared an exhibit plan for women’s suffrage centennial exhibit, including designing mock-ups of exhibit panel and writing label text

Frank Lloyd Wright Trust - Outreach Educator, 2016-2017

  • Prepared and provided education outreach programs offered to students in Chicago and the surrounding areas

  • Scheduled and booked programs, communicated with teachers, librarians, school administrators, and community leaders

  • Managed the Trust’s rentable Learning Kits and departmental Facebook and Twitter pages

  • Planned, coordinated, and taught educational summer camps for elementary school students 

  • Developed new programs and initiatives for the Education Department, and managed Education Department interns

Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History - Museum Educator, Summer 2015

  • Introduced groups of summer camp students to historic events and scientific concepts through a variety of interactive activities

  • Supervised students in conducting experiments and on field trips

  • Worked closely with other staff members to coordinate activities and collaborate for instruction

Chicago History Museum - Museum Education Contractor, Winter-Spring 2015

  • Facilitated hands-on educational activities at Chicago Park District after-school programs

  • Taught students about local history using the Chicago flag as an artifact

  • Represented the Chicago History Museum and other institutions affiliated with the Museums in the Park alliance

  • Educated students in basic artifact handling techniques and used material culture for teaching 

Historic Wagner Farm - Programmer, 2014-2016

  • Facilitated programs for elementary school children, introducing them to farm animals, agricultural history, and the 1920s through hands-on learning experiences

  • Worked with junior high school students to teach them about farm life and women’s history through historic house interpretation, including cooking on a wood-burning stove and doing laundry with a wringer machine

  • Developed programs and supervised volunteers in the historic home and children’s games area at the Fall Harvest Festival 

Chicago History Museum - Public Programs Intern, Summer 2014

  • Organized and executed week-long Millennium Park Family Fun Festival event tent, including volunteer scheduling and management, craft design and activity implementation, event supervision and facilitation, and all other logistical aspects of the program 

  • Restructured neighborhood tour scripts for volunteer guides 

Eastern Illinois University - Curatorial and Education Team Leader, 2013-2014

  •  Conceptualized, designed, and explained themes for the Historical Administration cohort exhibit, “Text and Textiles: Crafting the Life of Guy and Irene Buzzard”

  • Selected artifacts to be included, wrote and edited exhibit labels, and planned supplemental educational components

  • Wrote and recorded audio tour, gave gallery tours, and opening night talk based on curatorial themes and key artifacts 

Eastern Illinois University - Graduate Assistant, 2013-2014

  • Researched and publicized relaunch of Eastern Illinois University’s digital repositories for documents, including writing weblog entries 

  • Conducted research on Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln as parents for a publication

  • Worked with faculty to grade undergraduate history papers and administered examinations 

Johnson County Museum, Johnson County, Kansas - Education Assistant, Spring- Summer 2013

  • Lead visitors’ explorations of the 1950s All-Electric House by performing tours for multi-generational groups 

  • Interpreted the past as a 1904 schoolteacher at Lanesfield School Historic Site: taught fourth-graders lessons in recitation, geography, and penmanship as part of a Living History program, and supervised lunch, recess games, and a spelling bee

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

  • “Claiming Chicago History: Black Women and the De Saible Memorial Society,” presented at the American Association for State and Local History Conference, Fall 2021 

  • “Looking Back at Looking Back: Historical Consciousness at the 1933-34 Century of Progress Exposition,” presented at the Popular Culture Association Conference, Spring 2021

  • “Suffrage Sundays at the Frances Willard House,” poster presented at the National Council for Public History Conference, Spring 2021 

  • “Father Abraham and the Great Depression: Lincoln at Chicago’s 1933-34 World’s Fair,” presented at the Loyola University Chicago History Graduate Student Association Conference, Spring 2021 

  • “Fair Play: Adults, Children, and Chicago’s Depression-Era World’s Fair,” presented at the Conference on Illinois History, Fall 2019 

  • “The Triumph of Hope School’s Desks,” presented at the Loyola University Chicago History Graduate Student Association Conference, Fall 2018

  • “Playing Properly: Adult Supervision on Chicago’s Progressive Era Playgrounds,” Organization of Educational Historians Annual Conference, Fall 2018

  • “Putting Preservation in Perspective: Comparing the Historic Sites of Knossos and Prospect Hill Plantation,” Cornell College Student Symposium, Spring 2012  

 

FELLOWSHIPS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

The Archive: Theory, Form, Practice 

  • Mellon-funded interdisciplinary seminar and symposium at the Newberry Library, Spring 2022

Crown Fellowship

  • Fellowship for a Loyola University Chicago PhD candidate in English, History, Philosophy, or Theology

  • Support for the academic year 2022-2023 for a candidate whose research shows how the humanities contribute to our knowledge of the world

Research Mentoring Program

  • Mentored an undergraduate research assistant in historical research methods during summer 2022

 

AWARDS AND AFFILIATIONS 

  • Teaching Scholars Fellowship, Loyola University Chicago, 2022 [declined in order to accept Crown Fellowship]

  • Summer Research Fellowship, Loyola University Chicago, 2022

  • Illinois State Historical Society’s King V. Hostick Award, 2021 

  • The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, State of Illinois Award for Graduate Study in American History, 2021

  • Loyola University Chicago History Department’s Robert McCluggage Award for Best Research Paper by a Graduate Student, 2019 

  • Country School Association of America Award for Scholarship and Artistry, Honorable Mention, 2015

  • Eastern Illinois University Lavern M. Hamand Graduate Writing Award for Best Paper in the History Department, 2014

  • Eastern Illinois University Robert Hennings Historical Administration Scholarship, 2014

  • Cornell College, Littell Statesman Award for Excellence in History, 2012 

  • Alpha Sigma Nu, Jesuit Honor Society Member

  • Phi Alpha Theta, International History Honor Society Member

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