I am an historian of early America, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh while researching and writing about early American poor relief.
I got interested in history by reading Greek mythology and then having awesome history teachers in high school. My teachers were wonderful storytellers and that is something I still aspire to be. I majored in history in college, though at first it was not at all what I expected. I gradually learned that I also enjoyed this more critical, research-oriented kind of history. For that I thank my professors at the University of California Berkeley, especially Caroline Cox, to whom I dedicated my book How Welfare Worked in the Early United States: Five Microhistories.
After several jobs, including file clerk, construction temp, substitute teacher, bookstore clerk, administrative assistant, and park ranger, I earned a Ph.D. at Brandeis University. There, a fantastic cohort of students and faculty introduced me to many things, including social history, narrative-style history, and early American poor relief. I have been working on that subject ever since, while teaching at several universities, the last decade or more at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Send me a message using the form below. Or get in touch on Twitter.
LoiaconoInTheArchives 