Biography
Dr. Angela Frye Keaton earned her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2006 after completing her dissertation entitled, “Unholstered and Unquestioned: The Rise of Post-World War II American Gun Cultures.”
Dr. Keaton teaches U. S. survey courses and modern African and Asian history classes. In addition, she offers upper-division courses on gender history, historical research and writing, modern America, and American popular culture. She also incorporates service-learning projects into many of her history courses. Past service projects have included students conducting research in local archives to produce original research papers which were later donated to the local historical society.
While at Tusculum, she has served in a variety of faculty leadership positions, including serving as the director of the Warren W. Hobbie Center for Civic Advancement and as a member of the College Council, Director of the Honors Program, the Teaching and Professional Growth Committee, Assessment Committee, the QEP Implementation Team, and the Professionalism for Leadership Initiative. In 2008-2009, she received the Tusculum College Excellence in Teaching and Campus Leadership Award.
Research
I am interested in all facets of American culture, particularly the intersections of gender, consumerism, and American identity. I also have research interests in the history of childhood and Appalachian history.
I will be presenting a paper on hunting and American masculinity at the upcoming American Men’s Studies Association conference in April. The presentation is entitled, “’Sissies Never Hunt’: Hunting, Masculinity, and American Gun Culture.” This project stems from my book manuscript which is currently under construction.
Publication Credits
I published an article entitled “Backyard Desperadoes: American Attitudes Concerning Toy Guns in the Cold War Era” in the Journal of American Culture. The publication earned the Carl Bode Award for the best article published in the Journal of American Culture in 2010. I also published an article in The Teaching Professor this past summer (June/July 2015) about professionalism in the classroom. For more about this article see http://www3.tusculum.edu/for/news/2015/tusculum-college-professor-published-in-teaching-journal/.
Teaching
Courses I teach:
HIST 102 West & the World, I and II
HIST 201 & 202 U.S. History Survey, I and II
HIST 112 Historical Writing and Research
HIST 220 American Popular Culture
HIST 311 Modern Asia
HIST 322 Modern America
HIST 332 Modern Africa, 1800 – Present
HIST 335 North American Frontiers
HIST 339 History and Uses of Gender
HIST 480 Citizens Issues in a Global Era
CMNS 251 Theory and Practice of Citizenship
Currently I am teaching HIST 335: North American Frontiers. This class covers a large portion of my research interests. It is especially exciting to share my research with students and get their viewpoints on the history of the American West. Even though I am guiding them through some rather heavy theory and historiography, I think I am learning just as much from them. Teaching the topic is a terrific way to refresh my research and gain new insights.
Fun Facts
In my spare time I enjoy fly fishing and I am passionate about collecting antiques. My favorite items are East Tennessee and backcountry furniture pieces from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I spend some of my spare time studying antiques and their historical context. I also enjoy spending time with my husband of 15 years and my 3 ½ year-old daughter on our farm.