Work With Me
In addition to my doctoral work, I write book reviews, op-eds, and commentaries on areas related to my research or current events.
Jamie Marsella
PhD Candidate
I am a doctoral candidate in the History of Science department at Harvard University. My research focuses on the intersection between race, gender, and medicine in the development of women and children’s public health programming.
My dissertation is tentatively titled Religion, Eugenic Maternalism, and the New York Babies Welfare Association 1908-1919. It examines how Progressive Era preventative public health programs were implemented and institutionalized in localized urban settings with diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious communities. I aim to make a specific intervention into Progressive Era historiography by bringing together areas of historical inquiry that have been explored separately – maternalism and religion, maternalism and public health, and public health and eugenics. In doing so, the BWA helps nuance historical understandings of the role of elite women in Progressive Era public health infrastructure, Progressive Era understandings of children and childrearing, the interconnections and collaborations between different religious organizations, and their understanding of eugenic thought and practice.
Before joining the Ph.D. program, I worked in digital marketing and public relations for a variety of industries, including healthcare and education. I hold an AM from Harvard University, an MA from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of Portland.
Jamie Marsella 