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Jennifer Black

Associate Professor of History and Government, Misericordia University (2020-current), Assistant Professor of History and Government, Misericordia University (2014-2020)
Twitter
Advertising and Marketing Industries, cultural history, 19th c. US, Consumer Culture, Business fraud, Visual Art, Material Culture, material and visual culture
Women in Business History

Jennifer M. Black is Associate Professor of History and Government at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA, where she teaches courses in US history, visual culture, American capitalism, women’s history, and public history.  She holds a PhD in American History and Visual Studies from the University of Southern California, as well as an MA in Public History and a BA in Art History, both from Western Michigan University.  Jennifer’s research examines ways in which people interact with images and objects, and the power of visual and material culture to influence trends in politics, the law, and society.  Her publications examine the intersection of culture and economics in the nineteenth century United States, turning specifically to material culture and advertising to uncover the commodification of sentiment, visual constructions of citizenship, the iconography of trademarks, and the market for memory-making.  Her work has appeared in Winterthur Portfolio, Journal of American Culture, Material Culture, and in several edited collections.  Jennifer’s recent book, Branding Trust: Advertising and Trademarks in Nineteenth-Century America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024), investigates the interaction between advertising professionals, manufacturers, and the public from the Panic of 1837 through World War I.  Tracing the simultaneous development of brand-centered advertising campaigns and trademark regulation, the book relies heavily on material and visual culture sources.  Jennifer also serves as Book Reviews Editor for H-Material Culture online, and is an active public historian: she recently co-curated Anthracite Photographers: Photographers of Anthracite for the State of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton, PA, and she is the author of Machines that Made History: Landmarks in Mechanical Engineering (ASME Press, 2014).  An active member of the BHC since 2013, Jennifer regularly attends BHC annual meetings, presenting her own research and serving as a moderator / paper comment for other panels.  She served on the BHC’s Emerging Scholars Committee from 2015-2018 (co-chair for 2017-18), where she was instrumental in organizing the “Networking Breakfast for Emerging Scholars.” Jennifer served on the Board of Trustees (2020-2023), including on the Electronic Media Oversight Committee and the Ad-hoc committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She was recently elected to the Editorial Board for Enterprise & Society. 

 

Recent Presentations at BHC Annual Meetings
Service to the BHC
Program Committee 2025 - 2026
Electronic Media Oversight Committee 2023 - 2024 [Chair 2023 - 2024]
Board of Trustees 2020 - 2023
Electronic Media Oversight Committee 2020 - 2023 [Chair 2022 - 2023]
2021 - 2022 [Chair 2021 - 2022]
Emerging Scholars Committee 2015 - 2018 [Chair 2017 - 2018]

Prizes and Grants from the BHC
Martha Moore Trescott Prize, 2024

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