Dr. Lisa Tetrault

Biography

Professor Tetrault specializes in the history of gender, race, and American democracy with a focus on social movements and memory. Her book, Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2014, won the Organization of American Historians' inaugural Mary Jurich Nickliss women's history book prize. Tetrault's scholarly work uncovers the political manufacturing of the origins myth of feminism. She investigates the common narrative surrounding the women’s rights movement in the United States, which is often dated to the 1848 Seneca Falls meeting, revealing its broader political context and implications. Currently, Tetrault is working on two book-length projects: Celebrated and Misunderstood Amendment, focusing on the genealogy of the Nineteenth Amendment, and Enter Woman Suffrage: A New History of Reconstruction, 1865-1878, which analyzes women's voting debates during the Reconstruction Era. A public historian, she has delivered keynote addresses and served as a historical consultant for notable exhibits and documentaries. Tetrault's work has been supported by various prestigious institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution.

Research Interests

Courses