Joanna Cohen
Ph.D. Candidate (ABD)
cohenjo3_at_sas.upenn.edu
Education
B.A., Queens’ College, Cambridge, UK (2001); M.A., Northwestern University (2002); ABD, University of Pennsylvania (2005)
Research Interests
American economic and cultural history, history of consumption, national identity and citizenship in American history, gender history
Dissertation
"Millions of Luxurious Citizens: Consumption and Citizenship in New York and Philadelphia, 1815-1876"
Dissertation Committee
Personal Statement
In 1876, thousands of Americans flocked to Philadelphia to commemorate their centennial and congratulated themselves on becoming a nation of "luxurious citizens." How did this characterization gain currency in a nation that had forged its identity on the strength of the boycott? To answer this question my project explores the connections Americans made between their rights and obligations as citizens and their experiences and expectations as consumers in the rapidly changing commercial landscape of nineteenth century New York and Philadelphia. Working on this project, I have spent the last couple of years researching in Philadelphia, supported by Penn and also by a year long fellowship at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies. I have also received generous help from the PEAES fellowship program and the American Antiquarian Society. This year I will have the chance to work more extensively in New York, thanks to a Gilder Lehrman fellowship.
Conference Papers
SHEAR (2007), Worcester Mass.
"His Humble Production is an Entirely American Production:" Domestic Manufactures and the Making of an American Marketplace in the Early Republic.
