Contact Information

Office: Sullivan 372B
Phone: (508) 929-8688
Email: thangen@worcester.edu
Twitter: tonahangen

Education

PhD, History of American Civilization, Brandeis University (1999)
BS, Anthropology/Archaeology, MIT (1992)

Areas of Specialization

19th and 20th century US social and cultural history, religion and popular culture; radio studies; media history. Areas of pedagogical research involve the uses of digital history in the classroom, the teaching of teachers in a Web 2.0 world, and participating in open-source digital communities. Before coming to Worcester State, I taught history and American Studies at Brandeis University, Harvard University, and Bentley College. I am currently working on a cultural history of the United Nations in the US, focusing on the work of American religious NGOs and other citizens' groups, and on the idea of sacred spaces in American public life.

Recent Scholarship

"Arks of Hope and God Boxes: Enacting Pacifism at the United Nations," American Studies Association Meeting, October 2008, Albuquerque NM.

Speaking of God, Listening for Grace: Christian Radio and its Audiences," in Michael C. Keith, ed., Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2008). [pdf of Choices review here]

Featured scholar, PBS American Experience, "Sister Aimee," (2007), produced by Linda Garmon, Carousel Films.

"Evangelists/Evangelical Radio" and "Aimee Semple McPherson," in Christopher H. Sterling, ed., Encyclopedia of Radio (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004).

Redeeming the Dial: Radio, Religion, and Popular Culture in America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).Winner, Peter C. Rollins Book Award, Northeast PCA/ACA, 2003.

Professor Hangen's CV here [pdf].

Courses

Academic Year 2009-2010
HI 112 US History II 1877-1945 (Fall 09 syllabus)
HI 450 Religions in America (Fall 2009)
HI 207 American West: Myth and Reality (Fall 2009)
Honors First Year Seminar: "Roadside America" (Fall 2009)
HI 215 US Intellectual History: American Ideas (Spring 2010)
HI 410 The Historian's Craft (Spring 2010)
HI 113 US History III (1945-Present) (Spring 2010)

Academic Year 2008-2009
HI 112 US History II 1877-1945 (Fall 08, Spring 09)
HI 193 FS 13 On the Air: Radio in America (Fall 08 syllabus)
HI 113 US History III (1945-present) Spring 09 (syllabus)
HI 217 US Social History Spring 09 (syllabus)