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Photo of Whirley, Megan

Megan Whirley

Graduate Student

History

Contact

Building & Room:

UH 1004

Email:

mwhirl2@uic.edu

CV Download:

CV_923 - Megan Whirley

About

Megan Whirley is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois-Chicago specializing in the history of disabilities, science, medicine, and the body. In 2018, Megan received her MA in history from the College of William and Mary where she worked as a digital history assistant at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. At William & Mary, Megan’s research examined the concept and language of “disability,” and its intersections with cultural notions of race and gender in nineteenth-century America. Currently, Megan is particularly interested in studying disability and the body within the systems and legacies of settler colonialism, enslavement, and servitude primarily in 17th- and 18th-century coastal communities. Originally from Minnesota, Megan spends as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors with her Boston Terrier, Millie.

 

Courses Taught:

As Teaching Assistant at UIC:

HIST 499 "History Internships"
HIST 100 "Western Civilization to 1648"
HIST 106 "History of the World since 1400"
HIST 255 "History of Chicago"
HIST 101 "Western Civilization (1648-Present)"
HIST 244 "Native American History"
HIST 103 "Early America: From Colonization to Civil War and Reconstruction"
HIST 240 "Radicalism in America: From the Revolution to Occupy Wall Street"
HIST 104 "Modern America: From Industrialization to Globalization"

As Teaching Assistant at Elmhurst University:
HIST 351 "Disability in America"

Selected Publications

“Strength in Hope.” America’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Nonfiction. (December 2018). pp. 52-53.
“Strength in Hope.” Minnesota’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Nonfiction. (August 2018). pp. 21-24.
“Where the Water Meets the Sky.” MiddleWestern Voice. (2014). pp. 3-9.

Notable Honors

2023, 2022, 2021, Liberal Arts and Sciences Research Grant, University of Illinois, Chicago, Il

2022, Munson Institute Fellowship, Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, CT

2021, Provost’s Graduate Research Award, University of Illinois, Chicago, Il

2019 - Present, History Doctoral Award, University of Illinois, Chicago, Il.

2016, History Senior of the Year, Elmhurst University

2015-2016, Glorianna Berger Scholarship, Elmhurst University

2014-2015, Garlichs Scholarship, Elmhurst University

2012-2016, Presidential Scholarship, Elmhurst University

Education

M.A., History; Lyon G. Tyler Department of History, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. 2018.
B.A., History; Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, Il. 2016.

Selected Presentations

(Upcoming) “By Land or Sea: Disability in Maritime Communities.” Disability in the Vast Early Americas Conference, University of Notre Dame, October 2023.
“Corrupting the Mother Tongue.” Distance Learning Independent Lecture, Zoom. April 2020.
“The Disability Rights Movement.” History of Radicalism in America, University of Illinois-Chicago. April 2020.
"Corrupting the Mother Tongue//Broken Constitutions." College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. May 2018.
"Labor Activism to Feminism." Elmhurst University Political Science Panel, Elmhurst, Il. November 2015.
“Where the Water Meets the Sky.” The Gathering, MiddleWestern Voice Annual Release Celebration. October 2015.
"Tracing the Disability Rights Movement in America." Elmhurst University Annual Research Forum, Elmhurst, Il. May 2015.
"Conquering Language and Culture." Elmhurst University Annual Research Forum, Elmhurst, Il. May 2014.

Research Currently in Progress

Megan’s dissertation research examines the presence of disability in coastal communities of the British North American colonies, primarily in New England and Virginia. Alongside what she describes as an ever-fluctuating hierarchy of the body informed by the interdependent concepts of race, class, gender, and both mental and physical ability, Megan analyzes how the systems of settler colonialism, enslavement, and servitude contributed to understandings and experiences of disability in early America.

Research Interests: History of disabilities; history of the body; history of science and medicine; Native American history; histories of race, gender, and sexuality; African American history; migration history; maritime history; histories of religion and spirituality, intellectual history.