Chilton, Katherine

Department of History

Lecturer

Areas of Interest:

  • African American History
  • U.S. Women's History
  • History of Slavery and Emancipation
  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Education

Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University, 2009.

M.A. University of Sussex, 2001.

Licenses and Certificates

Chancellor’s Office, California State University, Flexible Course Teaching Experience, 2020

San Jose State University, Writing Across the Curriculum Workshop on Assessment, 2018
San Jose State University, ECampus Student Success Research Project, 2018
San Jose State University, Faculty Professional Development Series “On Being Included,” 2018
San Jose State University, Faculty Professional Development Series on Whiteness and Race, 2017
San Jose State University, ECampus Active Learning Certificate Program, 2017
San Jose State University, Quality Assurance in Online Teaching Program, 2017
Chancellor’s Office, California State University, Course Redesign with Technology Student Success, 2016-2017
Chancellor’s Office, California State University, Course Redesign with Technology, 2015-2016

Bio

I am originally from the small island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, which is part of Great Britain, but my interests in the history of the United States have led me on an interesting journey from there to Silicon Valley.   I completed my Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2009 and before moving to San Jose I taught at a small liberal arts college in St Paul, Minnesota.  My research focuses on urban slavery and emancipation in the District of Columbia, particularly the experience of women and their interactions with the Freedman’s Bureau.  As a teacher, I therefore emphasize in all my classes how the experiences of ordinary Americans have shaped the economic and political development of the United States and how the social and policy decisions of government and elites have affected the lives of all citizens.  With colleagues from other CSU campuses I also research how to more effectively teach the U.S. History introductory course.

Publications:

Katherine Chilton, "American Slavery and Gender" in Slavery: Interpreting American History ed Aaron Aster and Thomas C. Buchanan (Kent: Kent State University Press, 2021)

Bridget Ford, Katherine Chilton, Christopher Endy, Michael Henderson, Brad A. Jones and Ji Y. Son, “Beyond Big Data: Teaching Introductory U.S. History in the Age of Student Success,” Journal of American History, Volume 106, Issue 4, March 2020, 989-1011