Paul S. Boyer, Merle Curti Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. An editor of NOTABLE AMERICAN WOMEN, 1607-1950 (1971), he also co-authored SALEM POSSESSED: THE SOCIAL ORIGINS OF WITCHCRAFT (1974), for which, with Stephen Nissenbaum, he received the John H. Dunning Prize of the American Historical Association. His other works include URBAN MASSES AND MORAL ORDER IN AMERICA, 1820-1920 (1978), BY THE BOMB'S EARLY LIGHT: AMERICAN THOUGHT AND CULTURE AT THE DAWN OF THE ATOMIC AGE (1985), WHEN TIME SHALL BE NO MORE: PROPHECY BELIEF IN MODERN AMERICAN CULTURE (1992), and PROMISES TO KEEP: THE UNITED STATES SINCE WORLD WAR… II (3e, 2003). He is also editor-in-chief of the OXFORD COMPANION TO UNITED STATES HISTORY (2001). His articles and essays have appeared in the "American Quarterly," "New Republic," and other journals. He has been a visiting professor at the University of California, Los Angeles; Northwestern University; and the College of William and Mary.
Karen Halttunen, professor of history at the University of Southern California, earned her Ph.D. from Yale University. Her works include CONFIDENCE MEN AND PAINTED WOMEN: A STUDY OF MIDDLE-CLASS CULTURE IN AMERICA, 1830-1870 (1982) and MURDER MOST FOUL: THE KILLER AND THE AMERICAN GOTHIC IMAGINATION (1998). She edited THE BLACKWELL COMPANION TO AMERICAN CULTURAL HISTORY (2008) and co-edited, with Lewis Perry, MORAL PROBLEMS IN AMERICAN LIFE: NEW ESSAYS ON CULTURAL HISTORY (1998). As president of the American Studies Association and as vice-president of the Teaching Division of the American Historical Association, she has actively promoted K-16 collaboration in teaching history. She has held… fellowships from the Guggenheim and Mellon Foundations, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Huntington Library, and the National Humanities Center, and has been principal investigator on several Teaching American History grants from the Department of Education.
Sandra McNair Hawley received her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. She co-authored the book Global Politics with Dean A. Minix and has written numerous papers on US/Chinese relations, with a focus on popular culture portraits of Asia and their implications. She currently teaches at San Jacinto College and is working on a new book on the history of Texas.
Joseph F. Kett, James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia, received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His works include THE FORMATION OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL PROFESSION: THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS, 1780-1860 (1968), RITES OF PASSAGE: ADOLESCENCE IN AMERICA, 1790-PRESENT (1977), THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DIFFICULTIES: FROM SELF-IMPROVEMENT TO ADULT EDUCATION IN AMERICA, 1750-1990 (1994), and THE NEW DICTIONARY OF CULTURAL LITERACY (2002), of which he is co-author. A former History Department chair at Virginia, he also has participated on the Panel on Youth of the President's Science Advisory Committee, has served on the Board of Editors of the "History of Education… Quarterly," and is a past member of the Council of the American Studies Association.