Karal Ann Marling (born November 5, 1943) is an American cultural historian and writer. A

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, she is an

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

scholar with a special focus on the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

. ''The New York Times'' described her as a "keen-eyed critic of American popular culture." One book reviewer described her as a stylistic and intellectual heir to both

Erma Bombeck Erma Louise Bombeck (''née'' Fiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. Fifteen books of her hum ...

and

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

. Originally from the East Coast, she earned a Ph.D. at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

before she came to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1977 to teach. She has since become an acknowledged expert on her adopted home state, including on the cultural significance of state fairs (including the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

) and shopping malls (including the

Mall of America Mall of America (MoA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north ...

). Marling has written 19 full-length non-fiction books.

Selected works

* ''Wall-to-wall America: a cultural history of post-office murals in the Great Depression'' * ''Designing Disney's theme parks: the architecture of reassurance'' * ''Designs on the heart: the homemade art of Grandma Moses'' * ''Graceland: going home with Elvis'' * ''As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s'' * ''Merry Christmas: Celebrating America's greatest holiday'' * ''Debutante: rites and regalia of American debdom'' * ''Norman Rockwell (1894-1978): America's most beloved painter'' * ''Ice: great moments in the history of hard, cold water'' * ''Minnesota, hail to thee!: a sesquicentennial history'' * ''Blue Ribbon: A Social and Pictorial History of the Minnesota State Fair''

References

1943 births Living people American historians Cultural historians University of Minnesota faculty American studies scholars Bryn Mawr College alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers {{US-academic-stub