Micki Paige McElya (born 1972) is an American author and historian. She is a professor of History at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. In 2017, her book ''The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery'' was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published du ...

Early life and education

McElya received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in history from

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 ...

and her Ph.D. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 2003.

Career

Upon graduating from New York University, McElya was hired as an assistant professor of American Studies at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. During her tenure, she published a book titled ''Clinging to Mammy: The Faithful Slave in Twentieth-Century America'' through the

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

. The book focused on how the de-sexualization and infantilization of African American women during slavery, helped reiterate the black maternal iconography and slavery apologia. ''Clinging to Mammy'' also earned her a place on the 2007 Myers Center Outstanding Book Awards Advancing Human Rights. McElya eventually left the University of Alabama in 2008 to accept a position as an associate professor of History at the

. She published her second book titled ''The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery'' through the Harvard University Press, which earned her a

nomination. ''The Politics of Mourning'' focused on the history of the

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

and has been described “a luminous investigation of how policies and practices at Arlington National Cemetery have mirrored the nation’s fierce battles over race, politics, honor, and loyalty.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McElya, Micki 1972 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Bryn Mawr College alumni American women novelists University of Alabama faculty University of Connecticut faculty New York University alumni American women academics