Susan Porter Benson (July 26, 1943 – June 20, 2005) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and academic, specializing in

labor history Labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class ...

and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

as well as public and cultural history. She taught at

Bristol Community College Bristol Community College (Bristol) is a public community college with four campuses in Southeastern Massachusetts. History The college was originally established in December 1965 when it was instituted by the Massachusetts Board of Regional C ...

(1968–86), the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

(1986–93), and 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, ...

(1993–2005). Her book ''Counter Cultures'' influenced the field of labor and women's history and

consumer culture Consumer culture describes a lifestyle hyper-focused on spending money to buy material or goods. Consumer culture became prominent in the United States during the rapid economic growth of the Roaring Twenties following the end of World War I ...

. ''Presenting the Past: Essays on History and the Public'', which she co-edited with Stephen Brier and

Roy Rosenzweig Roy Alan Rosenzweig (August 6, 1950 – October 11, 2007) was an American historian. He was the founder and director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University from 1994 until his death in October 2007 from lung cancer, ...

, inspired the

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

book series ''Critical Perspectives on the Past''.

Life and career

A native of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Benson received her BA degree from

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

in 1964, her MA from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1968, and her PhD from Brown in 1983. She taught as a visiting professor at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

(1984) and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(1998) and served as director of women's studies at the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1998. Benson served on the editorial boards of ''

Labor History Labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class ...

'', ''

Journal of American History ''The Journal of American History'' is the quarterly official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the o ...

'', ''

American Quarterly ''American Quarterly'' is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Studies Association. The journal covers topics of both domestic and international concern in the United States and is considered a leading resource in th ...

'', ''

Gender & History ''Gender & History'' is an international academic journal. It is an important academic journal for articles relating to the history of femininity, masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, a ...

'', and ''

Radical History Review ''Radical History Review'' is a scholarly journal published by Duke University Press. The journal describes its position as "at the point where rigorous historical scholarship and active political engagement converge".

''. She also served on committees of the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...

, Berkshire Conference on the History of Women,

Labor and Working-Class History Association The Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) is a non-profit association of academics, educators, students, and labor movement and other activists that promotes research into and publication of materials on the history of the labor mov ...

, and Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities. Benson died of cancer in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, at the age of 61.

Published books

* * *

References

External links

Finding aid to Susan Porter Benson Papers
at the University of Connecticut {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Susan Porter 1943 births 2005 deaths People from Washington, Pennsylvania Simmons University alumni Brown University alumni American women historians 20th-century American historians Historians of the United States University of Connecticut faculty University of Missouri faculty Historians of Connecticut Labor historians Women's historians Public historians