Publications & Presentations
Books
Her Own Hero: The Origins of the Women’s Self-Defense Movement. New York University Press, 2017.
Articles and Book Chapters
“‘Hurrah for Woman Suffrage!’ Young Suffragists and the Campaign for the Vote,” Journal of theHistory of Childhood and Youth 13, no. 3 (Winter 2021), 133-158.
“Perfect Love in a Better World: Same-Sex Attraction Between Girls in the Progressive Era.” The Girl in the Text. Ann Smith, editor. New York: Berghahn Books, 2019.
“Perfect Love in a Better World: Same-Sex Attraction Between Girls in the Progressive Era.” Girlhood Studies 10, no. 3 (December 2017).
“Charmed Lives: Charms, Amulets, and Childhood in Urban America, 1870-1940.” Journal of American Culture 40, no. 1 (March 2017): 21-33.
“Jiu-Jitsuing Uncle Sam: The ‘Unmanly Art’ of Jiu-Jitsu and the ‘Yellow Peril’ Threat in Progressive Era America.” Pacific Historical Review. October 2015.
“Empowering the Physical and Political Self: Women and the Practice of Self Defense, 1890-1920.” Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. October 2014.
“The Limits of Dress: Chinese American Childhood, Fashion, and Race in the Exclusion Era.” Western Historical Quarterly. Winter 2010.
“Postcard Images of Chinese: American Childhood and the Construction of a New Chinatown,” Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, 53 (Spring 2010), 5-26.
Articles and Book Chapters (History Education)
“Clothing and the Construction of Gender and Childhood.” History Matters! National Council for History Education. 31, no. 9 (June 2019).
“Empowering Future Teachers: Ed Tech Tools in Teacher Preparation Programs.”Social Studies Review: Technology Issue Journal of California Council for the Social Studies. Annual Issue 2018-19.
“Iron-Jawed Angels and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage.” Hollywood or History? An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Teach U.S. History. Scott L. Roberts and Charles Elfer, editors. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. 2018.
“Fong Bow’s File: Chinese Exclusion and Resistance.” Teaching History: A Journal of Methods 43, no. 1 (Spring 2018).
“Lessons Learned While Escaping From a Zombie: Designing a Breakout EDU Game.” The History Teacher: The Society for History Education 50, no. 4 (August 2017): 553-563.
"Hetch-Hetchy Talk-it-Out." Social Studies Review: How Do We Measure Student Performance in Social Studies? Journal of the California Council for the Social Studies. Annual Issue 2015-16.
Encyclopedia Articles
“Alida Cornelia Avery,” “Etta Nevena Hostetter Haven,” and “Isabel Amelia Baldwin.” Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920 in Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin, editors. Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street Press, 2019. Available online at:
“Bessie Papandre,” “Mildred Louise Gilbert,” “Berta Crone,” and “Elinor Majors Carlisle.” Biographical Database of Militant Suffragists, 1913-1920. Jill Zahniser, editor. Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin, editors. Alexandria, Virginia: Alexander Street Press. March 2017. Available online at:
“A Chinese American Protest” and “People v. Hall.” Defining Documents: Manifest Destiny and the New Nation (1803-1860). Ipswich, MA: Salem Press/EBSCO Publishing, 2013.
"Chinese American Funerary Ritual" and “Chinese American Childhood.” Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, and Political Change. Xiaojian Zhao and Edward J. W. Park, editors. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2013.
“Chung, Margaret” and “Lee, Jane Kwong” in Encyclopedia of American Women’s History, Hasia Diner, editor. New York: Facts on File, 2011.
Review Essays
Review essay of Yong Chen’s, Chop Suey, USA: The Story of ChineseFood in America and Edward Wang, Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History in the American Historical Review. April 2016.
Review essay of Elizabeth Sinn’s Pacific Crossing and Jingyi Song’s Shaping and Reshaping Chinese American Identity in the Journal of American Ethnic History. Volume 34, Number 3 (Spring 2015), 95-99.
Blog Posts and Magazine Articles
“Teach the History of LGBTQ+ Joy.” California History Social Science Project. June 2022.
“Teaching LGBTQ Topics in 2021.” California History Social Science Project. June 2021.
“Sex and Suffrage.” California Historical Society. January 2021.
“The Very Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.” Women’s Vote Centennial 2020. Ms. Magazine. July 22, 2020.
“Every Woman Her Own Bodyguard.” Longreads.January 10, 2018.
“The Origins of the Women’s Self-Defense Movement.” From the Square. NYU Press. August 8, 2017.
“How Our Fierce Feminist Grandmothers Fought to Claim Their Space.” Ms. Magazine.July 28, 2017.
“For Fun and Freedom These 19thCentury Female Fighters Got in the Ring.” Timeline. May 31, 2017.
Interviews & Videos
Magazine Interview. Sarah Durn. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trans-queer-womens-suffrage. Atlas Obscura. July 2022.
Podcast Interview. Unsung History. The Queer History of the Suffrage Movement. May 2022.
Podcast Interview. Herstory on the Rocks. The Queer History of the Suffrage Movement. March 2022.
Interview with Outlook Video, LGBTQ TV Newsmagazine, San Jose, California. February 24, 2022.
Television Interview. Queering the History of the Suffrage Movement. CTV News Canada. September 1, 2020.
Documentary Video. Suffrage School – Wendy L. Rouse. Radcliffe Institute. Schlesinger Library. Harvard University.
Radio Interview. The Joy Cardin Show. National Public Radio, Wisconsin. September 20, 2017.
Book Reviews
Review of Andrew Urban’s Brokering Servitude: Migration and the Politics of Domestic Labor during the Long Nineteenth Century. American Historical Review 125, no. 2. (April 2020),
Review of Debra A. Shattuck’s Review of Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers in thePacific Historical Review 87, no. 3 (Summer 2018): 572-573.
Review of Julia Bricklin’s America’s Best Female Sharpshooter: The Rise and Fall of Lillian Frances Smithin the Western Historical Quarterly 49, no. 2 (January 2018).
Review of Kathryn Wilson’s Ethnic Renewal in Philadelphia’s Chinatown: Space, Place and Struggle in the Journal of American History 103, no. 1 (June 2016), 215.
Review of Clare Sears’ Arresting Dress: Cross-Dressing, Law and Fascination in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco in the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History Newsletter. Spring 2016.
Review of Joshua Paddison’s American Heathens: Religion, Race, and Reconstruction in California in the Journal of American Ethnic History. Volume 33, Number 4 (Summer 2014), 114-115.
Review of Andrea Rees Davies Saving San Francisco: Relief and Recovery after the 1906 Disaster in the Western Historical Quarterly, (Winter 2012).
Review of Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain’s Pure Beauty: Judging Race in Japanese American Beauty Pageants in the Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. Volume 2, Number 2 (Spring 2009), 291-93.
Conference Papers & Panels
“Writing Same-Sex Desire before Stonewall: Love Letters, Romantic Poetry, and Other Writings.” American Historical Association. New Orleans, Louisiana. January 2022.
“Historicizing Sexual Harassment in the Age of #MeToo.” Panel Chair. Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. Santa Clara, California. May 2023.
“Queering Suffrage: Towards an Intersectional History of Women's Suffrage.” American Historical Association. New York, New York. January 2020.
“Teaching Queer Lives: Resisting Historical Erasure through LGBTQ History.” National Women’s Studies Association. San Francisco, California. November 2019.
“Decolonizing Middle and High School Curriculum Through Intersectional Feminism.” National Council for the Social Studies. Austin, Texas. November 2019.
"The Invention of the "Abnormal Girl" and the Suicidal Lesbian Trope in Literature, Television and Film, 1900-Present.” ClexaCon Academic Lab. Las Vegas, Nevada. April 11, 2019.
“‘Lesbian-Like’ Loyalties and Archival Silences, c. 1900-30s.” American Historical Association Annual Meeting. Chicago. January 2019.
“Perfect Love in a Better World: Female Crushes and Romantic Friendships in the Early 20th Century.” Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association. CSU Northridge. August 5, 2017.
“The Personal is Political: Domestic Violence and Self-Defense for Women in the Progressive Era.” Western Association of Women Historians. Denver, Colorado. May 14-15, 2016.
“Jiu-Jitsuing Uncle Sam: The ‘Unmanly Art’ of Jiu-Jitsu and the ‘Yellow Peril’ Threat in Progressive Era America.” Western Association of Women Historians. Sacramento, California. May 15-16, 2015.
“Roosevelt, Japan, and Jiu-Jitsu: Race and Masculinity in America.” Western History Association. Newport Beach, California. October 17, 2014
“‘First Wave Feminists and the Manly Art of Self-Defense.” Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association. Denver, Colorado. August 10, 2013.
“’How Different it Would Be . . .’: Women, Feminism, and the Manly Art of Self-Defense, 1880-1920.” Western Association of Women Historians Conference. Portland, Oregon. May 17, 2013.
“Chinese Children and the American Experience: Practical Strategies for K-12 Teachers.” California World History Association Conference. Sacramento State University. October 22-23, 2010.
“Charmed Lives: Charms and Amulets in Ethnic Urban America.” Western Association of Women Historians Conference. University of Puget Sound, Washington. Mary 20-23, 2010.
“Charmed Lives: Charms and Amulets in Ethnic Urban America.” That Old Black Magic: Voodoo & Witchcraft in Modern American Culture Symposium. Queens University Belfast. April 30, 2010.
“At-Risk Subjects in History: Children and Youth of Color: A Roundtable.” The Society for the History of Childhood and Youth Biennial Conference. Berkeley, California. July 12th, 2009.
“Popular Images of Chinese American Childhood.”Western Association of Women Historians. Santa Clara, California. May 2nd, 2009.
“Postcard Images of Chinese American Childhood and the Construction of a New Chinatown.”Association for Asian American Studies. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 23rd, 2009.
“Constructions of Childhood in San Francisco’s Chinatown.” California American Studies Association. Aliso Viejo, California. April 25-27th, 2008.
“Postcard Images of Chinese Childhood in San Francisco’s Chinatown, 1850-1920.” Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference. San Francisco. March 19-22nd, 2008.
History Education Workshops and Conference Panels
“LGBTQ+ Histories,” National Endowment for the Humanities, City University of New York, July 2022.
“Chinese American Experiences,” National Endowment for the Humanities, UC, Davis, July 2022.
“Inclusive Practices for Teaching the FAIR Act,” Santa Clara County Office of Education. June 2022.
“LGBTQ+ Inclusive Curriculum,” Queer History Conference, San Francisco State University, June 2022.
“Teaching LGBTQ History: 6-12,” Santa Clara County Office of Education. April 2022.
“Immigration History for Fourth Graders.” California History and Social Science Project. March 2022.
“Teaching LGBTQ History: 2-5,” California State University, Long Beach. March 2022.
“Teaching LGBTQ History: An Integrative Approach,” California Council for the Social Studies. March 2022.
“Queering the Women’s Suffrage Movement,” California Council for the Social Studies. March 2022.
“The FAIR Education Act: What You Need to Know.” Santa Clara County Office of Education, November 2021.
“Teaching the Queer History of the Suffrage Movement.” Capital Region CLIC Virtual Series. The History Project at UC Davis. April 28, 2021.
“Teaching and Supporting LGBTQ Students: Virtual Edition.” California Council for the Social Studies. Virtual Annual Conference. March 6, 2021.
“Library of Congress: Teaching with Primary Sources. Teaching the FAIR Act.” The History Project at UC Davis. July 30, 2020.
“FAIR Act Lessons for History Teachers.” UC Davis History/Social Science Project. Yolo County office of Education. March 12, 2020. [Canceled due to Covid-19].
“The Long Road to Equality: The Women’s Movement Before and After the 1920 Suffrage Victory.” Santa Clara County Office of Education. Santa Clara, California. March 2020. [Canceled due to Covid-19].
“Extraordinary Local Suffragists.” California Council for the Social Studies. Costa Mesa, California. February 28, 2020.
“Queering the History of the Suffrage Movement.” Webinar for National Park Service staff. February 6, 2020.
“Building the Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework about LGBTQ History, K-12.” Queer History Conference. Committee on LGBT History. San Francisco State University. June 17, 2019.
“LGBTQ History Curriculum Development.” UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project. Santa Clara County Office of Education. San Jose, California. June 10, 2019.
"Teaching LGBTQ History with California’s Fair Education Act.” ClexaCon Academic Lab. Las Vegas, Nevada. April 11, 2019.
“More Out of Your Seat Learning Strategies Part II.” California Council for the Social Studies. San Jose, California. March 17, 2019.
“Women’s History Partnerships Between Scholars & Secondary Educators.” National Women’s Studies Association. Atlanta, Georgia. November 8-11, 2018.
“Women’s History Partnerships Between Teachers & Scholars.” Seneca Falls Dialogues. Seneca Falls, New York. October 19-21, 2018.
“Updating California’s K-12 History.” Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Society. Santa Clara, California. August 3-5, 2018.
California FAIR Act – Inclusive History Curriculum Development. UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project. Santa Clara County Office of Education. San Jose, California. May 12, 2018.
“Teaching LGBTQ History to K12 Students: A Roundtable.” Panel Organizer. Organization of American Historians Conference. Sacramento, California. April 12-14, 2018.
“Out of Your Seat Learning.” California Council for the Social Studies. San Diego, California. March 24, 2018.
“Words That Shape the World: Historians, Teachers, and Partnerships for LGBT History.” Panel Organizer. American Historical Association Conference. Washington, D.C. January 4-7, 2018.
“Teaching LGBTQ History.” Panel Organizer. National Council for the Social Studies Conference. San Francisco, California. November 18, 2017.
“Using Film to Teach U.S. History at the Secondary Level.” National Council for the Social Studies Conference. San Francisco, California. November 18, 2017.
Breakout EDU. The World is the Classroom: 21st Century Teaching and Learning. CATESOL 2017 Conference. October 19-22, 2017. Santa Clara, California.
“Inquiry (6-12).” California’s History Social Science Framework Launch Conference. Santa Clara County Office of Education. September 2017.
“America’s Immigration History.” Making History: UC Berkeley History Social Science Project Summer Program for High School Students. Oakland Museum. July 6, 2017.
“Teaching FAIR: Understanding the FAIR Education Act, A Workshop for Teachers.” San Jose State University. June 2017.
“Teach Outside the Box with Breakout EDU.” California Council for the Social Studies. Sacramento, California. March 4, 2017.
“The Revised History/Social Science Framework.” Teacher Seminar on Korean History and Culture, Sunnyvale, California. November 5, 2016.
“Breakout EDU Game Jam.” Game Design Seminar for Social Science Educators. San Jose State University. June 27, 2016.
“Curricular Connections: World War II on the Home Front in California.” Movement, Mobilization, and Militarization: World War II and the Home Front. NEH Landmarks Workshop. UC Berkeley. Berkeley, California. June 2016.
“Breakout of the Box: Teaching Common Core Collaboration and Historical Thinking Skills.” California Council for the Social Studies. Costa Mesa, California. March 5, 2016.
“The Future of Teacher Preparation Programs in California.” Panel Organizer. Teaching the Past for Tomorrow. California History Social Science Project, Los Angeles, California. November 6, 2015.
“Moving West: The Myths and Realities of Westward Expansion.” Santa Clara County Office of Education. UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project. Implementing the Common Core in History Instruction Conference. Santa Clara, April 20, 2013.
“Teaching History Through the Eyes of Youth,” California Reading and Literature Project. Sacramento City Unified School District. Sacramento, California. October 23, 2012.
“Bringing Angel Island into the Classroom.” California Council for History Education. San Jose, California. October 19-20, 2012.
“Women and Child Immigrants and the American Dream.” Teaching American History, Evergreen Unified School District. San Jose State University. San Jose, California. June 21, 2012.
“Immigration and Angel Island.” Teaching American History. San Bernardino County Teachers. Berkeley, California. June 11, 2012.
“Finding Affordable Solutions.” Faculty Panel. Affordable Learning Solutions Fair. San Jose State University. April 9, 2012.
“Photography and Immigrants.” Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Institute, UC Davis History Project. Fairfield, California. July 27, 2011.
“Immigration and Angel Island.” Shasta County Office of Education. Teaching American History. Angel Island State Historic Park. San Francisco, California. June 23, 2011.
“Immigration and Childhood in Chinatown.” Placer County Office of Education. Teaching American History. Chinese Historical Society. San Francisco, California. June 21, 2011.
“Immigration and Angel Island.” Placer County Office of Education, Teaching American History. Auburn, California. May 19, 2011.
“Children in the Japanese Internment Camps.” Solano County Office of Education, Teaching American History. Fairfield, California. February 17, 2011.
“Child Labor and the Progressive Era.” Shasta County Office of Education. Teaching American History. Davis, California. November 6, 2011.
“Chinese Immigration and Chinese San Francisco.” Elk Grove Unified School District. Teaching American History. Elk Grove, California. November 6, 2011.
“Angel Island: The ‘Other’ Island.” The History Project. UC Davis. San Francisco. June 2008.
Public Presentations
Book Talks related to research from Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, DC, August 30, 2022.
- California Historical Society. San Francisco, California. June 7, 2022.
- National Women’s History Museum. Washington, DC, June 5, 2022.
- Massachusetts Historical Society. Boston, Massachusetts, June 1, 2022.
- Charis Book Circle Talk. Atlanta, Georgia, May 2022.
- Santa Clara Library District, Los Altos, California, March 2022.
- Sheroes in Place, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California, March 17, 2022.
- GLBT Historical Society. San Francisco, California. February 25, 2022.
- History San Jose. San Jose, California. February 19, 2022.
- Alice Paul Institute, Mount Laurel, New Jersey. June 17, 2021.
- Connecticut Historical Society Museum. Hartford, Connecticut. March 10, 2021.
- University of Rhode Island. Kingston, Rhode Island. March 4, 2021.
- Sex and Suffrage. California Historical Society. San Francisco. January 20, 2021.
- National Women’s History Alliance webinar. April 22, 2020.
- UC Davis Library. Yolo County Archives. Davis, California. March 19, 2020.
- Women’s Equality 2020 Leadership Council. Santa Clara County, May 8, 2019.
- American Association of University Women. Milpitas, California. August 25, 2020.
- Arizona Women Lawyers Association. August 21, 2020.
- Suffragists at Rest. Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation. San Mateo, California. March 15, 2020.
- Tri-Valley Women’s March. Livermore Indivisible. Livermore, California. March 8th 2020.
Book Talks related to research from Her Own Hero: The Origins of the Women’s Self-Defense Movement
- University Scholar Series. San Jose State University. November 13, 2019.
- Appalachian State University. Boone, North Carolina. October 3, 2019.
- Presbyterian Women, Spring Gathering. San Jose, California. May 4, 2019.
- Women’s Equality 2020 Leadership Council. Santa Clara County, November 14, 2018.
- Feminist Roundtable. NWSA. Charis Books. Atlanta, Georgia. November 9, 2018.
- Dean’s Symposium. San Jose State University. November 2018.
- Women and Children First Book Store, Chicago, Illinois. July 20, 2018.
- National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, Chicago, Illinois. July 19, 2018.
- Harvard Coop with Impact Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts. March 30, 2018.
- Bluestockings Bookstore with Make a Ruckus Safety, New York. March 29, 2018.
- Women’s Museum of California, San Diego, CA. March 24, 2018.
- California Historical Society with Hand to Hand Kajukenbo, San Francisco. March 2018.
- Book Woman Book Store with Sun Dragon Martial Arts, Austin, Texas. March 3, 2018.
- Tri-Alliance Gathering of Women Martial Artists.” Naperville, Illinois. July 20-24, 2016.
- Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists. Boulder Creek, California. August 2015.
- Solano Community College. Vallejo, California. July 9, 2015.
Book Talks related to research from Children of Chinatown: Growing up Chinese American in San Francisco, 1850-1920
- Chinese Historical and Cultural Project. San Jose, California. October 16, 2011.
- Sacramento Chinese Historical Society. Sacramento. November 2010.
- San Francisco Historical Association. San Francisco. May 25, 2010.
- Time Tested Books. Sacramento, California. March 28, 2010.
- California Historical Society. San Francisco, California. March 18, 2010.
- San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco, California. February 27, 2010.
- Hop Sing Society. Marysville, California. January 26th, 2008.
- Sacramento County Historical Society. Sacramento, California. October 23rd, 2007.
- Auburn Joss House museum. Auburn, California. February 26th, 2006.
- Isleton’s Admission Day celebration. Isleton, California. September 10th, 2005.
- Native Sons of the Golden West. Auburn Parlor. Auburn, California. February 2005.
Selected Grants, Fellowships, and Awards
University Faculty RSCA Assigned Time Program Award. San Jose State University. 2020-2021.
Mellon-Schlesinger Summer Research Grant. Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Harvard University. Summer 2020.
Research Travel Grant, College of Social Sciences, San Jose State University, Fall 2019.
Madeline L’Engle Travel-To-Collections Grant. Smith College Libraries. Northampton, Massachusetts, Summer 2019.
Annual Author and Artist Award. San Jose State University, November 2017.
Research Travel Grant, College of Social Sciences, San Jose State University, Summer 2013.
The CSU Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program, 2003-2007.
Professional and Community Activities
Curriculum Designer. LGBTQ History Project. UC Davis History Project. Summer 2021.
Museum Exhibit Consultant. “Coming Out: 50 Years of Queer Resistance & Resilience in Silicon Valley.” Queer Silicon Valley and History Park. San Jose, California. Summer 2021.
Curriculum Designer. Teaching California. California History/Social Science Project. California Historical Society. 2021.