I’m a cultural historian interested in how memory—both collective and personal—shapes the way we understand history, identity, and art. At Stephen F. Austin State University, where I’m a Full Professor of History, I teach courses that explore the intersections of race, culture, and public memory.

My latest book, Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory (LSU Press, 2024), traces how one of the most polarizing figures of the Civil War became a mythic symbol in the American imagination. I’ve also written Cuttin’ Up: How Early Jazz Got America’s Ear (University Press of Kansas) and co-edited a collection of essays on Bob Dylan and the cultural politics of his work.

I am a founding member of the Teaching Woody Guthrie Collective, a group devoted to exploring how music can make history come alive in classrooms and communities.