Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela is an associate professor of history at The New School, where she studies the politics and culture of the modern United States. The author of Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture, she also hosts the “Past Present” podcast.
Articles From This Author
The Complicated Pasts of 6 Trailblazing Women
“Well-behaved women seldom make history,” wrote Harvard historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich memorably in 1976. She argued that “ordinary” women who don’t happen to marry future presidents…or lead the way to be the first in their fields…or get burned at the stake are rarely ...read more
The Curious History of Leftovers
Whether you parcel them out for lunch the next day or squirrel them away with the best intentions until they’ve gone bad, leftovers are a mostly unremarkable reality of modern life. But leftovers have a story to tell, and their curious history tells us about changes in technology ...read more
Why Fear of Big Cities Led to the Creation of Summer Camps
As temperatures climb, millions of children all over the United States pack their bags each year and head to sleepaway camps ranging from the rustic to the super-luxurious. But it was not always so. Until the late 19th century, summers were for children to work or play in ...read more