Rebecca Onion is a doctoral candidate in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on the cultural history of science and technology, childhood studies, and digital humanities. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. On

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Rebecca Stiles Onion
Curriculum Vitae
Current Address: Phone: [redacted for Web]
[redacted for Web] rebeccaonion@gmail.com
www.rebeccaonion.com
On Twitter: @rebeccaonion
Education
Doctoral Candidate, American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
Defense date: November 13, 2012
Dissertation: “How Science Became Child’s Play: Science, Technology, and the
Culture of American Childhood, 1890-1970″
Committee: Janet Davis (co-supervisor); Julia Mickenberg (co-supervisor); Jeffrey
Meikle; Bruce Hunt; John Hartigan
Comprehensive Exam Fields: American Civilization (Julia Mickenberg);
Environmental and Animal Studies (Janet Davis); Technology and Culture (Jeffrey
Meikle); Cultural Anthropology (John Hartigan)
M.A., American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, May 2007
Thesis: “Sled Dog Stories: Discourses of Domestication, Race, and Work in Alaska,
1867-1925”
Thesis Director: Janet Davis; Thesis Reader: Julia Mickenberg
B.A., American Studies, Yale University, cum laude, with distinction, May 2000
Thesis: “Pain, Fear, and Transcendence: Narrative Constructions in the National
Media Reaction to the Columbine High School Shootings”
Thesis Director: Jean-Christophe Agnew
Research Interests
Twentieth-century American cultural history, history of science and technology,
childhood studies, digital humanities, animal studies, environmental studies, material
culture, visual culture
Publications (Peer-Reviewed)
Journal Articles:
“Writing a ‘Wonderland’ of Science: Child-Authored Periodicals at the Brooklyn Children’s
Museum, 1936-1946.” American Periodicals, scheduled for Spring 2013. Accepted, in process of
revision.
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“Picturing Nature and Childhood at the American Museum of Natural History and the
Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 1899-1930.” Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, Vol. 4,
No. 3 (Fall 2011), 434-469.
“Reclaiming the Machine: An Introductory Look at Steampunk in Everyday Practice.”
Journal of Neo-Victorian Studies 1:1 (Autumn 2008), 138-163.
Book Chapters:
“Ronnie Vinikoff,” “James McMurtry” (both with Lisa Powell), oral histories in The Republic
of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket, a project carried out by UT/Austin American Studies
graduate students and published by the University of Texas Press in 2009.
“Environmental Health, Biological Risk, and Medical Display: The Individualist Etiologies
of BODY WORLDS,” in The Anatomy of Body Worlds, ed. Thora Jespersen et. al (Jefferson,
NC: McFarland, 2008), 55-65.
“Sled Dogs of the American North: On Masculinity, Whiteness, and Human Freedom,” in
Animals and Agency, ed. Sarah MacFarland and Ryan Hediger (Leiden: Brill Academic, 2009),
129-156.
Blog Post:
“Teaching the Hunger Games in the Undergraduate American Studies Classroom.” Blog of the
American Studies Journal, June 22, 2012 (http://amsjournal.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/on-
teaching-teaching-the-hunger-games-in-the-undergraduate-american-studies-classroom/).
Encyclopedia Entry:
“Theodore Roethke,” in Modern American Environmentalists: A Biographical Encyclopedia, ed.
G.A. Cevasco (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 421-426.
Review Publications:
Review: Analisa Leppanen-Guerra. Children’s Stories and “Child-Time” in the Works of Joseph
Cornell. The Lion and the Unicorn, Fall 2012. Accepted, in process of revision.
Review: Sally Kohlstedt, Teaching Children Science: Hands-On Nature Study in North America,
1890-1930. Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Fall 2011), 518-520.
Review: Nelson Lichtenstein, ed., American Capitalism: Social Thought and Political Economy in the
Twentieth Century. E3W Review of Books, Vol. 9 (Spring 2009), 38-39.
Review: Documentary Film: “King Corn.” Green Theory & Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy,
Vol. 4, No. 1 (2008), 122-124.
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Publications (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
2011 Column for Society for the History of Childhood and Youth newsletter
(“Songbirds and Satellites: Blogging the History of Childhood”)
2011 Article for the Pasteur Foundation’s website (“Louis Pasteur Microscope
Set”)
2010 Column on toys and culture for Paperweight: A Newspaper of Visual and Material
Culture, Summer 2010-present
Fellowships and Grants
2012-2014 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science
2010-2011 William S. Livingston Graduate Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin
2011 Summer Research Grant, Department of American Studies, University of
Texas at Austin
2011 Research Grant, Friends of the Princeton University Library
2011 Shin Pond Summer Retreat Program Fellowship, Humane Society of the
United States
2010 Robert A. Heinlein Online Archives Research Grant
2010 Chemical Heritage Foundation Travel Grant
2010 Hannah Beiter Graduate Student Research Grant, Children’s Literature
Association
2007 Liberal Arts Graduate Research Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin
2007 Stott Travel Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin
2005-2006 Harrington Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin
Scholarly Honors and Prizes
2012 Honorable Mention, Neil Sutherland Award, Best Article in the History of
Childhood and Youth. Given by History of Childhood and Youth Group,
Canadian Historical Association
2011 Winner, Graduate Research Award, University Co-Op, University of Texas at
Austin
2011 BootCamp Fellowship, to attend THATCamp, awarded by Mellon and Kress
Foundations
2008 Winner, Outstanding Thesis Award, University Co-Op, University of Texas
at Austin
2008 Invited to speak at the Material Culture Symposium for Emerging Scholars,
University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum
2008 Travel Award to attend University College Dublin Clinton Institute Summer
School, given by University of Texas at Austin Department of American
Studies
2007 Graduate Participant, University of Texas at Austin Humanities Institute
Faculty Seminar, “The Human and its Others”
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Digital Humanities Interests
Digital archives, public history online, online scholarly communities, bibliographic
records management systems, copyright and open access, the humanities and social
media, blogging (WordPress, Tumblr, Blogspot), digital pedagogy
Digital Humanities Experience
2012-present Assistant Coordinator, THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology
Camp), Center for History and New Media, George Mason University
• Revise and update documentation for organizers and
participants of THATCamp “unconferences” (samples of
organizer handbook at http://thatcamp.org/plan/download-
the-handbook/)
• Work remotely with THATCamp coordinator Amanda
French to implement goals of Mellon-funded project
2012-present Maintain active scholarly presence on Tumblr
(www.rebeccaonion.tumblr.com)
2012 Attended THATCamp Liberal Arts Colleges, Austin, TX; THATCamp
Prime, George Mason University, VA; THATCamp Philly, Philadelphia, PA
2012 Taught spring section of American Studies course Popular Culture and
American Childhood (www.popcultureandamericanchildhood.com)
• Students contributed blog posts to WordPress course site,
including analysis of primary sources, reading reflections, and
news posts
• Course included instruction in research using the Web and
library databases
2011 Taught fall section of American Studies course Popular Culture and
American Childhood (www.americanchildhoods.com)
• Students worked on building the Archive of Childhood
(www.archiveofchildhood.com), a WordPress site connecting
course readings with objects from student childhoods
• Students used Zotero for research and writing
• Course included instruction in research using the Web and
library databases
2011 Gave professional development presentation for fellow graduate students:
“Beyond Citation Management: Using Zotero to Shape Your Graduate
Research”
2011 Blogger for University of Texas Department of American Studies website,
AMS :: ATX (http://amstudies.wordpress.com/)
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2011 Attended THATCamp Southeast, Atlanta, GA
2011 Created public Zotero library aggregating scholarly work in Childhood
Srudies
(https://www.zotero.org/groups/childhood_studies_scholarlysecondary_so
urces/items)
2010-2012 Maintained research blog, Songbirds and Satellites
(http://www.rebeccaonion.com/songbirds-and-satellites/)
2010-present Maintain active scholarly presence on Twitter (@rebeccaonion)
2009-2010 Research Assistant to Dr. Penne Restad, History Department, University of
Texas at Austin
• Assisted with curriculum development for twentieth-century
American history survey
• In collaboration with professor, created WordPress course
website: http://sites.la.utexas.edu/history2point0/ (password
“oldschool”)
• During term of assistantship, maintained and updated course
website’s blog
2007-2008 Maintained orals reading blog, La Biblioteca de Babel
(http://bifurcan.blogspot.com)
Research Experience
2007-2008 Research Assistant to Dr. Janet Davis, American Studies Department,
University of Texas at Austin
• Assisted with research for book project, including archival
work and Spanish-to-English translation
Teaching Interests
American history survey, Introduction to American Studies, popular culture, technology and
culture, popular science, environmental history, animal studies, history of
childhood/childhood studies, material culture, food studies, digital humanities
Teaching Experience
2011 Assistant Instructor, Department of American Studies, University of Texas at
Austin
• Course Title: Popular Culture and American Childhood
• Introductory seminar in American Studies, with a Writing
Flag
• Planned original curriculum, while implementing university-
wide Writing Flag requirements
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• Students worked with primary sources, engaged in scholarly
conversations about popular culture, and produced writing
for the Web
• Course Websites: americanchildhoods.com (F’11),
popcultureandamericanchildhood.com (S ’12)
• Syllabi: http://americanchildhoods.com/syllabus/ (F ’11),
http://popcultureandamericanchildhood.com/syllabus/ (S
’12)
• Evaluations available upon request
2008-2009 Assistant Instructor, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, University of
Texas at Austin
• Course Title: Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition
• Used guidelines provided by department to plan curriculum
• Students revised, peer-reviewed, and workshopped original
argumentative essays
• Evaluations available upon request
2008-2009 Consultant, University Writing Center, University of Texas at Austin
• Collaborated with students to advance writing projects
2007 Supplemental Instruction Leader, University of Texas at Austin Learning
Center
• Led discussion sections attached to large lecture class;
provided instruction in study skills & written communication
2006-2007 Teaching Assistant, American Studies Department, University of Texas at
Austin
• Course Titles: Introduction to American Studies: Femininity
and Masculinity in America (Dr. Elizabeth Engelhardt); Main
Currents in American Culture through 1865 (Dr. Shirley
Thompson)
Professional Presentations
September 2012 “Dark Futures: Environmental Catastrophes and American
Childhood in the 1970s,” Philadelphia Area Center for History of
Science Introductory Symposium, Philadelphia, PA
March 2012 “Making Science Fun: Critical Intersections of Science and
Childhood in 20th-Century American Culture,” University of Texas at
Austin History of Science Colloquium, Austin, TX
October 2011 “Reality in the Basement: Science Sets, Home Laboratories, & the
Market for the Modern Mind.” American Studies Association Annual
Meeting, Baltimore, MD
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July 2011 “The Story of a Wonder World: Science, Industry, and the ‘Romance
of Reality’ in American Kids’ Books of the 1920s and 1930s.” Brown-
bag talk for the Friends of the Princeton University Library,
Princeton, NJ
June 2011 “Science, Childhood, and the ‘Informational’ Book: Knowing the
Modern World in the 1920s and 1930s.” Children’s Literature
Association annual meeting, Hollins, VA
November 2010 “Varieties of Scientific Experience: The American Museum of
Natural History, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and the
Production of Wonder, 1900-1930.” American Studies Association
annual meeting, San Antonio, TX
April 2010 “Melding Childhood Studies, Science Studies, and the History of
Education.” Exploring Childhood Studies Conference, Childhood
Studies Graduate Program, Rutgers-Camden, Camden, NJ
March 2010 “Doing history with Team-Based Learning in a large survey U.S.
history course.” With Penne Restad and Michael Sweet. Poster
session presented at the annual meeting of the Team Based Learning
Collaborative, New Orleans, Louisiana
April 2008 “Reclaiming the Machine: Steampunk Practice and the Humanization
of the Technological Object,” Material Culture Symposium for
Emerging Scholars, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware
November 2007 “Re-articulating the Native, Claiming the Human: Man-Dog
Relationships in the New American North,” Society for Literature,
Science, and the Arts, Portland, ME
June 2007 “Colonial Narratives, Written on The Animal Body: The Watercolors
of Walton Ford,” Association for the Study of Literature and the
Environment, Spartanburg, SC
March 2007 “Gender and the Frontier in Alaska.” Guest lecture, Intro to
American Studies undergraduate class (for Dr. Elizabeth Engelhardt)
November 2006 “Visions of Carnivore Ecology in Children’s Culture: Dinotopia and
Jurassic Park,” Carnivores 2006 (Defenders of Wildlife conference),
Tampa, FL
October 2006 “Lead Dogs and Heroic Masculinity in the New Age of Celebrity,”
Western Literature Association, Boise, ID
February 2006 “The Endless Quest for Authenticity: The Lord of the Rings and
Teenage Girls,” SW/TX Popular Culture Association/American
Culture Association, Albuquerque, NM
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Panels (As Organizer)
2012 Organized panel for the American Studies Association annual meeting, San
Juan, Puerto Rico (upcoming in November 2012)
• “Space, Place, and Privilege: The New Geographies of
Childhood” (co-organized with Nicholas Syrett; sponsored by
Childhood and Youth Studies Caucus)
2011 Organized two panels for the American Studies Association annual meeting,
Baltimore, MD
• “Objects of Learning: Material Culture, Imaginative
Pedagogy, and the Transformation of American Childhood,
1880-1980” (co-organized with Sarah Carter; sponsored by
Material Culture Caucus)
• “From Decay to Deterioration: Questioning the Aesthetics of
Abandonment” (sponsored by Visual Culture Caucus)
2006 Organizer and facilitator, faculty roundtable, UT American Studies Graduate
Conference, Austin, TX
• “Pushing ‘Interdisciplinary’ to the Limit”
Conferences and Talks (As Organizer)
2009 Organized visit of guest speaker Cindi Katz, Childhood Studies Graduate
Research Cluster, University of Texas at Austin
2008 Member of committee to organize MEPHISTOS graduate conference in the
history, anthropology, and sociology of science
2007 Member of committee to organize UT American Studies Graduate
Conference
2006 Co-organized UT American Studies Graduate Conference
Service
2008 Mentor, Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program, University of Texas at
Austin
• Acted as advisor to undergraduate American Studies major
interested in attending graduate school
Additional Work Experience
2002-present Freelance writer, multiple popular publications
• Clients have included ELLEgirl, the Austin-American
Statesman, Time Out New York, Slate.com, The New Republic’s
website, the New Haven Advocate).
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• See www.rebeccaonion.com/publications/freelance for clips.
2001-2003 Staff writer, ym magazine
Languages
Fluent in Spanish
Intermediate Proficiency in Italian
Professional Affiliations
Since 2005 American Studies Association member
Since 2007 Society for the History of Childhood and Youth member
Since 2010 History of Science Society Member
Since 2010 Children’s Literature Association member
References
Janet Davis
Associate Professor
Department of American Studies/Department of History
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7100
Austin, TX 78712
Office Phone: 512.232.1848 or 512.471.7277
Email: janetmdavis@austin.utexas.edu
Julia Mickenberg
Associate Professor
Department of American Studies
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7100
Austin, TX 78712
Office Phone: 512.232.2650 or 512.471.7277
Email: mickenberg@mail.utexas.edu
Jeffrey Meikle
Professor
Department of American Studies/Department of Art and Art History
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7100
Austin, TX 78712
Office Phone: 512.232.2166 or 512.471.7277
Email: meikle@mail.utexas.edu
Bruce Hunt
Associate Professor
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Department of History
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7000
Austin, TX 78712
Office Phone: 512.232.6109
Email: bjhunt@mail.utexas.edu
Penne L. Restad (Teaching Reference)
Distinguished Senior Lecturer
Department of History
University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station B7000
Austin, TX 78712
Office Phone: 512.475.7233
Email: restad@mail.utexas.edu
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