Kathryn Cramer Brownell
Associate Professor
// History
Faculty
Director of Graduate Education // History
Affiliated Faculty // American Studies // SIS
U.S. Political History
Office and Contact
Room: UNIV 021
Office hours:
- Wednesdays, 1 - 2 pm
- or By Appointment
Email: brownell@purdue.edu
Phone: 765-496-2478
Fax: 765-496-1755
Courses
HIST 152: U.S. History since 1877
HIST 302: U.S. Media, Politics, and Popular Culture
HIST 468: Recent American History
HIST 485: The American Presidency
HIST 302: U.S. Media, Politics, and Popular Culture
HIST 468: Recent American History
HIST 485: The American Presidency
Dr. Brownell received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. from Boston University. Her research and teaching focus on the relationships between media, politics, and popular culture, with an emphasis on the American presidency.
Specialization:
U.S. History; 20th Century U.S. Political History, the American Presidency, and the Media
Her first book, Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life, (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) explores the institutionalization of Hollywood in American politics. This book traces the key personal relationships, institutions, and government policies that established the foundation for a celebrity political culture and made entertainment a central feature of American politics.
Her second book, 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News, (Princeton University Press, 2023), explores the political battle over cable television from the 1960s through today, excavating how the American political process became tethered to the business interests of a corporate cable television industry.
She also serves as Senior Editor for the Made By History column at the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/
To learn more about her research and teaching initiatives and to read her recent op-eds, follow her on Twitter, @Kathryn.Brownell
She is currently accepting graduate students interested in studying modern American political history, the American presidency, media history, and the intersections of politics and popular culture.