Monet Lewis-Timmons
Assistant Professor, History Department
Education:
University of Delaware, English, Ph.D
Fields of Interest:
My research focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Black women’s history and archives. I explore how descendants engage in preserving and sustaining their ancestors’ archival legacies through Black feminist practices and memory work. Grounded in public history, my work highlights the transformative possibilities of Black women’s archives, emphasizing how material objects serve as intentional tools for self-preservation and redefinition.
Representative Publications:
“Marginalized Women and Work in the 20th and 21st-Century Review,” in Papers on Language & Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature, Volume 58, Number 4, Fall 2024, edited by Helena Gurfinkel and Matthew Sautman (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 2024), 496-508.
“’I Prefer to Think That History Made Her’: Exploring the Relationship Between Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Edwina Kruse Through This Lofty Oak,” in Navigating Women’s Friendships in Literature and Culture, edited by Kristi Branham and Kelly L. Reames (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), 293-320.
“Beyond Kitty’s Cottage: The Double-Containment of Catherine “Miss Kitty” Boyd and Black Commemoration Practices in Oxford, Georgia,” in Rhetoric, Public Memory, and Campus History, edited by Rhondda Robinson Thomas (Clemson University Press, 2021), 71-96.
“Bibliography” and “David Driskell Chronology,” David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History, edited by Jessica May (Rizzoli Electra, 2021), 207-216, 220-222
Representative Conferences/Public Speaking:
“Zora Head: The Life and Scholarship of Valerie Boyd,” James Weldon Johnson Institute (JWJI) Public Dialogue, Emory University, October 2024
“Curating the Dissertation: Alice Dunbar-Nelson and the Legacy of Black Women’s Archives,” National Council for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS), June 2024
“How Two Black Women Upended the Religious Establishment,” WHYY PBS Origins, June 2024
“Celebrating Alice Dunbar-Nelson in the 21st Century: Five Decades of Scholarship,” March 2024
“Alice Dunbar-Nelson and the Legacy of Black Women’s Archives,” Community Panel Discussion, February 2024
University of Delaware, English Forum, February 2024
“Lessons from Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Archive,” TEDx Talk, October 2023
Engaging Stakeholders and Audiences in Exhibition Design and Development: Lessons from the Rosenbach’s “I Am an American!” Digital Exhibition Project, Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, May 2023
“I Will Remember You,” Conversation with Sierra King and Jamaal Barber for Emory University Symphony Orchestra, October 2022
Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for Alice Dunbar-Nelson, State of Delaware, October 2022
“It Depends”: Digitizing the Voter Education Project (VEP) Organizational Records, Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, August 2022
“The Lifecycle of Black Women’s Archives,” Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), February 2022
“Behind the Archives,” Emory Stuart A. Rose Library Podcast series, January 2022
“Black Women Building Their Own Archives, A Practice,” Emory Stuart A. Rose Library Scholar Blog, October 2021
“The Long Arc of Survival: A Virtual Discussion Group on Alice Dunbar-Nelson,” Women in Transition, Speaker, February 2021
“Lift Every Voice: Celebrating 250 Years of African American Poetry,” University of Delaware, February 2021
“I Am An American!” Curator Talk with Monet Timmons (Members Only Program), Rosenbach Museum, October 2020
“Amplifying Our Voices: Empowerment Through Poetry & Community presented by Women In Transition,” Women in Transition, Speaker, October 2020
“Voices of Change Podcast,” Part of “I Am an American!”: The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, “Alice Dunbar-Nelson as a Queer Icon: A Conversation with “I Am an American!” Co-curator Monet Timmons,” Rosenbach Museum, August 2020
“Seeing Alice Dunbar-Nelson with 2020 Vision: (Re)interpreting a Civil Rights Activist During an Election Year,” Rosenbach Museum, July 2020
Scholarly Papers and Conference Panels
“‘To Keep the Record That Should’ve Been Kept’: Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Collecting Practice,” Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH), December 2024
“Alice Dunbar-Nelson and the Manifestation of a Black Print Culture,” Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), September 2024
“Establishing Public History in Historically Black K-12 Schools,” National Council of Public History (NCPH), April 2024
“'To keep the record that should have been kept long since': Understanding Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Archive Formation," Modern Language Association (MLA), January 2024
“Finding Ourselves Through the Work: Engaging with Black Women’s Archives as Graduate Students," Spelman College, October 2023
“Building Connections: Activating Stories from the Archive,” University of Pennsylvania, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, June 2023
“Letters from Edwina: Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s (Queer) Archival Building Practice,” Queer Bibliography Symposium, University of London, February 2023
“Processing the Papers of J.J. Phillips: Donor Relations and Archival Possibilities,” Society of Georgia Archivists (SGA) Annual Meeting, October 2022
“Preparing the Next Generation of Professionals,” Association of African American Museums (AAAM) Conference, August 2022
“Keepers of the Archive: Acknowledging Pauline A. Young’s Intimate Preservation of Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Archives,” Lehigh University, The Gloria Naylor in the Archive Symposium, November 2021
“Beyond Kitty’s Cottage: Exploring Contested Commemoration Practices to Remember Catherine “Miss Kitty” Boyd,” William & Mary College, The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation 10th Annual Spring Symposium, March 2021
“‘..but my diary is going to be a valuable thing one day:’ Reimagining Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Personal Archive,” African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) Annual Conference, March 2021
“If I Had Known: Education, Performance, Activism – A Virtual Symposium Honoring the Life and Legacy of Alice Dunbar-Nelson,” University of Delaware, Moderator, November 2020
Representative Exhibitions:
“Beyond Paul: Alice Dunbar-Nelson’s Life and Legacy”
Paul Laurence Dunbar House, Dayton, OH July 2025-September 2025
“Alice Dunbar-Nelson and the Legacy of Black Women’s Archives”
University of Delaware, Newark, DE February 2024-August 2024
“I Am an American!” The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson”
Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia, PA October 2019-present
Administrative/Serivce
Undergraduate Studies Committee
Awards Committee