Name: Marissa Knaak
Year in program: 6
ABD Y/N: Yes
Primary supervisor: Karrin Hanshew & Aminda Smith
Major field: Modern Europe; Women’s & Gender History
Minor fields: Social Theory & Historiography; Colonial History
Link to your personal page or profile: https://hcommons.org/members/meknaak/
I am PhD candidate studying modern Europe, focusing on women’s and gender history. My dissertation studies industrialized labor in department stores and small fashion stores at the turn of the twentieth century, specifically how gender impacted workers’ lives. Using comparative methods, my study looks at Sheffield, UK and Cologne, Germany. The working title is “In the Shadows of Window Displays: The industrialization of Fashion Retailing in Sheffield & Cologne, 1890-1914.”
Prior to starting at MSU, I worked for 2 years at The George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. This and previous work experienced directly influenced my research interests into the productive nature of selling and service. My work is also influence by my MA in Gender and Cultural Studies from Simmons College (University). Using gender analysis, I aim to expand our understandings of productive work and the contributions of women as more than just shoppers.