Bruce Dorsey

Bruce Dorsey is a Professor of History at Swarthmore College, specializing in Early American History with focuses on gender, religion, and cultural/political movements. He is currently on academic leave (2024-25).

• Key expertise areas: Colonial & Revolutionary America, 19th-century U.S., gender history, religion, social/cultural history
• Teaches courses ranging from the American Revolution to contemporary culture wars

Research Focus: Explores intersections of popular culture and divisive politics in the origins of modern "culture wars". His 2023 book Murder in a Mill Town examines a 1833 "trial of the century" involving Methodist minister Ephraim K. Avery.

Selected Publications: Cornell University Press winner (2002), Oxford University Press (2023), and peer-reviewed articles on gender and religion.

Awards:

• Philip S. Klein Book Prize (2002)
• LGBTQ Religious Archives Network Award (2015)

Contact: bdorsey1@swarthmore.edu | Office: Trotter Hall 214