Haley Bowen

Haley Bowen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Northwestern University and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Material History Lab. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (2023) and an A.B. in History and Literature from Harvard College (2014). Her research focuses on the early modern French empire, with expertise in gender, religious culture, and state formation.

Research Interests: Dr. Bowen’s work examines laywomen’s engagement with monastic institutions in Paris, New France, and Martinique, as detailed in her current book project, Breaching the Cloister: Laywomen, Convents, and the State in the Early Modern French Empire. This project interrogates how convents functioned as spaces of both confinement and refuge within imperial structures.

Funding & Awards: Her research has been supported by prestigious grants and fellowships, including awards from the Doris G. Quinn Foundation, George Lurcy Charitable Trust, Rackham Graduate School, and the Newberry Library. She has also held a visiting researcher position at the Centre des recherches historiques (CRH) in Paris.

Teaching & Office Hours: She teaches courses in early modern European history, colonial studies, and gender history. Office hours are by appointment only.

Labs & Collaborations: As a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Material History Lab, she contributes to interdisciplinary research on historical material culture and imperial networks.