Lisa Jacobson

Lisa Jacobson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. from UCLA (1997) and specializes in U.S. social and cultural history, with a focus on consumer culture, food, alcohol, capitalism, gender, and childhood. Her research explores how previously stigmatized goods and practices achieved mainstream acceptance, such as her seminal work on children's consumer culture in the early 20th century and her upcoming book on alcohol's post-Prohibition reinvention.

Her research interests span consumer culture, food history, alcohol studies, gender history, family history, and oral history. Jacobson has advised graduate students including Catalina Biesman-Simons and Nicole de Silva. She teaches courses on American cultural history, consumer culture, and oral history methods.

Jacobson’s honors include serving as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians (2004–2011). Her work frequently examines intersections between capitalism, sensory experiences, and cultural shifts, with a focus on 20th-century America. Current projects include analyzing alcohol marketing in the 'Mad Men' era and beyond.