Michelle M. Morgan

Dr. Michelle M. Morgan is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Missouri State University. She specializes in American education history, the American West, and American empire, with a focus on the role of schools in cultural assimilation in territories like Hawai‘i. Her research explores teachers as cultural agents in newly acquired regions. Currently completing a manuscript on educators’ roles in the Urban Far West (1890–1930), her work bridges historical inquiry and educational practice.

Education: PhD (2007), MA (2000) in History from University of Wisconsin-Madison; BA (1996) in History from Carleton College.

Research Interests:

• History of American education and its role in empire-building
• Cultural history of teacher migration and identity formation
• Educational policy in territorial contexts
• Secondary social studies pedagogy

Awards: Recipient of Missouri State’s Summer Faculty Fellowship (2011, 2016) and Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (2003–2004). Her scholarship emphasizes the intersection of education and nation-building, particularly in understudied western and Pacific regions.

Teaching: Coordinates MSU’s BSED-History Program, emphasizing skilled social studies instruction for diverse classrooms. Teaches courses on U.S. history, historiography, and methods of secondary education.