Courtney Joseph

Courtney Joseph is an Associate Professor of History and African American Studies at Lake Forest College. She holds a PhD, MA, and BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a minor in African American Studies. Her research focuses on African American history, Haiti and its diaspora, women and gender studies, and hip hop culture.

Dr. Joseph’s academic contributions include publications on Black women’s transnational activism, Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetry, and Haitian-American identity in Chicago. She has presented at conferences such as the Organization of American Historians and Harvard’s International History Conference, and participated in public history initiatives like the Newberry Library’s Great Migration series and the Haitian American Museum of Chicago’s oral history project.

• Education:
  • PhD in History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • MA in History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • BA in History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (with minor in African American Studies)

Her teaching spans courses like Black Her-story: Black Women’s History of the US, The History of Black Television, and Intro to African American Studies. She has received accolades including the Lake Forest College Most Outstanding Advisor Award (2019) and fellowships from the Bright Institute and Digital Chicago.

Dr. Joseph engages in public scholarship through events like the Chicago Humanities Festival and TedXLFC talks, emphasizing community engagement and historical preservation.