Elaine Frantz

Elaine Frantz is a Professor in the Department of History at Kent State University (Kent campus). She specializes in the history of violence, gender, and race in the long Nineteenth Century. Her research includes projects on the history of policing in Pittsburgh, the Women's Christian Temperance Union’s leadership, and the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction. She has published two major books and numerous articles in leading journals like the Journal of American History and Journal of Social History.

Education:

• Ph.D. in History, Johns Hopkins University (1999)
• M.A. in History, Johns Hopkins University (1994)
• B.A. in Political and Social Thought, University of Virginia (1992)

Her work bridges academia and activism, collaborating with incarcerated individuals through the Elsinore Bennu Think Tank for Restorative Justice and teaching in prison via Inside-Out programs. She also contributes to digital history, particularly network analysis, and serves on editorial boards for journals like the Journal of the History of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

Her publications analyze themes like saloon violence’s impact on gender roles, historical representations of the KKK, and paramilitary groups in the Americas. Media appearances include Slate, Vox, and CSPAN, highlighting her ability to engage broader audiences with complex historical narratives.

Grants and collaborations include co-editing Life Sentences: Writings from an American Prison (2019) and ongoing projects with formerly incarcerated scholars. She advocates for restorative justice and prison education reform through her academic and community work.