Emily Lyon

Emily Lyon is a Chabraja Center for Historical Studies Postdoctoral Fellow in Public Service, affiliated with Northwestern University's Department of History and currently working at the Newberry Library's Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography (2024-2025). Her research focuses on race, gender, visual culture, and U.S. empire in the early 20th century, particularly examining how white women in roles such as photographers and cartographers shaped imperial tourism. She holds a PhD in History from Northwestern University (2024) and prior degrees from Indiana University (BA, 2017) and Northwestern (MA, 2018).

Education:

• PhD in History, Northwestern University, 2024
• MA in History, Northwestern University, 2018
• BA in History & Spanish, Indiana University, 2017

Research Interests: Lyon explores how visual commodities like maps, photographs, and monuments were used to promote U.S. imperial sites to tourists, particularly white women. Her work intersects colonial history, gender studies, and visual culture analysis.

Current Projects: She contributes to the Newberry Library's Mapping Outside the Lines exhibit (Sep 2025–Jan 2026), developing digital content and public programming that bridges historical cartography with contemporary debates about empire and representation.

Grants & Collaborations: Her fellowship supports public-facing scholarship, combining academic research with museum curation and community engagement initiatives.