Julia B. Haager

Dr. Julia B. Haager is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Western Carolina University (WCU), part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Her work focuses on the intersection of eugenics, sex education, and public health in early 20th-century U.S. history. She leads an oral and archival history project on the HIV/AIDS service organization Gay Men’s Health Crisis (1980s–1990s), collaborating with Sean G. Massey and archiving materials at the New York Public Library.

• Education:
• PhD, SUNY at Binghamton
• MA, SUNY at Binghamton
• MA, California State University-Los Angeles
• BA, Seattle Pacific University

Her research interests span Twentieth Century US History, Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity, Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies, and the History of Education and Public Health. She actively engages in Digital Public History and Oral History methodologies, emphasizing community-driven narratives.

Haager has received prestigious awards, including the Claud A. Eggersten Dissertation Prize and finalist recognition for the SUNY Chancellor’s Distinguished Dissertation. Her projects have been funded by organizations like the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Humanities New York.

In advising and grants, she has collaborated on significant funded initiatives but no specific advisee names are listed. Her work contributes to interdisciplinary projects in historical scholarship and public health advocacy.

She co-leads a lab/team dedicated to oral history documentation and archival preservation, particularly focusing on marginalized communities’ experiences in health crises.