Kathryn Olmsted

Kathryn Olmsted is a Professor of History at the University of California, Davis, affiliated with the College of Letters and Science. She has held roles including Interim Chair of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (2018–June 2023) and Chair of the History Department (2013–2016). Her academic journey includes a B.A. from Stanford University (1985) and a Ph.D. in History from UC Davis (1993).

Her research focuses on U.S. political and cultural history since World War I, with specialties in conspiracy theories, government secrecy, espionage, and anticommunism. Notable works include Real Enemies (2009), Right Out of California (2015), and The Newspaper Axis (2022).

Her publications consistently bridge historical analysis with contemporary relevance, examining topics like media influence on Hitler's rise, the roots of modern conservatism in California business networks, and the interplay between government conspiracies and public paranoia.

Awarded multiple fellowships (including from Cambridge University and UC Davis) and teaching accolades, Olmsted has taught courses ranging from 20th-century America to California history. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding power structures and societal narratives.