Sarah Cornell

Sarah Cornell is the Undergraduate Program Director and Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on transnational history in the Civil War era, particularly examining how U.S. Southerners interacted with Mexico regarding race, slavery, and labor. She has held prior appointments at the University of New Mexico and UMass-Amherst.

Her research explores how 19th-century Southerners conceptualized race and labor beyond binary frameworks, drawing on Mexican influences. Key projects include a forthcoming book manuscript on transnational engagement between the U.S. South and Mexico (1810–1925).

Recent awards include the OAH’s Binkley-Stephenson Award and NCSA’s Emerging Scholars Award for her 2013 Journal of American History article. She teaches courses such as Civil War Era and Reconstruction and Reunion.

Funding sources include the National Endowment for the Humanities, Clements Center for Southwest Studies, and the Huntington Library, among others. Her work intersects with global Southern studies and labor history.