Sarah Lirley

Sarah Lirley is an Associate Professor at Columbia College's School of Arts & Sciences, specializing in Women's and Gender History, 19th-century U.S. history, and the history of death and death investigations. Her research integrates interdisciplinary methodologies to explore coroner bias, mortality patterns, and social justice themes in the Gilded Age.

• Education: A.A. from Maple Woods Community College, B.A. from Northwest Missouri State University, M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri with a Graduate Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.

Her 2024 book, Sudden Deaths in St. Louis: Coroner Bias in the Gilded Age, exemplifies her focus on forensic history and systemic inequities. She teaches courses such as History of Death, Dying, and Death Investigations in U.S. History, Women and Gender in American History, and foundational U.S. history surveys.

Contact: Office location STC 207-A | Phone: 573-875-7812