Lydia Murdoch is a Professor of History at Vassar College, specializing in Modern British and Imperial History, the History of Childhood, and the History of Medicine. She has been at Vassar since 2000 and holds affiliations with the Global Nineteenth-Century Studies Program, Urban Studies Program, and Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies Program. Her research explores themes such as child death, grief politics, vaccination campaigns, and colonial medical practices. Education: BA, Vassar College MA and PhD, Indiana University-Bloomington Research Interests: Professor Murdoch’s work examines the intersection of emotion, medicine, and empire in Victorian Britain. Her current projects include What We Mourn: Child Death and the Politics of Grief in Modern Britain and a study on children as medical subjects in smallpox vaccination campaigns. She also teaches courses such as History and the Politics of Grief and Childhood and Children in Nineteenth-Century Britain . Publications: Her articles and books analyze topics like anti-vaccination movements, colonial mortality, and the cultural significance of child death. Recent works include co-authored studies on Victorian Studies’ disciplinary evolution and activism. Awards: Fass-Sandin Prize (2016) INCS Essay Prize (2012) NEH Summer Stipends (2024, 2002) Grants & Media: Murdoch has received NEH funding for research on children in early vaccination programs. She was featured in Smithsonian Magazine for her work on Victorian women’s evolving roles, reflecting her commitment to public engagement with historical narratives.
