Chris is a historian of the modern United States. His research interests include the histories of religion, medicine, gender, and sexuality in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Chris’ ability to research and write about a range of historical and contemporary topics sets him apart from other early career scholars.
PEER REVIEWED WORK
“Changing Medical Practice, Not Patients.” New England Journal of Medicine. Despite long-standing opposition among professional medical organizations and documented harms, most states have not banned conversion therapy — efforts to change people’s sexual orientation — for minors. [Link.]
“Kent Philpott and the Charismatic Roots of Contemporary Conversion Therapy.” The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community. This article argues that charismatic beliefs served as important religious and therapeutic ideas for the emergence of the ex-gay movement. [Link.]
“Leanne Payne and Gendered Cannibalism in the Ex-Gay Movement.” Quarterly Horse: A Journal of (Brief) American Studies. Examines how one ex-gay minister employed the metaphor of cannibalism in her gender-based therapeutic interventions to combat same-sex desires. [Link.]
“Occupy Wall Street as a Curriculum of Space.” Journal of Social Studies Research, 2013. Co-written with Dr. Sandra Schmidt. Explores the interrelationship between location and free speech in the twentieth century U.S. and examines three sites with Occupy Wall Street movements. [Link.]
WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
Chris has several academic articles nearing completion, most of which relate to his dissertation project. These include one on the concepts of boyhood and belonging in early Cold War New York City and another reinterpreting the American Psychiatric Association’s decision to remove “homosexuality per se” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.
