Office: COPH 101A | Phone: (308) 865-8509 | Email: weaverp@unk.edu
Dr. Weaver is an Assistant Professor of History at UNK. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she grew up exploring Civil War battlefields and wandering around a wide range of museums during weekend trips with her family. Captivated by the past and inspired to pursue a career in history from a young age, Dr. Weaver would later attend Randolph-Macon College in Virginia where she earned a BA in History and Art History. Immediately following graduation, she traveled further south, attending the University of South Carolina to acquire an MA in Public History and a PhD in American History. Throughout her time in school, Dr. Weaver had the opportunity to intern at the National Archives in Washington, DC, twice, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. After completing her doctorate, she worked as an archivist for the National Parks Service in Anchorage, Alaska for a short period of time before joining the History Department at UNK.
Fascinated by objects and their value as resources to better understand and interpret the nuances of the past, Dr. Weaver loves to incorporate material culture in her own personal research endeavors and in the classroom. She loves to use the many different layers of objects to help tell a story, although she will also happily chat about her extensive experience navigating complexities of the archives and the thrill of finding that one elusive source after working like a detective amidst the records.
Dr. Weaver has been published in scholarly journals such as the Journal of American Culture and South Carolina Historical Magazine, in addition to preparing nominations for the National Register of Historic Places and authoring a blog for the National Archives. Her current research is an extension of her doctoral dissertation, considering the gendered dynamics of diplomacy during the Reconstruction Era through an examination of women’s cognizance and perception of foreign affairs through quilt work.
