Strike up a conversation with Assistant Professor of History Vicki Howard, and you're likely to end up talking about anything from the early days of American business to how much the average 21st century woman spends on her wedding.
Why? Because the growth of weddings into the $70 billion business they are today is linked to our past, and that's the subject Howard took on in her book Brides, Inc. The book grew out of her dissertation, and Howard says the subject is deeply connected to the subjects she teaches.
“The students are really interested in the topic," she said. "Sometimes in a critical feminist perspective. Other times, they’re interested in their futures and the history of marriage and weddings.”
For the past five years, Howard's courses have covered the history of labor, culture, consumerism, and business in America. Before that, she helped students at Rutgers University understand American studies, women's history, United States history, and American literature and culture.
“Students learn about the past when they take history courses, but they also develop critical thinking skills that help them evaluate the present and make decisions in their lives," Howard said. "The subjects that I teach are highly relevant. There are everyday connections that can be made.”
Howard's publications include pieces in Enterprise and Society: The International Journal of Business History; Beauty and Business: Commerce, Gender, and Culture in Modern America and The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Most recently, a faculty grant has allowed her to research and write about the decline of small-town department stores for Enterprise and Society, with a chapter on a former Oneonta business.
Her awards include a Smithsonian pre-doctoral fellowship and the H. Bailey Carroll Award for an article in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly.
When Howard isn't in the classroom, you can catch her on the road as she gives others a closer look at the history of the American wedding industry. She has presented her research and writings at the annual meeting of the American Studies Association and the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
