Melanie Sheehan is a historian of business, labor and political economy with a focus on the twentieth century United States. Her current book project examines how U.S. labor union leaders understood and attempted to influence policies promoting international trade and investment liberalization after World War II. The project traces how and why union leaders who had advocated for liberalization in the late 1940s and 1950s became disillusioned with the process of globalization by the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to joining the faculty at Kenyon College, she held the Harvard-Newcomen Fellowship at Harvard Business School.
Areas of Expertise
Business history, labor history, U.S. history
Education
2022 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of North Carolina
2019 — Master of Arts from University of North Carolina
2017 — Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University
Courses Recently Taught
The stock market crash of 1929 is remembered as the beginning of the longest and most severe economic crisis in the history of the United States. With the near collapse of the banking and financial systems, widespread unemployment and crushing poverty, what had started as a crisis morphed into what is known as the Great Depression. The Depression was the result of several historical processes that may be traced as far back as the Gilded Age. The Depression destroyed Herbert Hoover’s political career and gave rise to the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal. In the process, FDR redefined the relationship between government and the people, revolutionized the role of government and ushered in a new era in U.S. politics with the emergence of modern liberalism. Farmers, city people, agrarian conservatives, labor, the unemployed, politicians, demagogues, free market versus national planning, progressive ethos versus conservative ideology, men and women, white, black, Hispanic and Native Americans are some of the themes this course focuses on. Additionally, the course assesses the social, cultural and intellectual currents of the Great Depression era. This counts toward the modern and Europe/Americas requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every other year.
This seminar examines the evolution of capitalism in North America from a historical and comparative perspective. It covers the period from about 1700 to 2010, centers on the U.S., and is especially concerned with economic development across the continent. This counts toward the modern and Europe/Americas requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Sophomore standing. Offered every other year.