History & Art History

Sharon M. Leon is Director of Public Projects at the Center for History and New Media and a Research Assistant Professor. Her research interests include the history of religion in the U.S., especially Roman Catholicism, history of science and twentieth century cultural history. She received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her doctorate in American Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2004. Her book, “An Image of God, Not a Mere Animal: U.S. Catholics and the Eugenics Movement during the First Half of the Twentieth Century,” is forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press. Her work has appeared in Church History and the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences.

At CHNM, Leon oversees the projects that involve work with museums, archives, and cultural heritage institutions. Additionally, she is the co-director of the Omeka software project. Finally, Leon has worked on a variety of education projects, including Women in World History, ECHO, and the Teaching American History Grants. She currently directs the Center’s work on Historical Thinking Matters (recipient of the AHA’s 2008 Robinson Prize) and The Object of History, and she is co-director of the National History Education Clearinghouse.

Religion, Science, Cultural History