Rachel B Birch

Graduate Research Assistant

U.S. History: American History, 19th and 20th century American Religion, Women's history, Benevolence, Citizenship, Mormon History, American West

Rachel Bodily Birch is a second year Ph.D. student in History at George Mason University. Rachel earned a Master degree in History from George Mason University and also a Master degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University. Her scholarship focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century women's religious benevolence and how it influenced definitions of citizenship, political influence, and organizations. Rachel is currently an affiliate at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. She has worked extensively in digital history projects including the Religious Ecologies project, Arnhem Postal Project and R2 Studios podcasts. Rachel's current research centers on Mormon cultural history and applying oral history and print culture analysis to find patterns of cultural formation and retention.

Selected Publications

“Iconic Locations: Priest Mountain Shelter.” Green Tunnel Podcast. Co-Author Rachel Bodily Birch and Mills Kelly. March 12, 2024.

Grants and Fellowships

Randy Beth Clarke Fellowship 2024.

Education

Master of History, George Mason University, 2024.

Master of Public Administration, Brigham Young University, 2003.

Bachelor of Science in Political Science, Utah State University, 2001.

Recent Presentations

“The Backpack: Solidarity in Secrets and Sacrifice.” Mormon History Association Conference. June 2025. Ogden, Utah.

“Mowing the Lawn with a Hammer: Pivoting from Codependency to Co-Intelligence with AI Tools.” Fairfax County Public Libraries. March 23, 2025.

“The Backpack: Solidarity in Secrets and Sacrifice.” CNU Women and Gender Conference. March 2025. Newport News, Virginia.

“The Vine and the Oak: Womanhood on the Western Frontier.” Mormon History Association. June 2024. Kirtland, Ohio.

“Water Rights and Civil Rights: Idaho Dam collapse caused by political and institutional hubris.” Boston University American Political History Institute. April 2023. Boston, Massachusetts.

“Religious Ecologies Poster.” American Historical Association Annual Conference. January 2023. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.