Jennifer K. Le Zotte

I am an historian of nineteenth and twentieth century United States history and material culture, whose writing has appeared in both academic and popular presses. Myfirst book, From Goodwill to Grunge: A History of Secondhand Styles and Alternative Economies (UNC Press, 2017) examines how secondhand goods sold at thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales came to be both profitable and culturally influential. I trace the origins and meanings of "secondhand style" and explores how buying pre-owned goods went from a signifier of poverty to a declaration of rebellion. I am also the co-editor of Global Perspectives on Changing Secondhand Economies, (Routledge, Paperback, 2024; Hard Cover 2022). My current book-in-progress , "Well Suited: A History of Style and Prejudice in the Land of Opportunity," looks at the roots of modern American ideals of dress, power, respectability, and deviance, between about 1890 and 1940. This era fashioned many of our beliefs and biases about what we wear. Every step of the way, every single day, the people involved in these stories all got dressed.
I have served as the Public History graduate program director since 2022 and teach a variety of courses on material culture, dress and fashion, and the history of women, gender and sexuality. My teaching and research have earned me some honors at the university, including the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award (2024), the Janet Mason Ellerby Distinguished Scholar Award (2023), and the Distinguished Scholarly Engagement and Public Service Award (2022).

Education

B.S. in Journalism, University of Florida
M.A. in History, University of Florida
PhD in History, University of Virginia

Specialization in Teaching

Public History: Material Culture and Museum Exhibits
Gender and Sexuality History
History of Dress and Fashion

Research Interests

I am primarily focused on the ways in which dress and fashion intersect with race, gender, sexuality, and capitalism. My research interests also extend to social justice and reproductive health, topics on which I have created virtual and in-person exhibits, and a recent article for the Public Historian. I am not only interested in what material culture reveals about the past, but how material culture can be used to enliven history for contemporary public audiences. In this way, my research reciprocally fuels my teaching for the Public History Program.

Professional Service

UNCW Public History Director, Fall 2022-present
Editorial Board of the International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, 2024-present
Guest co-editor, Business History, Special Double Issue, “Changing Secondhand Economies,” 61:1 (Spring, 2019)
Peer Reviewer, University of Chicago Press; University of North Carolina Press; University of Georgia Press; Business History; History of Society and Enterprise; JOMEC Journal; Textile History;
History of Retailing and Consumption, 2016-present
Advisory Council Member, Gender Studies and Research Center (GSRC), 2023-present
Advisory Board Member, Community Engagement and Impact (CEI), 2021-present
Committee Member, Graduate Council Curriculum Committee, 2022-2023
Faculty Development Team Member, Fragility, Resilience, and Engaged Education and Democracy (FREED) Grant (a Teagle Foundation Grant) 2022- present
Committee Chair, Community Engagement and Applied Learning Advisory Board (CEALAB) Awards and Recognition Committee (2020-2022)
College of Arts and Sciences Representative, CEALAB
(2020-2022)

Community Engagement

As director of UNCW's Public History program, I initiate and maintain relationships with more than a dozen community partners, facilitating public history projects and practica between faculty and students, and the broader public. Some select examples of other modes of recent community engagement are as follows:

County Committee Member, America 250 NC, an initiative to commemorate 250 years of U.S. history, 2024-present
History This Week, interview for History Channel podcast, “The Surprising History of Christmas Gifts,” aired Dec 22, 2022.
“Sex and Fashion in the Atomic Age,” speaker event, with National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, September 23, 2022.
Recorded lecture from the Latimer House, “Death, Fashion, and the Victorians,” Oct 15, 2020
Presentation, virtual public event, “She Rocks the Vote: Celebrating 100 Years of the 19th Amendment,” featuring North Carolina Representative Deb Butler, September 17, 2020. I spoke
about the virtual (and later, physical) exhibit titled, “Controlling Birth: Contraception and the Politics of Public Health”
Invited Talk on women’s suffrage for the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment, fundraiser tea for the League of Women Voters of Lower Cape Fear, March 23, 2020 (Remote)
Invited Talk, “100 Years of Women Voting,” Rotary Club, March 10, 2020.
Guest Speaker, Ladies Who Launch, Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences Program, Feb 5, 2020.
Women on Wednesday (WOW), public lecture “The Fashions of Rations: How World War II Changed American Dress,” Nov. 6, 2019
Research advice and instruction National History Day, November 2019
Bellamy Mansion Lecture Series: “Battle-Born Fashions: How War Shaped 19th-Century Style,” Sept 19, 2019

Honors & Awards

Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, UNCW, 2024
Faculty Research Reassignment, UNCW, Fall 2023
Janet Mason Ellerby Distinguished Scholar Award, UNCW, 2023
Pedagogy Initiative Award, UNCW, 2023
Distinguished Scholarly Engagement and Public Service Award, 2022
Summer Research Initiative Grant, UNCW, Summer 2017, 2022
Thomas V. Moseley Faculty Development Funds Away, Summer 2018, 2022
Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series (IRSS) Award for Material Culture of Racial Justice and
Health Equity, Interim Associate Provost for Research, UNCW, 2021-2022
1898: Legacies and Futures Curriculum Development Award, UNCW, 2021