Biography

Emily V. Blanck is Professor of History and Executive Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Rowan University. She teaches courses in American intellectual history, historical methods, legal history, and interdisciplinary studies. Her teaching emphasizes active learning, including historical role-playing simulations, game-based learning, undergraduate research, and public-facing history projects.

Dr. Blanck received her B.A. in History and African American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, her M.A. from the College of William and Mary, and her Ph.D. in American History from Emory University.

Her research focuses on slavery, emancipation, historical memory, and public commemorations of freedom in the United States. She is the author of Tyrannicide: Forging an American Slave Law in Revolutionary South Carolina and Massachusetts (University of Georgia Press, 2014). Her current book project, Juneteenth: Creating America's Emancipation Holiday, 1865–2021 (forthcoming from the University of North Carolina Press), traces the transformation of Juneteenth from a regional Texas celebration into a national holiday. Related publications include "Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016" in Western Historical Quarterly and "Juneteenth and Emancipation Celebrations" in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History.

In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Blanck directs the Juneteenth Archive, a digital public history project that documents the history and contemporary practice of Juneteenth celebrations across the United States.