Biography
Morgan L. Ridgway is an interdisciplinary scholar and writer born and raised in West Philadelphia. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in History with graduate minors in American Indian Studies and Queer Studies. Prior to moving to Illinois, Morgan received his B.A. in Psychology and Gender and Sexuality Studies from Swarthmore College.
In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Morgan wants to discover new ways of articulating and displaying history. He is particularly interested in findings points of connection between poetry, dance, mixed media, and history in order to present historical evidence in more immersive ways for general audiences.
Research Interests
Native American and Indigenous Studies
Queer Studies
Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Modern U.S. History
Race and Ethnicity
Performance Studies
Research Description
Morgan L. Ridgway specializes in twentieth century U.S. history with an emphasis on the Indigenous Mid-Atlantic. His dissertation, “This Feeling of Being Together With Your Own: Indigenous Futurities in late 20th century Philadelphia” explores the affective dimensions of Indigenous community development within Lenapehoking/Philadelphia and the role of gathering in rejecting the temporal and social nothingness assigned Native people by settler epistemologies of the future.
Education
M.A. History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2017
B.A. Gender and Sexuality Studies, Swarthmore College, 2014
B.A. Psychology, Swarthmore College, 2014
Awards and Honors
Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities Fellowship 2019-2020
Andrew W. Mellon Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Predoctoral Fellow, 2018-2019
University of Pennsylvania Visiting Scholar, McNeil Center for Early American Studies, 2018-2019
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent and Outstanding based on ICES Scores, Fall 2017
University of Illinois Graduate College Fellow, 2015-2017