Taylor Sims
Dr. Taylor Sims is a historian specializing in women’s history and premodern Europe, with a PhD from the University of Michigan. Her research explores how gender, power, and resistance shaped historical narratives and everyday life. Tay currently works with The Clemente Course in the Humanities to expand educational access for adults facing barriers to higher education, and also teaches at Palm Beach State College.
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Rule Breakers & History Makers: Ten Women Who Challenged The Status Quo
From the ancient world to the recent past, this talk explores ten remarkable women who defied expectations and reshaped the world around them. Some names may be familiar—like Joan of Arc or Susan B. Anthony—but others, such as Queen Boudica or Licoricia of Winchester, might be less well known. Each made bold choices that challenged the norms of their time and left a lasting mark on history.
Invisible Patriots: Women & The American Revolution
As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, this lecture recovers the hidden half of the Revolutionary story. Beyond the battlefield and the Continental Congress, women sustained the revolution through their labor, intelligence networks, and political activism, often at great personal risk. From camp followers and boycott organizers to spies and homefront revolutionaries, we’ll explore how women shaped the founding of the nation and then faded from its memory. Discover the patriots whose contributions were erased and why their stories matter today.
Founding Mothers: Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was one of the most politically engaged women of the American founding era, a sharp thinker who used her letters to advocate for women’s rights, challenge slavery, and shape her husband’s presidency from behind the scenes. This talk explores her remarkable life and political voice during the Revolution and early republic. But Abigail’s story didn’t end with her death: We’ll also trace how later generations, from suffragists to contemporary activists, rediscovered and reclaimed her words in their own fights for women’s full place in democracy.
Folklore, Myth, And Memory: The Historical Worlds Of Taylor Swift
You don’t need to be a Taylor Swift fan to appreciate how popular culture processes history. This lecture uses Swift’s songwriting as a window into how we remember (and misremember) our past. Through close readings of Swift’s historical references, from Shakespeare to World War II and the Medieval period to the Gilded Age, we’ll explore the power of myth-making through popular music. Let’s take an unexpected journey through history, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we were – all through the music of the world’s most famous songstress.
The Women Who Went First: 10 American Women Who Broke Barriers
Explore the lives of ten women who shaped American history. Spanning three centuries, this lecture examines trailblazers who broke barriers across politics, medicine, business, law, and the arts. From colonial leaders and revolutionary figures to corporate executives and political icons, we will analyze how these women who went first claimed authority in hostile spaces, challenged institutional norms, and laid the groundwork for modern social and political progress.