MARCIA CHATELAIN, MA’03, PHD’08 is a professor of history and African American studies at George- town University, a scholar of African American life and culture, a speaker about pervasive social issues and activist movements, and an acclaimed author. Her book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America received the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2021. At Brown, she received her master’s and doctoral degrees in American Civilization.

“My time at Brown University in the PhD program in American Civilization (now American Studies) revealed to me that disciplinary boundaries were made to be challenged and some- times broken. Having received training and mentorship from historians, sociologists, and literary critics, and having access to lectures by cognitive scientists, and having been able to build friendships with emerging physicians and engineers, Brown taught me that research is always collaborative. My explorations into the various dynamics of African American history are informed by an array of thinkers, and I am ever grateful to Brown for giving me the skills and confidence to pursue my curiosities and to seek different ways of looking at the world.”