Once upon a time (1976) I accepted a one-year teaching appointment at a university I'd never heard of in a state I had never visited. Which just goes to show you that good things can't always be planned, or even anticipated. I teach courses in a variety of subjects having to do with the meaning of American popular culture. Recurring themes are fashion, consumerism, and diversity (ethnic, religious, social class). My research training is in the history of clothing and fashion, and I have published many articles on children's clothing in America. My current research is mostly on new directions in humanities teaching.  In Fall 2006, I will be teaching AMST 201 (Introduction to American Studies) and AMST 498J (Popular Culture, Youth and Literacy).

In my off-campus life I enjoy all kinds of music, reading, doing fiber and paper crafts and playing tourist in the Washington-Baltimore area. My husband and I met freshman year in college and were married senior year, in a galaxy far, far away. He used to be a theater technician, but now he builds model rooms with no actors for the local IKEA. (Hooray for regular hours, awesome benefits and not working on Saturday nights.) Our daughter, Maria lives the young bohemian lifestyle in Charm City (VISTA literacy worker by day, gamelan player by night. Our son Danny just finished his second year in college, pursuing a degree in computer science at UMBC. He is uncannily like my big brother Bob in very unnerving ways.

Jo Barraclough Paoletti, Associate Professor
American Studies Dept., University of Maryand College Park

last updated 8/22/06 by J. Paoletti