Kate L. Flach

Title

Dr. Kate Flach

Assistant Professor 

Credentials

B.A., Education, University of Akron
M.A., History, University of Akron
Ph.D., History, University of California, San Diego

Contact Information

Kate.flach@csulb.edu

California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd., MS 1601
Long Beach, CA 90840-1601

Fields of Interest

Dr. Flach’s research interests include modern US history, media history, race, gender, social movements, and the history of education. She is currently completing her book manuscript tentatively titled, Producing America: Race, Media, and National Identity, which examines how Americans have envisioned television as a site for civic engagement and liberal politics. With a focus on the production of sitcoms and dramas, as well as viewer engagement, this project presents a social and cultural history of the entertainment industry. It considers how white producers and Black writers contributed to the cultural construction of a US national identity between 1960-1992, which shaped the relationship between individuals and media that continues to exist today.

Selected Publications

“‘America’s Nervous Breakdown’: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Popular Psychology, and the Demise of the Housewife in the 1970s,” in Journal of 20th Century Media History, Issue 1 (2023): 2-28. https://mds.marshall.edu/j20thcenturymediahistory/vol1/iss1/2/  

“Davis Under Fire: Media Representations of Black Radical Womanhood,” in Resisting Injustice: Contemporary Views on Angela Davis, ed. Sharon Lynette Jones, (under review).  

“Julia.” in Women’s Rights: Reflections in Popular Culture, ed. Ann Savage. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2017.  

Newspaper Op-Eds

Co-authored with Adrian Cox, “Educational aid for prisoners works. Yet it’s politically precarious,” The Washington Post, August 23, 2022.

“Jayland Walker’s killing didn’t spur expected protests. Here’s why,” The Washington Post, July 13, 2022.

“Thanks to conservative politicians and the media, the education wars echo the 1960s,” The Washington Post, November 19, 2021.

“The ‘Wonder Years’ remake resurrects a 1970 tactic to diversify TV viewing,” The Washington Post, October 1, 2021.

“Television is already moving to address racism—but will the effort last?” The Washington Post, June 11, 2020.

Courses

I have taught Facts, Evidence, and Explanation (HIST 101); Recent US History (HIST 173); Methodology of History (HIST 301); Theory and History (HIST 302); Senior Seminar: The Politics of Education (HIST 499); The US Liberal Era, 1945-1968 (380A); History of Women in the US since 1850 (HIST 485B); Historical Representations of Blackness: From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter (HIST 490); The History of Social Activism (HIST 476); Television Borders: Cultural Crossings in the US Southwest and South (HIST 453).