Program in Science, Technology and Society

Jonathan MacDonald is a student in the PhD Program in American Studies at Brown. He holds an MA in History from Virginia Tech, where he completed a thesis titled "Reel Guidance: Midcentury Classroom Films and Adolescent Adjustment." He is interested in the relationship between publics and experts in the 20th century United States, particularly how ideas from the social and behavioral sciences influenced (and continue to influence) common beliefs about personality, behavior, etiquette, citizenship, civic responsibility, and narratives of "success."