Jennifer Thornton

Teaching Fields

• Public History

Degrees

• PhD, University of California, Riverside, 2018
• MA, University of California, Riverside, 2012
• BA, Grinnell College, 2002

Public History Projects

Dr. Jennifer Thornton is interested in preserving the buildings and places that speak to the diverse history of the United States. In addition to her training in history, she has a background in ethnography, archaeology, and cultural resource management. As a researcher for the consulting firm LSA Associates, she documented and evaluated diverse historic properties throughout Southern California, including Jewish agricultural sites, the cultural landscape of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Reservation, and industrial facilities in Los Angeles for SurveyLA. In addition to her work in historic preservation, she has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with the descendants of Welsh colonists in Patagonia and has carried out archaeological survey and excavations throughout Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. She worked as a cultural resource manager for the Cibola and Gila National Forests from 2004-2008, where she authored technical reports, wrote press releases, engaged in education and outreach programs, and oversaw volunteer projects. Her ethnographic and archaeological research has been published in Contemporary Wales and Latin American Antiquity.

Research Interests

Courses Offered

• HIST 409/609: Field Methods in Historic Preservation
  
• HIST 412: Introduction to Public History
• HIST 489: Introduction to Historic Preservation
• HIST 600: Cultural Resource Management
• HIST 613: Local History Research Methods
• HIST 620: Practicum in Cultural Resource Management
• HIST 693: Special Topics including the History of American Architecture, Digital Oral History, and Cultural Landscapes

Publications

Journal Articles, Book Chapters, and Essays:

“Review of Lost LA,” Journal of American History 106, no.1 (June 2019): 138-141. 

“Review of Hoo-Doo Cowboys and Bronze Buckaroos: Conceptions of the African American West (2014) by Michael K. Johnson.” Journal of African American History 100, no. 3 (Summer 2015): 542-544.

“Historic Context Statement: SurveyLA Industrial Development.” With Tanya Sorrell et al. Prepared by LSA Associates, Inc., for the City of Los Angeles, 2011.

“Historical Resources Assessment: Kaiser Permanente – Panorama City.” With Tanya Sorrell. Prepared by LSA Associates, Inc., for the City of Los Angeles, 2011. 

“Historical Resources Assessment: Norco Ranch Commerce Park.” With Casey Tibbet and Riordan Goodwin. Prepared by LSA Associates, Inc., for Clark Neuhoff, Alere Property Group, 2011.

“Lithic Industry in a Maya Center: An Axe Workshop at El Pilar, Belize.” With John Whittaker et al. Latin American Antiquity 20, no. 1 (2009): 134-156.

“Perceptions of Welshness in Patagonia.” With Carol Trosset and Doug Caulkins. Contemporary Wales 19 (2007): 234-247.

“Bear Creek Site Inspections.” For the Gila National Forest, Silver City, New Mexico, 2007. 

“Erosion Control at Site AR-03-06-07-722/LA 132697.” For the Gila National Forest, Silver City, New Mexico, 2007. 

“Damage Assessment for Site AR-03-03-02-1643/LA 83624.” With Linda Popelish for the Cibola National Forest, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2005. 

“Excavations at Chiik Nah, A Maya Housemound at El Pilar, Belize.” With John Whittaker, Kathryn Kamp, Melissa Badillo, Zerifeh Eiley, and Alexander Woods for the Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize, 2002.

Grants and Awards