Episode 80: Amy Erdman Farrell Leaps Into Something New

I have a soft spot for historians who follow their curiosity through a range of subjects that might, at first glance, seem unrelated. So I was especially delighted to get to interview this episode's guest, Dr. Amy Erdman Farrell. Amy is a professor and endowed chair of American Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Dickinson College. Her first book was Yours in Sisterhood: Ms. Magazine and the Promise of Popular Feminism. From there, she wrote a second book titled Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture, followed by an edited collection, The Contemporary Reader of Gender and Fat Studies. For her newest book, out earlier this year, she turned her focus to an American institution: the Girl Scouts. The book is called Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girl Scouts of the USA. I was eager to talk more with Amy about how she has come to each of her books, how her publishing career has unfolded, and especially her decision to sign with an agent to represent her most recent book.

A little extra note for this episode: Amy followed up after we spoke to tell me that she forgot to add an additional important note about her organization and research process. Here's what she had to say: "The key for me is: my paper notebook! For both Fat Shame and Intrepid Girls I have always carried a paper notebook (turned out to be two for Intrepid Girls) in which I would take notes along the way, jotting down the date, where I was doing research, and perhaps more detailed notes depending upon the archive and the context. It was really fundamental to my process. I carried it everywhere. I referred to it constantly in doing my writing, revising, thinking, confirming footnotes, following leads. It's so important I can't believe I didn't mention it." An excellent idea for research--a project notebook!

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For links to the books we talked about and a complete transcript, visit draftingthepast.com. Sign up for the Drafting the Past newsletter for updates on the show and more.