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The 2025-2026 academic year we welcomed Assistant Professor Amanda McGee, a specialist in colonial and revolutionary America, into the Ithaca community with open arms. Her enthusiasm for joining Ithaca College and stepping into the role of the Americanists before her is palpable.

Share a little bit about your journey to becoming a history professor at IC?

Amanda McGee: I did my undergrad at the University of Central Arkansas, which is in Conway, Arkansas, and I kind of knew that I always wanted to be a professor, but, funnily enough, I actually started out as a music major. I was in vocal performance and thought that I was going to be an opera singer or something, and my vocal coach at the time was really pushing me into performance, and I realized that I was not one for the performance, which, ironically enough, teaching is somewhat of a performance. My master's and PhD were at the University of Arkansas. I actually debated leaving the University of Arkansas for my doctorate, but I created such a community there, and that’s one of the things that’s really, really important to me.

What excites you most about your research/scholarship?

AM: I do a lot with Pennsylvania, and one of the things I’ve always been really interested in is theory and historical theory as methodology. I’m thinking about space and how humans think about space and interact with it, and how it intersects with power and power dynamics, and race.

What are you working on now?

AM: My book project now is “The Divided Line”, which basically looks at the intersections of slavery and the law along the Mason-Dixon line. During the Revolution, Pennsylvania’s trying to settle all of these boundaries, and at the same time, it says, ‘we are going to pass a law that slowly ends slavery in the state. How do you do that if none of your state boundaries are solidified? That’s what my research looks at: how people are going about and enforcing this law, thinking about this law, and putting it into practice when there are all these other dynamics at play.

What are you most excited about bringing to the history department at IC as an instructor?

AM: I really like digital humanities and digital history projects, and that is one of the things I’ve really gained a passion for and have taught myself a lot about. Being able to bring that to the department and to the students here is what really excites me. The university that I was at previously, our classes were very big, I had 40 student classes and even my upper level classes were really large, so it was hard to have some of these digital history projects, and these ideas where I could work with students on their individual history projects or creating a game, like what we’re doing in my Revolutionary History class, and I get to do that here.

What is your favorite thing about the Ithaca area so far?

AM: This is so niche, but I absolutely love the environment. On the route that I drive to campus, I see wild turkeys walking across the road. It’s incredible. The waterfalls and the natural spaces here are so beautiful. I leave my house, and I’m so in awe of the natural area, the hiking trails, and the pond outside; it’s amazing.