Dr. Priscilla Brewer, professor of American studies at University of South Florida, was a cum laude with honors graduate of Williams College (1977), and earned a Master of Arts degree (1981) and doctoral degree (1987) in American civilization from Brown University. Early in her career she worked at the Hancock Shaker Village (Massachusetts) and Slater Mill (Rhode Island), which strongly influenced her academic interests in American material culture and technology, American family history, …