The Assistant Professor of History will develop digital humanities resources and help advance Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan.
Amanda Laury Kleintop, Assistant Professor of History, has been named the 2024-26 Scholar for the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society (CSRCS).
During her term, Kleintop will develop digital humanities resources for examining the role of religious communities in Elon town and university history and pursue new research on Black enlistment and emancipation during the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction. Additionally, she will help build CSRCS capacity for student research, internships, and digital humanities experience and foster campuswide engagement with local communities and institutions. She will assume her position on June 1, 2024.
“As someone fairly new to Elon, I’m enthusiastic to learn more about interdisciplinary, multifaith models at Elon, support the study of religion, culture, and society, develop opportunities for student research, and develop relationships with other campus partners and local communities,” Kleintop says.
CSRCS Director Brian Pennington says Kleintop is a natural fit for the role. “We are excited at the ways that Dr. Kleintop’s work aligns with Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan objectives,” Pennington said. “She will make important contributions as we look to develop student learning opportunities about the role of religious communities in U.S. history and in Elon’s history.”
Kleintop is a historian of the U.S. Civil War, Reconstruction and slavery and emancipation in the Atlantic World.
Her current book in progress, “The Balance of Freedom: Abolishing Property Rights in People in the U.S. Civil War and American Memory” is contracted with the University of North Carolina Press with an anticipated publication date in 2025. THe book tells the story of the Civil War and emancipation by examining post-war debates about compensating enslavers for the value of freed people and the legacies of these debates.
Kleintop joins the CSRCS with an impressive record of interdisciplinary collaboration and timely public scholarship. She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University and her B.A. from the University of Richmond. Before coming to Elon in 2022, she was an assistant professor of history and coordinator of public history at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She comes to this new role with a strong scholarly and administrative background that prepares her well for the work she will undertake. Kleintop is also an experienced public and digital historian who helps students connect the histories of slavery and emancipation in the U.S. to their campuses and communities.
At Elon, Kleintop has taught a range of topics including courses on Civil War history, museum studies and early American history.
“Throughout my career as a historian, my research has informed my work on college campuses,” Kleintop said. “My goals have always been to build programs and spaces where students, campuses, and local communities can discuss complex topics in US history, like the history of enslavement and religion, grapple with how those histories shape our present, and decide how those histories should shape community action. I’m excited to continue this work with the CSRCS, which has already done so much to support similar work on campus and in the local community.”