Deborah Cohen

Deborah Cohen is a distinguished American historian of modern Europe and Britain, whose extensive research and prolific writing have earned her a prominent place in the academic world. Born and raised in the United States, Cohen received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, before going on to earn a doctorate in modern history from the University of Cambridge.

Throughout her career, Cohen has been recognized for her pioneering contributions to the field of Victorian and Edwardian social history, which have shed new light on the complex relationships between gender, sexuality, and modernity in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Her early work explored the history of same-sex desire and identity, and she was one of the first scholars to use queer theory as a framework for analyzing historical sources.

In recent years, Cohen has turned her attention to the history of consumer culture, particularly the emergence of the modern advertising industry and the ways in which it shaped social norms and values. Her book ‘Luxury and Degradation’ is a landmark study of the role of luxury in the formation of modern social hierarchies, and has been widely praised for its innovative use of historical evidence and critical analysis.

In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, Cohen is also an accomplished teacher and mentor. She currently holds a chair in modern history at Northwestern University, where she has served as both director of graduate studies and co-director of the Sexualities Project at the Institute for Culture and Society. Her contributions to the study of European and British history have been invaluable, and her work continues to inspire and challenge scholars around the world.