USC.edu

Carole Shammas

Professor Emerita and John R. Hubbard Chair Emerita in History
Carole Shammas
Email shammas@usc.edu

Research & Practice Areas

social and economic history of North America and British Isles before 1900

Center, Institute & Lab Affiliations

  • American Origins Seminar, USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute, Convener
  • IBIS,

Education

  • Ph.D. History, John Hopkins University, 1/1971
  • M.A. History, University of Southern California, 1/1967
  • B.A. History, University of Southern California, 1/1964

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Carole Shammas specializes in the socio-economic history of Britain and English-speaking North America prior to the mid-nineteenth century. In articles and books on inheritance, consumption, household government, and the built environment she has explored how households and the behavior of their members affect the economy and politics. Most recently, she has embarked on a study of information revolutions over time from the printing press and the acquisition of literacy and numeracy to the current digital transformation of communication.

    Research Keywords

    information revolutions,standard of living, built environment, inheritance

  • Book

    • Shammas, C. (2002). A History of Household Government in America. University of Virginia Press.
    • Shammas, C. (1990). The PreIndustrial Consumer in England and America. Oxford, reprint Figueroa Press: Oxford University Press.
    • Shammas, C., Salmon, M., Dahlin, M. (1987). Inheritance in America: Colonial Times to the Present. Rutgers.

    Book Chapters

    • Shammas, C. (2012). Investing in the Early Modern Built Enviornment. Brill.

    Journal Article

    • Shammas, C. (2023). The Extent and Duration of Primary Schooling in Eighteenth-Century America. History of Education Quarterly. Vol. 23 (3), pp. 1-23.
    • Shammas, C. (2020). Tracking the Growth of Government Securities Investing in Early Modern England and Wales. Financial History Review. Vol. 27 (2020) (1), pp. 95-114.
    • Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, 2008
    • Chair of Council, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, 1996-1998
    • Allan Sharlin Book Award, Social Science History Assn., 1988

  • Committees

    • Chair, Convenor and Organizer, USC-Huntington Library American Origins Seminar, Early Modern Studies Institute;

      , 2006 –

    • Member, Board of Councilors Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, 2014 – 2023

  • Editorships and Editorial Boards

    • Editorial Board Chair, William and Mary Quarterly, 1995 – 1996
    • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Economic History, 1993 – 1996
    • Editorial Board Member, American Historical Review, 1991 – 1994
    • Editorial Board Member, Historical Methods, 1987 – 1989

    Professional Offices

    • Board of Overseers, Huntington Library, 2007 –