Dr. Kyle Ciani
Emeritus Professor
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Biography
Professor Ciani specializes in the histories of women and gender across the Americas, with a focus on social justice issues. Ciani is involved with efforts by museum professionals to diversify exhibition spaces, which has included the National Women's History Museum Congressional Commission and the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C. and the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington, IL. She is a member of the Sharing Stories 1977 National External Advisory Committee, (https://sharingstories1977.uh.edu/), the CARES Committee for the Western History Association, a McLean County League of Women Voters board member, and a lead volunteer for the School Street Food Pantry, which assists university and college students in McLean County.
Current Courses
HIS 135.003 History Of The United States To 1865
HIS 135.004 History Of The United States To 1865
HIS 262.001 History of Women in the United States Since 1865
HIS 299.001 Independent Honor Study
HIS 490.002 Readings -- Field Of Study
HIS 300.001 Senior Seminar In History
Teaching Interests & Areas
Histories of Women & Gender in the Americas; American Family; Women's Activism in the Americas.
Research Interests & Areas
In her book, Choosing to Care: One Hundred Years of Childcare and Social Reform in San Diego, 1850-1950 (University of Nebraska Press, 2019), Ciani assessed how the changing culture of work in southwestern transborder communities directed childcare strategies and policy formation. Her current research project is an examination of efforts in the southwestern United States during the 20th century to educate and rehabilitate adolescents judged problematic or delinquent by state authorities.
Ph D History of Women & Gender
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
MA History
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA
BA History
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA
Outstanding Service (Humanities)
College of Arts & Sciences
2020
Impact Award
University College
2020
Impact Award
University College
2017
David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award
Illinois State University
2016
Stan and Sandy Rives Excellence in Undergraduate Education
Illinois State University
2008
University Teaching Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2005
Grants and Contracts
Summer Seminar & Institute: Gender, the State, and the 1977 International Women's Year Conference
Kyle Ciani.
National Endowment for the Humanities. June 12 2017 - June 18 2017
Summer Faculty Fellowship
Kyle Ciani.
College of Arts & Sciences. June 2004 - July 2004
Pre-tenure Faculty Initiative Grant
Kyle Ciani.
College of Arts & Sciences. 2003 - 2004
New Faculty Initiative Grant
Kyle Ciani.
College of Arts & Sciences. 2002 - 2003
Child Care Policy Project
Kyle Ciani, Sonya Michel.
Pew Charitable Trusts. May 1996 - August 1996
Graduate Merit Research Fellowship
Kyle Ciani.
College of Arts & Letters, Michigan State University. 1995 - 1995
Research Fellowship
Kyle Ciani.
Hans H. & Margaret Doe Charitable Trust. 1990 - 1990
Performances and Exhibits
25th & Change: The History of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Annual Symposium
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson-Zorn, Rebecca Fitzsimmons.
WGSS, Milner Library. August 2022 - April 2022
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson-Zorn, Rebecca Fitzsimmons.
WGSS, Milner Library. August 2022 - April 2022
Collaborative Communities of Women: ISNU and YWCA from the 1870s
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Erin Wilcox.
ISU, YWCA, McLean County Museum of History. August 2022 - 2023
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Erin Wilcox.
ISU, YWCA, McLean County Museum of History. August 2022 - 2023
WGSS at 50: A Celebration of ISU's Women's, Gender, and Sexualities Studies Program
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson-Zorn, Rebecca Lynn Fitzsimmons, Maria Tudela.
ISU Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Milner Library. January 2022 - May 2024
Kyle Ciani, April Anderson-Zorn, Rebecca Lynn Fitzsimmons, Maria Tudela.
ISU Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Milner Library. January 2022 - May 2024
Book, Authored
Choosing to Care: One Hundred Years of Social Reform in San Diego, 1850-1950
Kyle E Ciani.
(2019), University of Nebraska Press
Book, Chapter
San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California
Kyle Ciani.
(2012), 227-236, American Tourism: Constructing a National Tradition, Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago
Chapter 8: Family Resources in the Progressive Era
Kyle Ciani.
New Directions in United States Family History, Routledge
Journal Article
Childcare in San Diego during the World War II era
Kyle E Ciani.
Women & Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000, (2022)
A 'Growing Evil' or "Inventive Genius': Anglo Perceptions of Indian Life in San Diego, 1850-1900
Kyle Ciani.
Southern California Quarterly, 89 (3), 249-284, (2007)
Hidden Laborers: Female Day Workers in Detroit, 1870-1920
Kyle Ciani.
Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 4 (1), 23-51, (2005)
Revelations of a Reformer: Helen D. Marston Beardsley and Progressive Activism
Kyle Ciani.
Journal of San Diego History, 50 (1-2), 102-123, (2004)
The Power of Maternal Love: Negotiating a Child's Care in Progressive-era San Diego
Kyle Ciani.
Journal of the West, 41 (4), 71-79, (2002)
Training Young Women in the 'Service' of Motherhood: Early Childhood Education at Detroit's Merrill-Palmer School, 1920-1940
Kyle Ciani.
Michigan Historical Review, 24 (1), 103-132, (1998)
A Passion for Water; Hans H. Doe and the California Water Industry
Kyle Ciani.
Journal of San Diego History, 40 (4), 232-259, (1993)
The Machado Quilt: A Study in Multi-Cultural Folk Art
Kyle Ciani.
Uncoverings, 12, 190-208, (1991)
Newsletter
Putting an End to the Silence of Sexual Assault and Rape
Kyle Ciani.
Gender Matters, 16 (3), 1-2, (2011)
The Personal is Historical
Kyle Ciani.
Gender Matters, 14 (3), 1-2, (2009)
Other
In Search of a Real San Diego History
Kyle Ciani.
Journal of San Diego History, 55 (1-2), 59-63, (2009)
Presentations
Abortion Rights in the U.S. prior to Roe v. Wade
Kyle Ciani.
Post-Roe Reproductive Justice Speaker Series, Normal, IL, September, 2022
Finding Women's Voices in Unexpected Spaces: How Archival Research Revealed a Diverse San Diego
Kyle Ciani.
St. Mary's College Gender Studies Colloquium, South Bend, IN, September 23, 2021
Centennial History of the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute
Kyle Ciani.
Illuminating the Future for Children, Families and Community, Detroit, MI, Online, May 21, 2021
Centennial Celebrations: Complexities of the 19th Amendment
Kyle Ciani.
Academy of Seniors, Online, March 16, 2021
From the Lobby to the Street: Strategies Used by Voting Activists in the Early 20th Century
Kyle Ciani.
How Long Must Women Wait: Woman Suffrage and Women's Rights in Champaign, Online, September 24, 2020
One Hundred Years of Activism Through Maternal Eyes, 1920-2020
Kyle Ciani.
International Women's Day, Bloomington, IL, March 5, 2020
Bad A** Women: 20th Century Activists in the U.S.
Kyle Ciani, Chad Kuehnl.
History/Social Sciences Middle & High School Teacher Symposium, Normal, IL, February 7, 2020
Not all Women are Alike: Defining Pay Differentials
Kyle Ciani.
2018 National Equal Pay Day Rally, Bloomington, Illinois, April 10, 2018
Paradoxes of the Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Failures and Successes
Kyle Ciani, Robyn Muncy, E. Faye Williams, Kris Myers, Page Harrington.
The Equal Rights Amendment: Yesterday and Today, Washington, D.C., June 16, 2016
Daily Grinds: Day Workers, Women Adrift & Girl Problems in Progressive-Era Cities
Kyle Ciani.
The 8th Annual Labor Day Lecture, Monmouth College, Illinois, September 7, 2015
Reserved Space: Public Education in Post-World War II Navajo Communities
Kyle Ciani.
Society for the History of Children & Youth Biennial Conference, University of Nottingham, England, June 15, 2013
Problematic Choices: A Short History of Reproductive Rights in the United States
Kyle Ciani.
52nd Annual Meeting Peoria Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Peoria, IL, April 25, 2013
From Cartooning to Blogging: Female Reformers and the Power of Political Persuasion
Kyle Ciani.
Women’s History Month, Civil Rights Employee Development Program, Peoria, IL, March 23, 2013
Court Appointed Care: Legal Protections for Troubled Families in Turn-fo-the-Twentieth Century San Diego
Kyle Ciani.
ISU and IWU Faculty Seminar, Online, April 12, 2012
Reason/Reflect/Respect
Kyle Ciani.
McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington, IL, September, 2011
The National Woman’s Party and Political Rhetoric: Visual Propaganda in the Battle for the Vote
Kyle Ciani, G William.
National Archives & Records Administration and Sewall-Belmont House & Museum commemoration of Women’s Equality Day, William G. McGowan Theater, Washington, D.C., August 30, 2011
Motherhood Revisted: Maternalism in the Next Generation
Kyle Ciani.
Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, June 15, 2011
Reserved Space: Intercultural Exchanges in Post-World War II Navajo Communities
Kyle Ciani.
Western History Association, Lake Tahoe, October, 2010
Historical Connections to Financial Literacy
Kyle Ciani.
ISU School of Education Financial Literacy Panel Discussion, Normal, IL, April, 2009
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees
Kyle Ciani.
Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology General Education series, Normal, IL, October, 2007
The Personal is Historical
Kyle Ciani.
Stan and Sandy Rives Excellence in Undergraduate Education Presentation, Normal, IL, January, 2007
Women’s Work in a Transborder Community: Negotiating Cultural Divides in Progressive-Era San Diego
Kyle Ciani.
Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives 2005-2006 Series, Michigan State University, East Lansing, March, 2006
A ‘Growing Evil’ in San Diego: Anglo Reactions to the Presence of Indian Women in Their Community
Kyle Ciani.
Western History Association Annual Conference, Ft. Worth, Texas, October, 2003
Negotiating a Cultural Divide: The Female Worlds of Mexican Mothers and Anglo Reformers in Progressive-era San Diego
Kyle Ciani.
American Historical Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, January, 2003