Mary Potorti, PhD
Assistant Professor of Politics and Social Sciences
she/her/hers
School
School of Arts and Sciences
Department
School of Arts and Sciences
Office Location
W202A
Boston
About
Education
- PhD., American studies, Boston University
- B.A., American studies and history, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Research Interests
- The Black freedom struggle
- Social justice movements
- Racial equity
- Intersections of politics and food
- U.S. government and politics
Programs
- Biotechnology (BS)
- Chemistry (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)—Degree Completion
- Health Sciences (DHS)
- Health Sciences (MHS)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Acupuncture (BS/MAC)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Occupational Therapy (BS/MSOT)
- Medical and Molecular Biology (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Medicine (BS/MD with SGU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Dental Medicine (BS/DMD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Optometry (BS/OD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with LECOM)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with ATSU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Physician Assistant Studies (BS/MPAS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Veterinary Medicine (BS/DVM with SGU)
- Public Health (BS)
- Public Health (MPH)
- Public Health Graduate Certificate
Featured Affiliations
Association for the Study of African American Life and History
New England American Studies Association
Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association
Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association
National Women’s Studies Association
Education
- PhD., American studies, Boston University
- B.A., American studies and history, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Research Interests
- The Black freedom struggle
- Social justice movements
- Racial equity
- Intersections of politics and food
- U.S. government and politics
Programs
- Biotechnology (BS)
- Chemistry (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)
- Health Sciences (BS)—Degree Completion
- Health Sciences (DHS)
- Health Sciences (MHS)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Acupuncture (BS/MAC)
- Health Sciences Pathway: Occupational Therapy (BS/MSOT)
- Medical and Molecular Biology (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies (BS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Medicine (BS/MD with SGU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Dental Medicine (BS/DMD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Optometry (BS/OD)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with LECOM)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Osteopathic Medicine (BS/DO with ATSU)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Physician Assistant Studies (BS/MPAS)
- Premedical Health Studies Pathway: Veterinary Medicine (BS/DVM with SGU)
- Public Health (BS)
- Public Health (MPH)
- Public Health Graduate Certificate
Peer-Reviewed Articles
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Schultz, C., Potorti, M., Gardner, M., and Petersen, K. “Introducing the Social Constructions of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Class in a Health Sciences Curriculum.” Proceedings of the 2023 H-Net Teaching Conference, Vol. 2, 2024: 37-50. https://doi.org/10.33823/phtc.v2i1.229
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Potorti, M. “‘Feeding the Revolution’: The Black Panther Party, Hunger, and Community Survival.” Journal of African American Studies, Vol. 21, Special Issue on the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party. Springer Publishing Group, 2017: 85-110. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12111-017-9345-9
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Potorti, M. “Feeding Revolution: The Black Panther Party and the Politics of Food.” Radical Teacher, Vol. 98, Radical Teaching and the Food Justice Movement. University of Pittsburgh, Winter 2014: 43-50. http://radicalteacher.library.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/radicalteacher/article/view/80/44
Book Chapters
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Potorti, M. “‘What We Eat is Politics’: Hunger and the Vote in Mississippi.” In Reginald K. Ellis, Peter B. Levy, and Jeffrey L. Littlejohn (eds). The Seedtime, the Work, and the Harvest: New Perspectives on the Black Freedom Struggle in America. Southern Dissent Series. University Press of Florida, 2018: 115-153. https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813056678
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Potorti, M. “Eat to Live: Culinary Nationalism and Black Capitalism in Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam.” In Dawn-Marie Gibson and Herbert Berg (eds). New Perspectives on the Nation of Islam. Studies in Religion Series. Routledge, 2017: 68-94. https://www.routledge.com/New-Perspectives-on-the-Nation-of-Islam/Gibson-Berg/p/book/9780367875176
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Potorti, M. “Planning for the People: The Early Years of Baltimore’s Neighborhood Design Center.” In Jessica I. Elfenbein, Thomas L. Hollowak, and Elizabeth M. Nix (eds). Baltimore ’68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City. Temple University Press, 2011: 226-245. http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781439906637
Honors
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Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, Honorable Mention, MCPHS, May 2022.
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Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellow, Emerson College, May 2017.
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Mary Kelley Prize (awarded for best conference paper by a graduate student or non-tenure track scholar), New England American Studies Association Conference, Regis College, Apr 2016.
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Visiting Fellowship, W.E.B DuBois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University, Jul–Sep 2013.
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Angela J. and James J. Rallis Memorial Award, BU Center for the Humanities, May 2012.
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Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize, BU Center for the Humanities, May 2012.