Mary Ellen Pethel

Biography

An author, historian, archivist, digital humanist, and academic entrepreneur, Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel serves as Assistant Professor of Global Leadership Studies (GLS) and Honors at Belmont University within the Interdisciplinary Studies and Global Education division.

After completing her Ph.D. in history at Georgia State University, Dr. Pethel taught her first class at Belmont in 2012. Since that time, she has published several essays and four books—including Athens of the New South: College Life and the Making of Modern Nashville. In 2017, Dr. Pethel began teaching the cornerstone courses for Global Leadership Studies. In addition, she teaches honors interdisciplinary courses such as “Making the Modern City,” "The Good Life,” and “Democracy and the Media.”

In 2018, she completed a post-graduate certificate in Digital Public Humanities at George Mason University, which combined her love of history with technology. This new passion culminated with the launch of NashvilleSites.org in 2019—a digital project focused on self-guided, mobile-friendly walking tours in Nashville. As the project's director, Dr. Pethel works with students and faculty at Belmont, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee State, and Fisk Universities. She is currently working on two manuscripts, which will focus on the 50th anniversary of Title IX in Tennessee (2022) and the life of Ward-Belmont Alumnae and Grand Ole Opry star, Sarah Cannon, better known as Minnie Pearl.