Kristen D. Burton, Ph.D.

I am a cultural historian of the Early Modern Atlantic World, and I hold a doctorate in Transatlantic History from the University of Texas at Arlington. I received funding for my Ph.D. through the Enhanced Doctoral Graduate Teaching Assistantship. I specialize in the history of food and drink, specifically distillation and brewing in Early Modern Europe and the Atlantic World. I currently teach courses for Loyola University New Orleans and Southern New Hampshire University (online). I also work full-time at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans as the Teacher Programs and Curriculum Specialist.

At The National WWII Museum, I am the host of the podcast, To the Best of My Ability, which looks at the tumultuous end of WWII when Harry S Truman unexpectedly stepped into the role of Commander-in-Chief. I also currently author curricular resources that features the Museum’s extensive collection from the era of World War II. I have the pleasure to work with teachers across the United States by designing and facilitating professional development workshops created to support teachers interested in expanding their knowledge and pedagogical approaches to the history of WWII.

My current book project, “Slow, yet Sure Poyson: How Alcohol became an Intoxicant and the Origins of Transatlantic Temperance,” is forthcoming from Louisiana State University Press. This project looks at the ways early modern colonization in the British Atlantic led to the mass production of distilled spirits, forever changing the ways humans consumed and perceived alcoholic drinks.