Dr. Kyle Ciani

Fridays, 10:30-11:30 AM
Or via Zoom by appointment.
* Masks must be worn if meeting in my office.
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Biography
Professor Ciani specializes in the histories of women and gender across the Americas, with a focus on social justice issues. She is a Core Faculty member for the Women's, Gender & Sexualities Studies (WGSS) program, the History Department's liaison to the Honors Program, and the advisor for the Registered Student Organization, Women's History Club. Ciani is also involved with efforts by museum professionals to diversify exhibition spaces and with better integrating the histories of women and girls into K-12 curricula.
Current Courses
135.003History Of The United States To 1865
135.004History Of The United States To 1865
261.001History of Women in the United States To 1865
299.001Independent Honor Study
490.002Readings -- Field Of Study
300.001Senior Seminar In History
135.001History Of The United States To 1865
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 (available through the University of Nebraska Press and Amazon) Ciani assessed how the changing culture of work in transborder communities directed childcare strategies and policy formation. Her current research project is a study of educational developments in the mid-twentieth century on American Indian reservations in the southwest.
Ph D History of Women & Gender
MA History
BA History
Influential & Inspirational History/Social Sciences Education Faculty
Outstanding Service (Humanities)
Leaguer of the Year
Impact Award
Woman of Distinction Nominee
Impact Award
David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award
ISU Leadership Initiative
Stan and Sandy Rives Excellence in Undergraduate Education
University Teaching Initiative Award
Book, Authored
Ciani, Kyle E. Choosing to Care: One Hundred Years of Childcare and Social Reform in San Diego, 1850-1950. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019.
Book, Chapter
Kyle Ciani, "San Diego Zoo, San DIego, California," in American Tourism: Constructing a National Tradition, J. Mark Souther and Nicholas Dagen Bloom, eds. (Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), 227-236.
Journal Article
Kyle E. Ciani, “A ‘Growing Evil’ or ‘Inventive Genius’: Anglo Perceptions of Indian Life in San Diego, 1850-1900,” Southern California Quarterly, 89:3 (Fall 2007): 249-284.
Kyle E. Ciani, “Hidden Laborers: Female Day Workers in Detroit, 1870-1920,” Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 4:1 (January 2005): 23-51.
Kyle E. Ciani, “Revelations of a Reformer: Helen D. Marston Beardsley and Progressive Activism,” Journal of San Diego History 50:1/2 (Summer/Fall 2004): 102-123.
Kyle E. Ciani, “The Power of Maternal Love: Negotiating a Child’s Care in Progressive-era San Diego,” Journal of the West 41:4 (Fall 2002): 71-79.
Kyle E. Ciani, “Training Young Women in the ‘Service’ of Motherhood: Early Childhood Education at Detroit’s Merrill-Palmer School, 1920-1940,” Michigan Historical Review 24:1 (Spring 1998): 103-132.