Biography
Dr. August is a scholar of modern British history, with research interests including working class life in Britain between 1832 and 1940, crime and punishment in Victorian Britain, and gender and British society. He has established a distinguished career as a teacher, scholar, and administrator during more than 25 years at Penn State Abington. Dr. August teaches courses in modern British and European history, criminal justice history, and humanities.
Dr. August has served in a number of administrative roles, including as Interim Chancellor from July 1, 2020 through January 4, 2021 and from October 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. He also held Chief Academic Officer roles at Penn State Abington from 2016 to 2023, as Associate Dean and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Prior to those roles, he served as the Program Chair for History and American Studies, Honors Coordinator, and Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Programs.
Courses Taught
Humanities 100N: Foundations in the Humanities
History 120N: Europe since 1789
History 143: Fascism and Nazism
History 302W: Undergraduate Seminar: Revolution in Modern Europe
History 420: Recent European History
History 435: Topics in European History -- Crime, Justice and Society in England, 1750-1914
History 438: Modern British History
Selected awards, grants, patents, other honors
Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, Penn State University, 2008
Chief Ogontz Award, Penn State Abington, 2005
Scholar Award, Penn State Abington, 2001
Research Interests
Modern British Social History
Gender and Culture in Modern Britain
Publications
Books
- The Urban Working Class in Britain, 1830-1914 – edited collection, 4 volumes (Pickering & Chatto, 2013)
- The British Working Class, 1832-1940 (Pearson/Longman, 2007)
- Poor Women’s Lives: Gender, Work and Poverty in Late-Victorian London (Associated University Presses, 1999)
Selected Articles
- "'A Horrible Looking Woman': Female Violence in Late-Victorian East London," Journal of British Studies 54:4 (2015).
- “Narrative, Experience and Class: Nineteenth-century Social History in Light of the Linguistic Turn,” History Compass 9:5 (2011).
- “Gender and 1960s Youth Culture: The Rolling Stones and the New Woman, 1966-1976,” Contemporary British History 23:1 (2009).
- “A Culture of Consolation?: Rethinking Politics in the London Working Class, 1870-1914,” Historical Research 74 (2001).
- “How Separate a Sphere? Poor Women and Paid Work in Late-Victorian London,” Journal of Family History, 19 (1994).
Education
Ph.D., History, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1993
M.Phil., History, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1987
M.A., History, Columbia University, New York, NY, 1985
B.A., History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1984