Hylton, Veronica

Field: United States; Advisor: Phillips-Fein; Year: 2022

Veronica Hylton is a Ph.D. candidate in History at Columbia University, studying the history of the emergency room (ER). Her dissertation explores how the ER reshaped medical care in the twentieth century and became the de facto safety net of the American welfare state. The project tells a social, religious, and cultural story within a political economy framework. Her work is shaped by undergraduate and master’s training in nineteenth-century religious and social movement history at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, respectively, as well as professional experience in politics, law, and digital education. Other recent work includes a labor history of WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreements, an exploration of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' role in enabling data center expansion, and a history of the Fire Department and EMS merger in 1990s New York City.