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Press Kit

Dr. Alex D. Ketchum enjoys doing radio, podcast, print, and other media interviews. Please contact her at alexandraketchum@gmail.com to schedule an interview.

For Alex D. Ketchum's full press kit including author photos, see: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DVPYkAcIiaCROfWuLZGF6czOvg3zQ6t_?usp=sharing

Engage in Public Scholarship!: A Guidebook for Feminist and Accessible Communication

Alex D. Ketchum, published by Concordia University Press, summer 2022

Public scholarship – sharing research with audiences outside of academic settings – has become increasingly necessary to counter the rise of misinformation, to fill gaps from cuts to traditional media, and to increase the reach of important scholarship by making it available to the public. However, engaging in these efforts also comes with the risk of harassment and threats – especially for women, people of colour, queer communities, and precariously employed workers. Engage in Public Scholarship! provides constructive guidance on how to translate research into inclusive public outreach while ensuring that such efforts are accessible for a range of abilities as well as safer for those involved.

In clear and helpful language, Alex D. Ketchum discusses practices and planning for a great range of educational activities – from in-person and online events, conferences, and lectures, to publishing and working with the media, to social media activity, blogging, and podcasting. Using an intersectional feminist lens, this book serves as a concise approach to the key challenges and benefits of feminist and accessible public scholarship by surveying debates and offering solutions. Examining the needs for long-term preservation and impact, Ketchum discusses issues relating to digital sustainability, maintenance, the concept of “openness,” and how to be mindful of exclusionary barriers that impede access.

A useful and readable guidebook for scholars, students, and content creators, Engage in Public Scholarship! offers both encouragement and toolkits for reaching audiences and sharing knowledge in practical and more equitable ways.

You can have access to the open access e-book here.

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Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses

Alex D. Ketchum, published by Concordia University Press, November 2022 (Canada), February 2023 (USA)

Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the trailblazing restaurant Mother Courage of New York City, Ingredients for Revolution is the first history of the more than 230 feminist and lesbian-feminist restaurants, cafes, and coffeehouses that existed in the United States from 1972 to the present. As key sites of cultural and political significance, this volume shows the essential role these institutions served for multiple social justice movements including women’s liberation, LGBTQ equality, and food justice, as well as for training women workers and entrepreneurs.

This systematic study outlines the crucial steps it took to establish these businesses during eras when sexism was so institutionalized it was difficult for unmarried women to obtain a bank loan, while also showing the continuities and influences of past businesses on contemporary places. Through an examination of important establishments across America, Alex Ketchum first examines the foundational principles behind these businesses, noting key differences between cooperative, for-profit, and non-profit models. She then looks to issues of financing, labour, pay, food sourcing, and cultural programming to understand how these organizations reconciled feminist beliefs with capitalism and how they strove for more equitable and sustainable business practices.

Brimming with illuminating archival research, interviews with influential restaurateurs, and illustrated with photographs, menus, posters, and calendars, Ingredients for Revolution is a fundamental work of women’s history, food history, and cultural history. 

You can have access to the open access e-book here.


cover of the book