Expertise
Public History; Philadelphia
Biography
Kenneth Finkel, Temple University Professor (Teaching/Instructional) in the Department of History specializes in American Studies and Public History. He has served as Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Program Officer at the William Penn Foundation and Executive Director of Arts & Culture Service at WHYY. Finkel has contributed to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s op-ed page in the 1980s. He writes at the PhillyHistory.org blog.
Selected Publications
In addition to essays at PhillyHistory.org, books include Nineteenth-Century Photography in Philadelphia (1980), The Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens’ Manual (1993 and 1994) and has written about the 19th-century railroad photographs of William H. Rau. Finkel's most recent book is Insight Philadelphia (Rutgers University Press, 2018).
Courses Taught
- American Studies 0801- Philadelphia Arts & Culture
- History 3151- Local History
- American Studies 2021- Philadelphia Neighborhoods
- American Studies 2098 - Reading Culture
- MLA 5220 - Topics in Urban Studies
- History 5151- Nonprofit Management for Historians