Ari Forsyth (they/them)

My research explores race, gender, and disability in the 19th- and 20th-century United States and modern Jewish diaspora, with an emphasis on the political and scientific work of ordinary women and girls. 

As a social and cultural historian, I analyze colonial, capitalist, and cultural systems of domination by focusing on everyday social relationships, cultural performances, and spatial encounters. My professional experience includes work at Pacific Northwest Quarterly, the Lakeland Village Preservation Project, and teaching in History and Disability Studies. Some of my research and teaching interests are women's history, the carceral/welfare state, history of social science, history of cognitive disability, and American Jewish identity.

My dissertation, Big Mother: A History of Jewish Social Work in the United States, 1880-1940, examines interactions between Jewish women social workers in early twentieth-century US cities and Jewish women and girls they deemed “deviant,” “defective,” and “delinquent.” Through these encounters, Jewish social workers enacted, policed, and ultimately reshaped  Jewish relationships to race, gender, and (dis)abilty. 

I believe that historical research is not only a life-saving and politically essential tool for understanding systems of power that shape our lives but also, frankly, an incredibly fun way to spend a Saturday night. When I'm not working, I love reading speculative fiction, making art, and two-stepping to fast drums. 

I serve UW students and local community members and welcome requests for insight, support, or advocacy. 

In the 2026-2027 academic year, I will be conducting dissertation research in New York City as the Arcadia Graduate Fellow at the Center for Jewish History Institute for Advanced Research.