La Salle University Student Jaclyn Keammerer Receives American Studies Undergraduate Research Award

Jaclyn Keammerer, a senior at La Salle University, earlier this year received the Dr. Francis J. Ryan Undergraduate Research Award given by the Middle Atlantic American Studies Association (MAASA) at its annual conference held this year in Baltimore. Her research focused on the American kitchen stove.

Coincidentally, the award is named after La Salle University Professor Francis J. Ryan, who oversaw Keammerer’s project. (Ryan had previously suggested to the MAASA executive board that it allow undergraduates to present papers at its annual conference. The board agreed and also named the award for him.)

“Dr. Ryan is more than just my professor, he is my mentor,” said Keammerer. “When research difficulties arose, Dr. Ryan counseled and encouraged me to see the project through. Thus, to be the first recipient of an award in his name was an outstanding honor.”

A dual major in Elementary/Special Education and American Studies at La Salle, Keammerer’s paper was titled, The Catastrophe of the Continuous Countertop: How the American Kitchen Stove Became a Back-Breaker.

“My research project developed out of my American Studies Seminar Course on Food and Drink in American Culture, which Dr. Ryan taught,” she says, “It examines the development of the 36-inch stove-top and counter-top height.”

“Women would have to be about six feet tall to comfortably work at this height,” says Keammerer, “I examined three aspects of American culture from the 1900s to the 1930s that influenced the creation and pervasive popularity of the 36-inch stove: American market and design trends, American household engineers, and gender roles in America.”

“Because this was the first time I had presented research at a conference, I was a bit nervous, but the experience of presenting my paper and answering questions from interested participants made me feel as if my research efforts were worthwhile,” she said.