Dr. Sarah Lirley

A.A., Maple Woods Community College; B.A., Northwest Missouri State University; M.A. & Ph.D., University of Missouri

Dr. Lirley earned her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri along with a Graduate Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. Dr. Lirley specializes in the history of women and gender, 19th century U.S. history, and the history of death and death investigations. Her 2024 book, Sudden Deaths in St. Louis: Coroner Bias in the Gilded Age, emphasizes those topics. She has also written articles and blog entries about coroner's inquests in late nineteenth-century St. Louis. She enjoys teaching a variety of classes, including introductory U.S. history courses, topics courses, and Women’s and Gender History courses that are cross-listed with Women’s Studies.

Courses taught at Columbia College:

• American History to 1877 (HIST 121)
• American History Since 1877 (HIST 122)
• History of Immigration in the U.S. (HIST 360W)
• Women and Gender in American History (HIST/WMST 373)
• African American History (HIST 374)
• History of Sexuality in the U.S. (HIST 375W)
• History of Death, Dying, and Death Investigations in U.S. History (Occasional Topics Course)