Ashley Rose Young

I’m a cultural and social historian of the United States and my research explores the intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender in American food culture and economy. My first book, Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans, (Oxford University Press, Fall 2025), examines how daily practices of food production and distribution shaped the development of New Orleans’ public culture and reveal how power operated in unexpected ways along the networks that fed New Orleans.

I earned a Ph.D. in History from Duke University, an M.A. in History from Duke University, a B.A. in History from Yale College, and was a visiting scholar at Oxford University.

In my current role as Curator of American History in the Rare Book & Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress, I have the extraordinary opportunity to steward and interpret one of the world’s most significant collections of rare books and manuscripts related to American life. My role involves curating exhibitions, acquiring rare materials, conducting original research, and expanding public and scholarly engagement with the collections.

I collaborate with colleagues across the institution to develop interpretive projects that illuminate the historical and cultural richness of the Library’s holdings—from early American print culture to political and food history. I also support teaching and outreach initiatives, respond to research inquiries, and contribute to the long-term preservation of rare materials that document the many voices and experiences that have shaped the United States.

Previously, I worked as the Historian for the Smithsonian Food History Project, one of the institution’s most celebrated curatorial initiatives. For over seven years, I combined research and curatorial practices with public-facing products including exhibitions and a particularly strong focus on public programming. I was the host and historian of “Cooking Up History,” the museum’s monthly cooking demonstration series, as well as Smithsonian Food History Weekend cooking demonstrations. I hosted over 50 unique cooking demonstrations that reached over 20,000 museums visitors. I shared the stage with celebrated chefs including Carla Hall of The Chew and Top Chef, Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook, and Aarón Sánchez of Chopped.

In addition to hosting “Cooking Up History,” I was a part of the curatorial team for the exhibition FOOD: Transforming the American Table, which re-opened in October of 2019, and which hosts Julia Child’s Cambridge, MA, kitchen. I was also a curator for the American Enterprise exhibition’s 2020 New Perspectives case, “The Only One in the Room,” which illuminates eight businesswomen and female entrepreneurs who broke through tremendous barriers in their industries to create, innovate and provide an opening for others to follow in their footsteps.

In November 2024, I became a Smithsonian Research Associate focusing on the National Museum of American History’s approach to commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary—an academic appointment I will hold through 2027.