She received a Ph.D. in U. S. History from Tulane University in 1983 with degreed fields in U.S. Social and Intellectual 1865-1945, Medieval European Institutional and Intellectual History to 1150 CE, American Literature to 1945, and African-American History and Literature to 1945. Specific research interests include Native American Indian ethnohistory east of the Mississippi; U.S. social history, 1865-1980; traditional West African (Yoruba) religion and syncretism in the western hemisphere; specializations in postbellum cultural and intellectual history, medieval Europe to 1150, and American literature to 1945.