Get To Know Your Host!
Who is this chick, anyway?
I’m Valorie Clark, I’m the host of Unruly Figures!
(I figured you might as well know what my face looks like, since I’m talking in your ear all the time!)
You might be wondering, who the heck is this woman and is she qualified to host this history podcast? I’m here to answer that question for you!
My undergraduate degree is in Politcs & Diplomacy, with a minor in History. I focused on Chinese-American relations, and my thesis was on the history of sex trafficking and prostitution in China. (It’s a super depressing history!) When I went back to school for my Master’s, I studied History & Literature, focusing especially on the emergence of sexual identities in late-Victorian England, and the way those presented in fiction of that era. My thesis focused on Sherlock Holmes, and used Victorian understandings of sexuality to understand how the Victorians might have understood Sherlock’s relationship with John.
Since then, I worked as a research assistant at a museum and as a freelance journalist. I loved both those jobs, because they gave me the chance to get to research more widely, studying artists and creators across time.
You could say that, in a way, everything has been leading me to creating this podcast! My first love has always been the stories of people who couldn’t follow the rules, and I’m really excited to finally have an outlet to share their stories with all of you!
Want to know more? Ask me anything in the comments! As long as it’s not super invasive, I’ll answer it!