Michael Schaefer

Decorative image of tree blossoms against blue sky.
Staff photo of Michael Schaefer.

Contact

Department
Library
Name
Michael Schaefer
Job Title
American Culture Studies; History; Religion; History of Science, Technology & Medicine; and Philosophy Subject Librarian
Phone Number
(314) 935-7365
Make Appointment
Make an Appointment

Subjects

American Culture Studies, History, Religious Studies, Medical Humanities, and Philosophy

Bio

Michael holds bachelor’s degrees in history and philosophy and a master’s degree in history from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He earned a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He started his career as an adjunct professor of history at a number of community colleges in the St. Louis metropolitan area and went on to serve as an adult services provider for 15 years at St. Louis Public Library. In 2015, he joined the staff of the Washington University Libraries as an electronic documents delivery assistant. He has been a subject librarian since 2018.

Selected projects, activities, and accomplishments

  • A participant in the Humanities Digital Workshop since 2017.
  • Authored “Interned for the Duration of the War: Censorship at St. Louis Public Library during the First World War” for Libraries: Culture, History, and Society in 2019.
  • Information Literacy Learning Community at Washington University (2020–2021).
  • Alongside other staff members from the WashU Libraries, Michael taught an additional workshop, “Libraries off Danforth Campus: Public Libraries, Archives, and MOBIUS Loans.”
  • Co-creator with Prof. Dave Walsh of the American Culture Studies class “Fake News: Pandemics, Power, and Propaganda” as part of the Danforth Center-sponsored Information Literacy Learning Community project, 2020-2021.
  • Presented “Fear of a ‘Scientific-Technological Elite’: Recent Use of Eisenhower’s Obscure Phrase” at academic conferences in Krakow and Toronto, 2023-2024.