Biography:

Dr Allison Bumsted received both her MA in The Beatles, Popular Music, and Society (2014) and her PhD in Cultural Studies (2022) from Liverpool Hope University in Liverpool, England where she taught on the original Beatles MA course. Allison also holds a BA in History and Political Science from Texas State University (2012) and an AA in Education from ACC. After she completed her PhD, she began as an Associate Adjunct professor here at ACC where she currently teaches Humanities, and for the last decade she has proudly taught across the secondary and collegiate level. Alongside her teaching, she is an active and published cultural studies and popular music scholar (challenging the marginalization of women in popular music history) and participates in academic conferences yearly. Allison’s peer reviewed book TeenSet, Teen Fan Magazines, and Rock Journalism: Don’t Let the Name Fool You (2024) is a first of its kind to consider the value of teen fan magazines, the voices of women in rock journalism, and female fandom to be published. Her work is also featured in the Journal of Beatles Studies (2022), the edited Palgrave collection Words, Music, and the Popular (2021) and on RocksBackPages.com. Allison also contributes to her community through mentorships and engagement such as her Bastrop Public Library children’s Rockin’ Reading program that encourages the love of music and literature!

Teaching Philosophy:

I am a lifelong learner, and I work towards cultivating an interactive classroom experience through implementing evidence-based practices that encourage fellow and future lifelong learners. I take a passionate student-centered approach to teaching and engaging with my students, because I am not in the classroom to hear myself talking, we are here, together, to learn and grow through class discussions. We explore who we are and our values through fascinating creative works throughout time.

To be the best possible instructor and to reach my students, I like to foster positive lines of open communication, encourage strongly rooted scholarship, and incorporate multiple perspectives to promote a globalized classroom and an overall memorable worthwhile experience.

Areas of Interest:

Women in popular music

Music print media/Popular music journalism

Genre

Fandom studies

Feminism and gender studies

The Beatles

History and cultures throughout time

All things popular culture

Change and continuity in history and humanities

World histories

Course Taught at ACC:

HUMA-1301: Pre-history to Renaissance

HUMA-1302: Renaissance to Modern