Lauren Jacobsen-Bridges

Lauren Jacobsen-Bridges (she/her) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at the University of North Texas (UNT) whose research focuses on food, identity, and making sense of the two in a globalized society. Her dissertation, "We Only Served American Wines: First Ladies, State Dinners, and Defining a National Palate," will explore the ways that gastrodiplomacy functions as a tool of nation-branding in the late twentieth century. In Summer 2024, she served as a program assistant for the study abroad class, Food in London: Tastes of an Empire. Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Stockdale, this class explored ever-changing concepts of British food identity as a result of migration to the heart of the British Empire. When she is not focused on historical research, Lauren serves as the Senior Director of UNT’s International Student and Scholar Services Office.