Torren L. Gatson, Ph.D.

Associate Director at the Center for Historic Preservation

torren.gatson@mtsu.edu

Dr. Torren L. Gatson is the Associate Director of the Center for Historic Preservation and Associate Professor in the Department of History at Middle Tennessee State University. A dynamic scholar and public historian, Gatson’s work sits at the intersection of African American history, historic preservation, and material culture. His role at the Center involves advancing strategically focused preservation practices, co-directing nationally recognized research initiatives, and guiding the next generation of public historians in documenting marginalized histories and communities.

Gatson brings a broad interdisciplinary perspective to his work, rooted in a Ph.D. in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University. His scholarship centers the contributions of Black craftspeople, housing discrimination, and the built environment in the American South. He is co-editor of Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence (UNC Press, 2025), a volume that accompanies a nationally traveling exhibition he co-curated, and is under contract for his next book, We Built This: The Legacies of Black Builders in the Old North State (UNC Press).

As a public historian, Gatson has developed over a dozen exhibitions, including the acclaimed Fighting for Freedom and More Than Just a Home, and he serves as co-director of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive, a groundbreaking digital humanities project that maps and interprets the material legacy of Black artisans across centuries. He is regularly invited to keynote at national conferences, such as the National Council on Public History and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he speaks on Black memory, material culture, and preservation ethics.

Dr. Gatson has extensive teaching experience at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, having previously directed the Public History and Museum Studies program at UNC Greensboro. He has designed and taught a wide range of courses in African American history, digital history, community engagement, and museum interpretation. His mentorship of graduate students has resulted in impactful public history work at the local and national level.

In addition to his academic and curatorial work, Gatson serves on several boards, including the Decorative Arts Trust, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and Old Salem Museums and Gardens. He is a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals and academic presses and has secured major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Decorative Arts Trust.

Through research, exhibitions, and community partnerships, Dr. Gatson continues to shape a more inclusive and truthful understanding of America's past--one rooted in the material and cultural histories of African Americans whose labor, skill, and vision helped build the nation.