Skip to main content

Greta Swain

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of History

Email: Greta.Swain@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, George Mason University, 2023
    Major: History
    Dissertation: "Potomac Networks: Waterways, Commerce, and Enslavement in the George Mason Family, 1700-1828"
  • MA, George Mason University, 2017
    Major: History
    Specialization: American History, Applied

Professional Positions

    Academic - Post-Secondary

  • Editor, Current Research in Digital History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Current Research in Digital History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. (2020 - Present).
  • Adjunct Lecturer, William P. Clements Department of History, Southern Methodist University. William P. Clements Department of History, Southern Methodist University. (2024 - 2025).
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University. Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University. (2023 - 2025).
  • Graduate Lecturer, Department of History and Art History, George Mason University. Department of History and Art History, George Mason University. (2021 - 2021).
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. (2018 - 2021).
  • Editorial Assistant, Current Research in Digital History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Current Research in Digital History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. (2018 - 2020).
  • Digital History Fellow, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. (2017 - 2018).

Professional Memberships

  • American Historical Association. (2022 - Present).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • HIST 2685 - Honors United States History Since 1865, 1 course.
  • HIST 5110 - Studies in United States History, 1 course.

Teaching at Other Institutions

  • Southern Methodist University, HIST 2311 Out of Many: History of the United States to 1877, Spring 2025.
  • Southern Methodist University, HIST 1321 Digital History: Uncovering Early America, Spring 2024.
  • George Mason University, HIST 390 The Digital Past: Early America, Summer 2021.

Awards and Honors

  • History PhD Outstanding Graduate Student, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University. (2023).
  • Joseph and Dorothy Censer Fellowship in History and New Media, George Mason University. (2020).
  • Digital History Fellowship, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. (2017).
  • Kurt Andrew Dodd Scholarship, George Mason University. (2016).
  • Randy Beth Clarke Fellowship in American History, George Mason University. (2016).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Blog

  • Swain, G., Greer, C. (2021). American Rescue Workers. American Religious Ecologies. https://religiousecologies.org/blog/american-rescue-workers/
  • Swain, G. (2021). Deploying Datascribe to Create a New Dataset for American Religion. American Religious Ecologies. https://religiousecologies.org/blog/deploying-datascribe-to-create-a-new-dataset-for-american-religious-history/
  • Swain, G. (2019). Digitization of 230k+ Schedules Has Commenced. American Religious Ecologies. https://religiousecologies.org/blog/digitization-of-230k-schedules-has-commenced/

    • Case Study

  • Swain, G. (2022). American Religious Ecologies. Datascribe. https://datascribe.tech/casestudies/CaseStudy_AmericanReligiousEcologies.pdf

    • Digital Scholarly Essay

  • Swain, G. (2019). Maryland's Political Geography in the Early Republic. Mapping Early American Elections. https://earlyamericanelections.org/essays/06-swain-geography-of-politics.html

    • Software

  • Albers, K., Otis, J., Mullen, L., Brett, M., Heppler, J., Safley, J., Swain, G., Adasme, H., Nguyen, K., Howlett, D., Meyers, E. (2022). DataScribe. https://datascribe.tech

    • Webpage

  • Mullen, L., Turner, J., Swain, G. (2021). American Religious Ecologies. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://religiousecologies.org
  • Mack, J., Bookman, S., Heppler, J., Swain, G., Brannan Fretwell, L., Baez, V. (2021). Mapping the University. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. https://mappingtheuniversity.rrchnm.org
  • Brennan, S., Mullen, L., Zagarri, R., Swain, G., Bratt, J., Albers, K., Buck, B. (2019). Mapping Early American Elections. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://earlyamericanelections.org
  • Swain, G. (2018). For Us The Living. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://forustheliving.org/

    • White Paper

  • Otis, J., Mullen, L., Brett, M., Swain, G., Adasme, H., Howlett, D., Meyers, E. (2023). Structured Data Transcription with DataScribe for Omeka S. National Endowment for the Humanities. https://apps.neh.gov/publicquery/Download.aspx?data=VdyuWICxOG9k3%2f5xPqGtUGX4OyEjwfzCMZ2ARvPSEzPd55KnxKzh0FK5zx%2bWWTPtl3KLetEjhl%2bp%2blir%2bx%2fsSl6f3W5Vvx3dFdtdrATcbKj4Wi8NjZYHyj5re9XIFtsqvKHzgSAW8YDgszmAiM6xF5BCy3xInAIj

    • Written Case with Instructional Material

  • Swain, G. (2019). R Tutorial. Mapping Early American Elections. https://earlyamericanelections.org/blog/2019/04/30/r-tutorial.html

Presentations Given

    Invited Talk

  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), Board of Regents, Mapping the Masons, Gunston Hall, Online, United States of America. (2021).
  • Swain, G. (Presenter), Mullen, L. (Presenter), Digital Lagniappe Conference, University of Southern Mississippi, Using DataScribe for Large Scale Transcription Projects in the Humanities, Online, United States of America. (2021).

    • Oral Presentation

  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), Mapping the Masons: Space, Place and Potomac River Networks, 1700–1825, George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, VA, United States of America. (2021).

    • Panel Presentation

  • Swain, G. (Panelist), American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting, A Doctorate with a Difference: 25 Years of Digital Humanities and the PhD in History, Chicago, IL, United States of America. (2026).
  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting, Mapping Kinship and Mobility of Enslaved Females in the 18th Century Chesapeake, New York, NY, United States of America. (2025).
  • Swain, G. (Panelist), Digital History Salon, Digitally-Inflected Dissertation Research, Clemson University, Online, United States of America. (2024).
  • Otis, J. (Presenter), Swain, G. (Presenter), Brett, M. (Presenter), Howlett, D. (Presenter), Datafication in the Historical Humanities Conference, German Historical Institute, DataScribe: Transcribing Structured Historical Data, Washington, D.C., United States of America. (2022).
  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), Virginia Consortium of Early Americanists (VCEA), New Directions in Digital History, Richmond, VA, United States of America. (2020).
  • Swain, G. (Panelist), Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) Annual Conference, Visualizing Democracy: Voting, Political Parties, and the Mapping Early American Elections Project, Cambridge, MA, United States of America. (2019).

    • Paper

  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), For 2026: Wartime Transformations, Nodes and Networks: Female Connections, Kinship and Mobility in the 18th Century Chesapeake, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture, and College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States of America. (2025).
  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), Southern Conference on British Studies (SCBS) Annual Conference, Trade Webs and Waterways: Visualizing Eighteenth Century British Commercial Networks Along the Potomac River, Baltimore, MD, United States of America. (2022).

    • Poster

  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting, Potomac Bound: A Spatial and Network Analysis of the People Enslaved by George Mason, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America. (2023).

    • Professional Meeting Contribution

  • Swain, G. (Presenter), Fairfax County Public Schools Professional Development, Eagle Eye Citizen: Civics Interactives, Fairfax, VA, United States of America. (2018).

    • Scholarly Meeting Contribution

  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting, History Podcast Pitch Party: The Past, The Promise, The Presidency, New York, NY, United States of America. (2025).
  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), American Historical Association (AHA) Annual Meeting, Digital Projects Showcase: Potomac Networks, New York, NY, United States of America. (2025).
  • Swain, G. (Author & Presenter), Virginia Consortium of Early Americanists (VCEA), Trade Webs and Waterways: The Transatlantic and Potomac Commercial Networks of George Mason III and William Eilbeck, 1700-1765, Online, United States of America. (2021).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Fellowship

  • Swain, G.K., "Provost’s Doctoral Research Fellowship," sponsored by George Mason University, State, $20000 Funded. (2022 - 2023).
  • Swain, G.K., "Provost’s Summer Research Fellowship," sponsored by George Mason University, State, $7000 Funded. (2022 - 2022).
  • Swain, G. (Principal), "Residential Fellowship," sponsored by Center for Humanities Research, George Mason University, State, $7000 Funded. (2022 - 2022).
  • Swain, G. (Principal), "Society of Colonial Wars Research Fellowship," sponsored by George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, International, $10000 Funded. (2021 - 2022).
  • Swain, G., "Louise and Rudolf Fishel New Media Fellowship," sponsored by George Mason University, State, $8000 Funded. (2021 - 2021).

Service

University Service

  • Program Coordinator, Digital Humanities Certificate. (2025 - Present).
  • Director, Humanities Internship Program. (2025 - Present).
  • Task Force Member, UNT Work Integrated Learning Initiative and Pilot Program. (2025 - Present).
  • Other (History PhD program representative), Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, George Mason University. (2021 - 2022).
  • Other (Secretary), History Graduate Student Organization, George Mason University. (2021 - 2022).
  • Committee Member, Re-Appointment Committee, Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. (2020 - 2020).