Margaret Young
Emeritus Faculty
Biography
Margaret Young, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication at Bradley University. With a career stitched together from more than thirty years of radio talent, acting, journalism, advertising, public relations, and the occasional academic brawl over the comma placement, she’s as comfortable in front of a crowd as she is buried in 19th-century archives.
An award-winning designer and writer, Dr. Young has co-authored three books, published countless articles, and filled more journals than a Victorian schoolgirl with a fountain pen. Her trophy shelf includes more than a dozen honors from the Illinois Women’s Press Association and the National Federation of Press Women, though she swears the real prize is finding the right font on the first try.
Her research dives deep into social anthropology, historical advertising, and material culture—but her heart belongs to the stories of ordinary women living through extraordinary times. She’s particularly interested in how resilience, ingenuity, and a stubborn streak passed down through mitochondrial DNA shape generations of women (and their sock drawers). Dr. Young believes that small stories—the ones whispered, stitched, or stashed in cookie tins—hold the power to reframe history, offer comfort, and spark just enough rebellion to keep things interesting.
At its core, The Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary Women explores inheritance: what is passed down, what is misread, and what each generation chooses to carry forward. I was reminded of this while listening to my four-year-old grandson explain Star Wars. He skipped timelines, listening instead for family ties, courage, fairness, and what survives after things break and are remade. That instinct mirrors the book’s philosophy, treating history as layered, incomplete, and alive. It argues that extraordinary meaning does not come from fame or destiny, but from attention, care, and the quiet decision to preserve what remains.