Ph.D. in History, University of Alabama
American history · History of capitalism
Tanner Lee Corley
I study the history of American capitalism, race, labor, and regulation, with a particular focus on the American South.
I am a Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Alabama. My dissertation examines how barbering and cosmetology licensing shaped competition, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity in the American South between 1890 and 1980.
Current research
License to Cut: Race, Regulation, and the Southern Beauty Industry, 1890–1980 explores the development of occupational licensing in the beauty industry and its consequences for Black entrepreneurs, women workers, and professional competition.
Research and publications →Education
2027 (expected)
2023
M.A. in History, University of Alabama
2021
B.S. in History and Political Science, Minor in Economics, University of Central Arkansas
Selected Fellowships & Awards
- Mercatus Center Fellowship, Mainline Political Economy (2026–2027)
- Friends of the Alabama Archives Student Research Fellowship (2026)
- Frazine Taylor Graduate Student Research Grant, Alabama Historical Association (2026)
- Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship Grant (2025)
- James Soltow Award, best essay in Essays in Economic and Business History (2023)
For a complete list, see my curriculum vitae.