Kate Dorsch

Dr. Dorsch grew up in Chicagoland, completed her B.A. in History at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and came to Penn for graduate school in 2012. She completed her Ph.D. in the History and Sociology of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Penn in 2019, with a specialization in the history and philosophy of science. She is particularly interested in knowledge production, the construction of expertise, and science as a political battleground. Her dissertation, “Reliable Witnesses, Crackpot Science: UFO Investigations in Cold War America,” explored the scientific study of UFOs between 1947 and 1977; her work on UFOs has been featured in a wide range of media.   

Prior to joining the College Office, Kate served for four and a half years as Associate Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Penn. As an advisor, she is deeply committed to demystifying the academy, sharing the “hidden syllabi” of Penn and higher ed, and maximizing access and achieving equity of experience for students from all backgrounds. She has taught undergraduate courses at Penn for ten years, covering a range of topics from lectures in the general history of science to seminars on technology and democracy, the philosophy of pseudoscience, and courses that read science fiction as political critique. Outside of Penn, Kate can be found elbow deep in wool, at agility training with her dog Duncan, and exploring Philadelphia’s world-class food scene.