Morris “Mo” Speller

Morris “Mo” Speller

Lecturer

Contact Information

Morris “Mo” Speller completed a PhD in History from Johns Hopkins University in 2020. He previously taught in the University Writing Program as an Allen Grossman Teaching Fellow and as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. He has also taught history courses at Johns Hopkins, Maryland Institute and College of Art (MICA), and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).  In Spring 2020, Speller received the Ditz Prize in Teaching from the History Department of Johns Hopkins University. 

Speller loves teaching, writing, and learning in and about Baltimore. He enjoys taking his classes out into Baltimore neighborhoods and deep into community archives. His writing courses encourage students to think about how the past informs present-day life in Baltimore. Many of his writing courses incorporate digital and public humanities projects, which offer students opportunities to think about writing across multiple genres and for different audiences.   

Speller’s primary research examines the history of mortgage discrimination, predatory lending, racial segregation, and housing policy in his hometown of St. Louis. His other research interests include the history of queer communities and “gayborhood” politics in Baltimore and the history of Baltimore neighborhoods displaced by urban renewal. Speller is also on the Board of the Society of American City and Regional Planning Historians, where he serves on the Communications Committee.  

  • Writing Baltimore  
  • Teaching Writing Workshop  
  • Speller, Morris. Review of Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape by Francesca Russello Ammon. Enterprise and Society 21, no.1. (March 2020): 288-291. First published online March 14, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1017/eso.2019.4