FACULTY PROFILES

Nicole Breault

Assistant Professor
History

Office Building: Liberal Arts Building
Office Room: 312
Phone:
Email: nabreault@utep.edu

Expertise: See Research Profile in Expertise Connector

Bio

I am an historian of early American legal and social history with research interests in policing, urban governance, institutions, gender, and material culture.

Education

Ph D in History , University of Connecticut (2022)

Publications

Contests of Authority: Policing, Jurisdiction, and Violence in Occupied Boston, 1768-1770 New England Quarterly 98 3 (2025), Nicole Breault.
When Did the Police Become a “Machine”? The Panorama (2024), Nicole Breault.
The Quotidian State: Nightly Watches and Police Practice in the Early Republic Journal of the Early Republic 44 2 (2024), Nicole Breault.

Presentations

““The Police of the Town”: Local Policing and Quotidian State Formation” (2025), Volume Detroit, MI, Nicole Breault.
“Policing the City Upon a Hill: The Carceral Origins of British America” (2025), Volume St. Louis, Nicole Breault.
The Work of Boston's Watch (2025), Volume Omohundro Institute at William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, Nicole Breault.
“Why Policing? Boston's Night Watch and the Development of Early American Carceral History" (2025), Volume New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Nicole Breault.
““A General Battle Ensued”: Local Authority and Military Violence in Revolutionary Boston” (2025), Volume American Historical Association, New York City , Nicole Breault.
““As the Law Directs”: Policing and Legal Literacy in Eighteenth-Century Boston” (2024), Volume University of Bristol Law School, Bristol, UK, Nicole Breault.
“According to your Discretion”: Policing, Labor, and Legal Knowledge in Eighteenth-Century Boston (2024), Volume Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA, Nicole Breault.
Policing Infection: Boston’s Watch and the Containment of Smallpox, 1764-1775 (2024), Volume Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, San Francisco, CA, Nicole Breault.
“As You Shall Judge Best”: Discretion, Legal Knowledge, and Watchkeeping in Eighteenth-Century Boston (2023), Volume Annual Meeting of the American Society for Legal History, Philadelphia, PA, Nicole Breault.

Grants

UTEP-EPCC Humanities Collaborative Faculty Fellowship, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Early America" (06/01/2024 - 05/31/2025) - Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UTEP-EPCC
William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Fellowship for Early Career Scholars, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Early America" - William Nelson Cromwell Foundation
Massachusetts Historical Society Short-term Fellowship, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Revolutionary Boston" (10/22/2023 - 06/30/2024) - Massachusetts Historical Society

Current/Future Courses

Term	Course	Section
Fall 2026	HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography	16387
Fall 2026	HIST 3302 - Amer Revolution/New Nation	17766
Fall 2026	HIST 6398 - Dissertation	18490
Fall 2026	HIST 6399 - Dissertation	18480
Fall 2026	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10274
Fall 2026	HIST 5345 - Independent Reading	16591
Fall 2026	HIST 5393 - Independent Research	16462

Past Courses

Select Term:

Term	Course	Section	Syllabus
Fall 2026	HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography	16387
Fall 2026	HIST 3302 - Amer Revolution/New Nation	17766
Fall 2026	HIST 6398 - Dissertation	18490
Fall 2026	HIST 6399 - Dissertation	18480
Fall 2026	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10274
Fall 2026	HIST 5345 - Independent Reading	16591
Fall 2026	HIST 5393 - Independent Research	16462
Spring 2026	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	20798	Syllabus
Spring 2026	HIST 5370 - Seminar-United States History	27857	Syllabus
Spring 2026	HIST 6370 - Seminar-United States History	27858	Syllabus
Spring 2026	HIST 5398 - Thesis	28757
Fall 2025	HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography	18062
Fall 2025	HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763	14620	Syllabus
Fall 2025	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10300	Syllabus
Fall 2025	HIST 5345 - Independent Reading	18302
Fall 2025	HIST 5393 - Independent Research	18148
Fall 2024	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10334	Syllabus
Fall 2024	HIST 5305 - Studies in United States Hist	13188	Syllabus
Fall 2024	HIST 6305 - Studies in United States Hist	14572	Syllabus
Spring 2024	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	20954	Syllabus
Fall 2023	HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763	16564	Syllabus

Course Evaluations

Term	Course	Section	Evaluation
Fall 2025	HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763	14620	Evaluation
Fall 2025	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10300	Evaluation
Fall 2024	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	10334	Evaluation
Fall 2024	HIST 5305 - Studies in United States Hist	13188	Evaluation
Fall 2024	HIST 6305 - Studies in United States Hist	14572	Evaluation
Spring 2024	HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865	20954	Evaluation
Fall 2023	HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763	16564	Evaluation

Bio

I am an historian of early American legal and social history with research interests in policing, urban governance, institutions, gender, and material culture.

Ph D in History , University of Connecticut (2022)

Publications

Contests of Authority: Policing, Jurisdiction, and Violence in Occupied Boston, 1768-1770 New England Quarterly 98 3 (2025), Nicole Breault.
When Did the Police Become a “Machine”? The Panorama (2024), Nicole Breault.
The Quotidian State: Nightly Watches and Police Practice in the Early Republic Journal of the Early Republic 44 2 (2024), Nicole Breault.

Presentations

““The Police of the Town”: Local Policing and Quotidian State Formation” (2025), Volume Detroit, MI, Nicole Breault.
“Policing the City Upon a Hill: The Carceral Origins of British America” (2025), Volume St. Louis, Nicole Breault.
The Work of Boston's Watch (2025), Volume Omohundro Institute at William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, Nicole Breault.
“Why Policing? Boston's Night Watch and the Development of Early American Carceral History" (2025), Volume New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Nicole Breault.
““A General Battle Ensued”: Local Authority and Military Violence in Revolutionary Boston” (2025), Volume American Historical Association, New York City , Nicole Breault.

UTEP-EPCC Humanities Collaborative Faculty Fellowship, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Early America" (06/01/2024 - 05/31/2025) Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UTEP-EPCC
William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Fellowship for Early Career Scholars, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Early America" (11/01/2024 - ) William Nelson Cromwell Foundation
Massachusetts Historical Society Short-term Fellowship, "Set the Watch: Policing and Governance in Revolutionary Boston" (10/22/2023 - 06/30/2024) Massachusetts Historical Society

Current/Future Courses

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography

Section

16387

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 3302 - Amer Revolution/New Nation

Section

17766

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6398 - Dissertation

Section

18490

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6399 - Dissertation

Section

18480

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10274

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 5345 - Independent Reading

Section

16591

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 5393 - Independent Research

Section

16462

Syllabus

Past Courses

Select Term:

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography

Section

16387

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 3302 - Amer Revolution/New Nation

Section

17766

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6398 - Dissertation

Section

18490

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 6399 - Dissertation

Section

18480

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10274

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 5345 - Independent Reading

Section

16591

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2026

Course

HIST 5393 - Independent Research

Section

16462

Syllabus

Term

Spring 2026

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

20798

Syllabus

Term

Spring 2026

Course

HIST 5370 - Seminar-United States History

Section

27857

Syllabus

Term

Spring 2026

Course

HIST 6370 - Seminar-United States History

Section

27858

Syllabus

Term

Spring 2026

Course

HIST 5398 - Thesis

Section

28757

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 6300 - Adv. Topics in Historiography

Section

18062

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763

Section

14620

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10300

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 5345 - Independent Reading

Section

18302

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 5393 - Independent Research

Section

18148

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10334

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 5305 - Studies in United States Hist

Section

13188

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 6305 - Studies in United States Hist

Section

14572

Syllabus

Term

Spring 2024

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

20954

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2023

Course

HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763

Section

16564

Syllabus

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763

Section

14620

Evaluation

Term

Fall 2025

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10300

Evaluation

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

10334

Evaluation

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 5305 - Studies in United States Hist

Section

13188

Evaluation

Term

Fall 2024

Course

HIST 6305 - Studies in United States Hist

Section

14572

Evaluation

Term

Spring 2024

Course

HIST 1301 - History of U.S. to 1865

Section

20954

Evaluation

Term

Fall 2023

Course

HIST 3301 - Colonial America to 1763

Section

16564

Evaluation

Nicole Breault

Bio

Education

Scholarly and Creative Activity

Grants

Courses

Course Evaluations