Layla Smallwood is a Lebanon, Tennessee local and is excited to be teaching at Cumberland University!  She has a bachelor’s degree in history from Tennessee Technological University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Middle Tennessee State University.  Professor Smallwood is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in public history at Middle Tennessee State University.

Layla previously taught high school social studies courses in Nashville, Tennessee and middle school social studies classes in Lebanon, Tennessee. 

Her professional interests include historic preservation, community heritage initiatives, and social studies teacher and student education outreach. Her research focuses include monuments to and the commemoration of genocide in the modern age.