Estelle B. Freedman
Professor of History 

Ph.D., history, Columbia University, New York, 1976
M.A., history, Columbia University, New York, 1972
B.A., history, Barnard College, New York, 1969
 
 

Contact Info Awards & Honors Grants Teaching Positions Publications Articles & Essays	Conference Participation Public Presentations Consulting Departmental Service University Service Professional Affiliations & Service
Estelle B. Freedman Department of History  Stanford University  Stanford, California 94305-2024	Summer 2000 ebf@stanford.edu (650) 723-4951, 723-2651 Feminist Studies (650) 723-2412

Awards & Honors

• Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award, American Historical Association, 1998
• Lillian and Thomas B. Rhodes Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Stanford University,   1997
• Sierra Prize for Best Book 1996 (Maternal Justice), Western Association of Women Historians
• Distinguished Professor Lecture, Commonwealth Club of California, August 20, 1996
• Class Day Speaker, Stanford University, June, 1992
• Fellow, Society of American Historians, 1990
• Frederick B. Artz Memorial Lecturer, Department of History, Oberlin College, April, 1989
• Distinguished Visiting Professor, California State University-Chico, March, 1988
• Distinguished Scholar in Women's Studies, U.C. Davis, Spring, 1983
• Sierra Prize (shared) for the finest Multiple-Author Book, Western Association of Women  Historians, 1982 (Victorian Women: A Documentary Account) 
• Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education, Stanford    University, June, 1981
• Alice and Edith Hamilton Prize for best scholarly manuscript on women, University of Michigan,  1978 (Their Sisters' Keepers)
• Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching, Stanford University, 1978

Grants

• Stanford Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Associates' Faculty Research Fellowship 1996
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Fellowship for University Teachers, 1992-93
• American Council of Learned Societies, Fellowship, spring 1993
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Travel to Collections Grant, 1990
• Stanford Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Gender Research Grant, 1989 
• American Association of University Women, Founders Fellowship, 1985-86
• Stanford Humanities Center, Faculty Fellowship, 1985-86
• Radcliffe Research Support Program, Mellon Grant, 1984-85
• Pew Foundation Faculty Research Grant, Stanford University, 1984-85
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Fellowship for Independent Study and Research, 1982-83
• American Council of Learned Societies, Summer Travel Grant, 1978
• Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowship in Women's Studies (honorary), 1974-75
• Family and Community History Summer Training Institute, Newberry Library, Fellowship, 1974 
• Columbia University Fellowships, 1971-74

Teaching Positions

Stanford University, Department of History.  Professor, 1989-present; Associate Professor, 1983-1989; Assistant Professor, 1976-1983

Princeton University, Department of History.  Instructor, 1974-76

Publications--Books

• Maternal Justice: Miriam Van Waters and the Female Reform Tradition  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996)
• Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (with John D'Emilio) (New York: Harper and Row,  1988; rev. ed. University of Chicago Press, 1997) (Main or alternate selection of History, Quality Paperback, Psychology Today, and Book of the Month Book Clubs; "Notable Book" of 1988, New York Times Book Review
• Their Sisters' Keepers: Women's Prison Reform in America, 1830-1930 (Ann Arbor: The University of  Michigan Press, 1981)
• The Lesbian Issue:  Essays From Signs, eds. Freedman, Gelpi, Johnson and Weston (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985)
• Victorian Women: A Documentary Account of Women's Lives in Nineteenth-Century England, France and  the United States, eds. Hellerstein, Hume and Offen; associate eds. Freedman, Gelpi and Yalom (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1981)

Publications--Articles & Essays

• "The Trials of Miriam Van Waters," in Forgotten Heroes of America's Past, ed. Susan Ware (Free Press, 1998)
• "'The Burning of Letters Continues': Elusive Identities and the Historical Construction of  Sexuality," Journal of Women's History (Winter 1998) 
• "The History of the Family and the History of Sexuality," in The New American History, ed. Eric Foner (Temple University Press, 1997)
• "The Prison Lesbian: Race, Class, and the Construction of the Aggressive Female Homosexual, 1915- 1965," Feminist Studies (Summer, 1996) (reprinted in Sex, Love, Race: Crossing Boundaries in North American History, ed. Martha Hodes [N.Y.U. Press, 1998])
• "The Social Construction of Homosexuality," Socialist Review (Summer, 1996)
• "Sexuality," Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997)
•  "Miriam Van Waters," Encyclopedia of the American West (N.Y.: Macmillan, 1996)
• "Separatism Revisited: Women's Institutions, Social Reform, and the Career of Miriam Van Waters," in  U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, eds. Linda Kerber, Alice Kessler-Harris, Kathryn Kish Sklar (University of North Carolina Press, 1995) 
• "Social Science or Social Service?  Miriam Van Waters and the Dilemmas of Graduate Education for Women in the Progressive Era" in New Viewpoints in Women's History: Working Papers from the Schlesinger Library 50th Anniversary Conference, March 4-5, 1994, ed. Susan Ware (Cambridge: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, 1994) 
• "The Manipulation of History at the Clarence Thomas Hearings," Chronicle of Higher Education (January 8, 1992); reprinted Southern California Law Review 65:3 (March 1992)
• "Small Group Pedagogy: Consciousness Raising in Conservative Times," NWSA Journal 2:4 (Autumn,  1990), reprinted in Tilting the Tower, ed. Linda Garber (N.Y.: Routledge, 1994)
• "Problems Encountered in Writing the History of Sexuality: Sources, Theory and Interpretation," The Journal of Sex Research 27:4 (November, 1990) (with John D'Emilio)
• "Historical Interpretation and Legal Advocacy: Rethinking the Webster Amicus Brief," The Public Historian 12:3 (Summer 1990)
• "Response to DuCille," (with John D'Emilio) The Journal of the History of Sexuality 1:1 (Summer 1990)
• "Theoretical Perspectives on Sexual Difference: An Overview," in Theoretical Perspectives on Sexual Difference, ed. Deborah L. Rhode (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990)
• "Dialogue of the Sexual Revolutions: A Conversation with John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman," in  Dialogues of the Sexual Revolution Volume II, by Lawrence D. Mass (New York: The Haworth Press, 1990)
• "Fear of Feminism?," Women's Review of Books (February, 1990) 
• "'Uncontrolled Desires': The Response to the Sexual Psychopath, 1920-1960," Journal of American  History 74: 1 (June, 1987); reprinted in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, ed. Kathy Peiss et. al. (Temple University Press, 1989), Crime and Criminal Justice in the United States, ed. Eric Monkennon (Meckler, 1990), and The United States in the Twentieth Century:  America Since 1945 (St. Martins, 1995) 
• "Women's Networks and Women's Loyalties: Reflections on a Tenure Case," Frontiers: A Journal of   Women Studies VII:3 (1986)
• "Sentiment and Discipline: Women's Prison Experiences in Nineteenth Century America," Prologue: Journal of the National Archives (Winter, 1984)
• Introduction to "The Sexuality Debates" (with Barrie Thorne), Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (Autumn, 1984)
• "Sexuality in Nineteenth?Century America: Behavior, Ideology and Politics," Reviews in American History (December, 1982)
• "The Legacy of Women's Prison Reform," in Women and the Law: A Social Historical Perspective, ed. D. Kelly Weisberg (Cambridge: Schenkman, 1982) 
• "Resources for Lesbian History," in Lesbian Studies, ed. Margaret Cruickshank (Old Westbury, New  York: The Feminist Press, 1982)
• "The Adult Woman: Personal Life" (with Erna Hellerstein), in Victorian Women: A Documentary Account (1981) 
• "Mary Bartelme," in Notable American Women: The Modern Period. A Biographical Dictionary, eds.  Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green (Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1980) 
• "Separatism as Strategy: Female Institution Building and American Feminism, 1870-1930," Feminist Studies 5 (Fall, 1979), 512-529; reprints in U.S.-Japan Women's Journal (Summer, 1988); American Women in Struggle, eds. Heidi Hartman and Clare Moses (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995); Major Problems in American Women's History, ed. Mary Beth Norton (Lexington, Ma.: D. C. Heath, 1989); Feminism and Community (Temple University Press, 1994), eds. Penny Weiss and Marilyn Friedman
•  "American Correctional Association," in Social Service Organizations, ed. Peter Romanofsky  (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1978) 
• "Emily Newell Blair," and "Lena Madesin Phillips," in Dictionary of American Biography, supplement V, ed. John Garraty (New York: Charles Scribners, 1977)
• "The New Woman: Changing Views of Women in the 1920s," Journal of American History (September,  1974), 373-393 and reprinted in American Vistas, third ed., eds. Kenneth T. Jackson and Leonard Dinnerstein (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979) and in Decades of Discontent, eds. Joan Jensen and Lois Scharf (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1983, 1987) 
• "Their Sisters' Keepers:  An Historical Perspective on Female Correctional Institutions in America, 1870?1900," Feminist Studies (1974), 77-95 
• Book reviews in The Journal of American History, Signs, New England Quarterly, Women's Review of Books, American Historical Review, Bulletin of the History of Medicine, The Nation

Recent Conference Participation

• "Sexuality and the State: The Scholar as Activist," chair, Organization of American Historians, Toronto, April, 1999.
• "'I Shall Break Down the Walls:' The Legacy of Progressive Prison Reform," paper presented at  "Critical Resistance: Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex," University of California, Berkeley, September 26, 1998
• "Living Our Lives: The Personal Politics of Women Historians," Roundtable, Organiation of American  Historians, Indianapolis, April, 1998
• "Gay Politics in San Francisco," Chair and comment, Plenary Session, Organization of American  Historians, San Francisco, April, 1997
• "'The Burning of Letters Continues': Elusive Identities and the Historical Construction of Sexuality,"  Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, University of North Carolina, June, 1996
• "The Personal Politics of Biography," Roundtable organizer and participant, Organization of American  Historians, Chicago, March, 1996
• "Identities," panelist at "(Il)legitimate Knowledge: The Challenge of Interdisciplinarity," Smith College, March, 1996
• "American History as Women's History," Roundtable, Organization of American Historians, Atlanta,  April 16, 1994
• "Social Science or Social Service?  Miriam Van Waters and the Dilemmas of Graduate Education for  Women in the Progressive Era," New Viewpoints in Women's History Conference, Schlesinger Library, Cambridge, Mass., March 5, 1994
• "The Prison Lesbian and the Construction of the 'Aggressive Female Homosexual,' 1913-1960," paper presented at the American Historical Association, San Francisco, January 8, 1994
• "Separatism Revisited: Women's Institutions, Social Reform, and the Career of Miriam Van Waters," paper presented at the Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Vassar College, June, 1993
• Roundtable on Working Lives, Organization of American Historians, Anaheim, California, April, 1993
• "Women Reformers, Social Welfare and the State in 20th Century California," Chair and Comment,  Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Branch, American Historical Association, Kona, Hawaii, August 15, 1991
• "Lesbian Historiography," Working Conference on Lesbian and Gay Studies in Their Socio-Cultural Context, University of California, Santa Cruz, February 23, 1991
• "Introductory Feminist Studies: Integrating the History of Western Feminism and International  Perspectives," Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Douglass College, June, 1990
• "Sexuality and American Culture in the 1960s," Conference on Culture, Gender and Social Movements  of the 1960s, Stanford Humanities Center, April, 1990
• "Competing Discourses on Lesbianism in Post-War America," comment, Organization of American Historians, Washington, D.C., March, 1990

Recent Public Presentations

• "Learning from Teaching," Award Winning Teachers on Teaching, Center for Teaching and Learning,  Stanford, November, 1997
• "Women and Reform in Modern America: Lessons from Biography," Distinguished Lecture Series, "Stanford Scholars and their Work," Senior Center of Palo Alto, March, 1997
• Keynote Address, "Maternal Justice and Women's Prison Reform," Federal Bureau of Prisons Women's History Month, Federal Women's Program, FCI Dublin, CA, March, 1997
• "Maternal Justice: The Female Reform Tradition in Modern America," The Morning Forum of Los Altos, January, 1997
• "Becoming a Historian," Stanford Women's Center "Composing a Life" Series, November 21, 1996
• "What Matters to Me and Why," Stanford University Chapel, November 13, 1996
• "'The Burning of Letters Continues," Women's History Program, New York University, September,  1996; Portland State University, October, 1996
• "Frontiers of Sexual Expression," Introduction, discussion, and videotape presentation of "She Even  Chewed Tobacco," at "San Francisco: From Diversity to Inclusivity," Symposium presented by the San Francisco Public Library, Sept. 28, 1996
• "Maternal Justice: Miriam Van Waters and the Female Reform Tradition," Lyman Lecture, Stanford  University, March 1996
• Distinguished Professor Lecture, Commonwealth Club of California, August 20, 1996 (broadcast on C- SPAN 2, October 12, 1996)
• "The History of Women's Prison Reform," Staff forum, Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham, Mass., Sept. 5, 1996 
• "Women's Survival in the University," Help Center lecture, Stanford University, May 29, 1996
• "Affirmative Action Symposium," moderator and discussant, Stanford University, Feb. 8-9, 1996
• "Affirmative Action, The University, and Beyond," organizer and panelist, Stanford University,  October 12, 1995
• "Women's History and Women's Institutions," Summer Executive Institute on Women and Leadership,  Stanford Institute for Research on Women and Gender, August 18, 1995
• "Censorship and Self-Censorship," Stanford Humanities Center, Feb., 1995
• "The Historical Construction of Lesbian and Gay Identity in the United States," Stanford University, April, 1992 BGLAD Week and February, 1994, Lyman Lecture
• "Women, War, and Peace," Guest lecture, Stanford Alumni College, August, 1991
• "New Ways of Looking at History: Integrating the Lesbian and Gay Experience," Keynote speaker, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, Simmons College, Boston, October, 1990
• "Academia and Activism," Annual Conference of the National Organization for Women, San Francisco,  June, 1990
• "Writing (Righting) Women's Lives," Stanford Law Women's Week, April, 1990
• "Women's Work in Higher Education," Women's History Week, Stanford, March 1990 
• "Race, Gender and Sexuality in U.S. History," California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, January, 1990; University of Texas, San Antonio, March, 1991
• "Sexuality and Ethics," Tikkun Conference, San Francisco, November, 1989

Consulting

• Social Science Research Council,  Sexuality Research Fellowship Advisor, 1997-99
• Interviewee and consultant, "A Century of Women," VU productions television documentary, 1994
• Historical consultant, "The Celluloid Closet," documentary film, 1991-94
• Historical consultant, "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt," Academy Award-winning   documentary film, 1989
• Historical consultant, "Isadora Duncan: Movement From the Soul," documentary film, 1988 
• Expert testimony, Federation of Women Teachers of Ontario, 1986-87
• Producer, "She Even Chewed Tobacco," historical documentary video, 1990
• Manuscript reviews Cornell, Michigan, Yale, Cornell, North Carolina, Chicago, Oxford, Cambridge   and California university presses; Harper and Row; Routledge, Chapman, Hall;

Department Service

• Department Priorities Planning Committee, Fall, 1997 Department Priorities Planning Committee, Fall, 1997
• Graduate Studies, 1976-79, 1993-1998
• Undergraduate Studies, l983-1984, 1992-93
• Affirmative Action, 1976-1982, 1984?85, 1987-1990 (chair)
• Potter Fellowship Selection, 1977-78
• Mellon Fellowship Selection, 1976-77, 1986-88
• U.S. Graduate Admissions, 1976-present; Chair, 1988-89
• Departmental Graduate Admissions, 1988-89
• Departmental Policy Committee (elected), 1989-90, 1993-94
• Comparative Women's History Workshop Co-convener, 1992-1998

University Service

• President's Advisory Board (elected), 1999-2001
• Faculty Women's Caucus Steering Committee, 1997-98
• Co-convener, Stanford Humanities Center Faculty-Graduate Student Workshop on Lesbian,   Gay, and Queer Studies, 1997-98
• Program in Feminist Studies, (founding co-chair, 1980-81; chair, 1984-85, 1994-present; program committee, 1980-85, 1988-1990, 1993-94; resource faculty, 1980-present)
• Faculty Seminar on Feminist Theory (coordinator, 1980-81, 1987-88, 1984-85, 1994-)
• Coordinator Selection Committee, Graduate Women's Network, 1994-95
• Faculty Advisory Board, Stanford Women's Center, 1991-92
• Faculty Advisory Board, Gender Studies Focus House, 1989-90
• Task Force on the Study of Women at Stanford, Spring, 1979
• Institute for Research on Women and Gender (Policy Board, 1977-79; Scholar Selection Committee Chair, 1977-79; Faculty Affiliate, 1980-present; Search Committee for Director, 1984-85)
• Simone de Beauvoir House, Advisory Board, 1977-78
• Chair, Program Review Committee for Individually Designed Majors, 1993-94
• Stanford Workshops on Political and Social Issues/Innovative Academic Courses, faculty course    sponsor, Course Selection Committee (1986-87) 
• American Association of University Professors, Stanford Board member, 1986-88 
• Jewish Studies Program, advisory committee, 1987-89, 1994-present
• Advisory Board, Gay and Lesbian Alliance at Stanford, 1987-88
• Asian American Studies Search Committee, 1989-90
• Individually Designed Majors Committee, Chair, 1988-90
• American Studies Committee, 1976-1982
• American Studies Review Committee, 1979
• Professional Journalism Fellows Selection Committee, 1978-80
• Advisory Board, Stanford Center for Chicano Research, 1980-1982
• Dickinson Fund Committee, 1978-79
• Modern Thought and Literature Committee, 1976-78

Professional Affiliations & Service

• Organization of American Historians (Co-Chair, Program Committee for 1999 Annual  Meeting; Nominating Committee, 1991-93)
• American Historical Association (Program Committee, Pacific Coast Branch, 1988)
• National Women's Studies Association
• Coordinating Committee on Women in History 
• Academic Advisory Council, Jewish Women's Archives
• Advisory Board, Northern California Lesbian and Gay Historical Society
• Western Association of Women Historians (Conference Coordinator, 1978-79; Program Committee, 1980-81)
• Consulting Editor, Feminist Studies
• Associate Editor, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1980-85; ed. board, 1985-90
• Advisory Boards, Gender and History, 1988- ; NWSA Journal, 1988-
• Editorial Boards, Journal of Women's History, 1988- ; The Journal of Sex Research, 1988- ; The Journal of Homosexuality, 1988-; The Journal of Lesbian Studies, 1997- Associate Editor, Journal of the History of Sexuality, 1989-1993, Women and Criminal Justice, 1995-

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