Copy of my CV
Selected Publications
“Jezebels, Matriarchs, and Welfare Queens: The Moynihan Report of 1965 and the Social Construction of African American Women in Welfare Policy” in Deserving and Entitled: Social Constructions and Public Policy, Anne L. Schneider and Helen Ingram editors. State University of New York Press.
“It’s No Longer Just About Race: Social Constructions of American Citizenship in the Moynihan Report” in Women’s Work Is Never Done: Comparative Studies In Care-Giving, Employment, And Social Policy Reform, Sylvia Bashevkin editor. Routledge.
“Crossing Lines: Mandy Carter and the Tradition of Black Feminist Activism in the Third Wave” With Lynn Eckert in Still Lifting, Still Climbing: African American Women’s Contemporary Activism, Kimberly Springer editor. New York University Press.
Editorial Essays
“Revenge of the Angry White Male.” Syndicated by Knight-Ridder (selected list of published venues include: The Champaign News-Gazette; The Corning Leader; The Idaho State Journal; and the McAllen Monitor). With Grant D. Reeher and Joseph Camarono.
Education
2008 | Ph.D., Political Science: The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.
1997 | M.A., Political Science: The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
1993 | B.A., Government and International Affairs, University of Notre Dame.
Dissertation
Teaching and Research
Research Interests:
Courses Taught:
Reproductive Justice; Black Women’s Reproductive Health; Feminist Research Methods; Research Ethics; Critical Race Theory; Feminist Theory; Public Policy; Mental Health Policy; Public Health.
Reproductive Justice, Politics and Health; Feminist Methods; Intersectional Feminisms; Transnational and Global Feminist Theory; Gender, Race and Public Policy; Introduction to Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Women of Color Feminisms; Race, Politics and Public Policy; Race, Gender and Social Welfare Policy.
Employment
2014 – Adjunct Assistant Professor, Claremont Graduate School. Claremont, California.
2021 – 2021 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Pitzer College, Claremont, California.
2017 – 2019 Visiting Assistant Professor, Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Scripps College. Claremont, California.
2010 – 2012 Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Politics, Scripps College. Claremont, California.
2005 – 2009 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Grinnell College. Grinnell, Iowa.
2000 – 2001 Fellow/Acting Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University. Ithaca, New York.
Summer 2001 Research Consultant, Center for Community Alternatives. Syracuse, New York.
Spring 2000 Teaching Fellow, Department of Government, Hamilton College. Clinton, New York.
1998-1999 Graduate Teaching Consultant, The TA Program, Graduate Student Affairs Syracuse University. Syracuse, New York.
1995-1997 Academic Counselor, Exploratory Student Program, Student Affairs, Syracuse University. Syracuse, New York.
Publications
2005 “Jezebels, Matriarchs, and Welfare Queens: The Moynihan Report of 1965 and the Social Construction of African American Women in Welfare Policy” in Deserving and Entitled: Social Constructions and Public Policy, Anne L. Schneider and Helen Ingram editors. State University of New York Press.
2002 “It’s No Longer Just About Race: Social Constructions of American Citizenship in the Moynihan Report” in Women’s Work Is Never Done: Comparative Studies In Care-Giving, Employment, And Social Policy Reform, Sylvia Bashevkin editor. Routledge.
1999 “Crossing Lines: Mandy Carter and the Tradition of Black Feminist Activism in the Third Wave” With Lynn Eckert in Still Lifting, Still Climbing: African American Women’s Contemporary Activism, Kimberly Springer editor. New York University Press.
Editorial Essays
2001 “Revenge of the Angry White Male.” Syndicated by Knight-Ridder (selected list of published venues include: The Champaign News-Gazette; The Corning Leader; The Idaho State Journal; and the McAllen Monitor). With Grant D. Reeher and Joseph Camarono.
Research Projects
2021 “Doulas Perspectives and Experiences: A Research Study Exploring Black Doulas Experiences Providing Care During COVID-19.” With Dr. Kacie Blackmon, California State-Northridge (PI), Dr. Urmeka Jefferson, Rush University, Dr. Jessica Chapman-Lappe, United Theological Seminary. (Research Study).
2017 “Mothers on The Frontline: Mothers to Speak Frankly About their Children and Mental Health through Mental Health Advocacy, Policy Making, and Mother/Women Centered Research” Co-founder/co-director. With Tammy Nyden (Nonprofit Advocacy Group).
2017 “Future and Expectant Mothers: Working to Reduce Non-Medical C-Sections in the State of California” With Susan Perez (Co-PI) sponsored by The California Health Foundation and Consumer Reports. (Research Study).
2011 “Social Trust and African American Women’s Reproductive Health.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh, (Research Study).
2010 – 2015 “Cultural Roots of HIV/AIDS Stigma: Gender and Religion” With Karen Torjesen (Research Study).
“Framing the Discourse: Sex, Health, and Reproductive Surgeries Among African American Senior Women” With Elizabeth Erbaugh. (Paper).
“Husbands, Wives and Next of Kin: De-Linking Race, Sex, Marriage, and The Family From Law and Public Policy.” With Maxwell Leung. (Paper).
Selected Workshops
2019 Organizer/Co-Facilitator: “Children’s Mental Health and School Struggles” StoryCenter™ Facilitator Training: Facilitating Storytelling Workshops. Co-sponsored by Mothers on the Frontline and University of Iowa Division of Child and Community Health. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. May 6-7.
2018 Organizer/Co-Facilitator: “Digital Stories for Social Justice – The School to Prison Pipeline” Workshop. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa. October 26 – 27.
2018 Organizer/Presenter: Fibroids Discussion Series. Facilitated a two-part workshop focusing on personal advocacy and reproductive health as it pertains to seeking treatment for fibroids. Black Women for Wellness. Los Angeles, California. February 19 and March 19.
2017 Organizer/Presenter: Storytelling for Advocacy Workshop. Facilitated discussion of the uses of storytelling for personal advocacy for approximately 20 attendees as part of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health Conference. Orlando, Florida. November 10.
2013 Facilitator: New Leadership™ Southern California, a program that is part of the NEW Leadership Development Network (NLDN), led by the Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University. Successfully conducted a goal-setting workshop for female undergraduates participating in the New Leadership Institute. Scripps College, June 20.
2011 Participant: “Transnational Feminisms in the Classroom.” Gender and Women’s Studies, Claremont College Consortium. May 26.
2011 Participant: Mellon 23 “Feminism and Science: Building Bridges for Teaching and Research Innovation.” Scripps College, Claremont, California. January 4-6.
2011 Participant: “OP-Ed Project.” The National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado. November 10.
2010 Participant: National Women of Color Leadership Project. Sponsored by the National Women’s Studies Association. Atlanta, Georgia. November 12-15.
2010 Workshop Presenter: Scripps College Academy (SCA) Fall Workshop. Taught two fall seminars for the SCA, a college-readiness program for high-achieving young women in the greater Los Angeles area who may lack the resources necessary to prepare them for success at the nation’s top colleges/universities. Scripps College.
2010 Organizer/Facilitator (with Karla Erickson, Sociology): “Teaching Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender” Secured a 3,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to conduct week-long workshops on curriculum diversity. Grinnell College, May 20-23.
2008 Organizer/Presenter: APSA Public Policy Short-Course “Incorporating Race and Gender into the Public Policy Curriculum.” August 26, 2008. Sponsored by the Public Policy/Policy Studies Section of the American Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts. August 26.
2008 Organizer/Presenter: APSA Public Policy Short-Course “Teaching Introduction to Public Policy.” Sponsored by the Public Policy/Policy Studies Section of the American Political Science Association. Boston, Massachusetts. August 26.
1999 Facilitator: Diversity Issues in Teaching Seminar, The TA Program of the Graduate School, Syracuse University.
Presentations
Conference Presentations/Participation
2021 “A Different Kind of Labor: Black women, Resilience, and Reproductive Justice in Uterine Fibroid Treatment and Care” with Sophie Paek. Critical Conversations on Reproductive Health/Care: Past, Present, and Future. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Online Conference. February 3-7, 2021.
2019 “Talking About Mental Health Justice” Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) Conference, Hampshire, Massachusetts. April 12- 14.
2018 “Storytelling and Stewardship: Mothering at the Intersections of Mental Health and School Policy” Power Forward: Black Women for Wellness Annual Reproductive Justice Conference, Los Angeles, California. August, 20.
2017 “What I Wish My Mother Told Me: Uterine Fibroids and African American Women” Power Manifesto: Black Women for Wellness Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California. August.
2017 “The Power of Our Stories: Achieving Mental Health and Criminal Justice Transformation Through Women’s Advocacy” Panel Participant: Grinnell Prize Week, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa.
2017 “Reframing and Recentering: Reproductive Justice Principles and the Environmental Justice Movement” Presented at the Women Health and Empowerment Conference, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
2016 “Uterine Fibroids and Reproductive Justice: Addressing Health Disparities Through Community Based Research” with Elizabeth Erbaugh, American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
2015 “Racializing the Uterus: Fibroids, Hysterectomy and Reproductive Justice.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh, Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois.
2015 “Healthcare Among Women of Color.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh, Easter Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts.
2013 “Race, Social Networks, and Navigating Reproductive Health.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh, paper accepted for National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, November 2013.
2013 “Race, Social Networks, and Decision Making about Reproductive Health.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh. Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Annual Meeting, New York, August 2013.
2011 “Framing the Discourse: Sex, Health, and Reproductive Surgeries Among African American Senior Women” with Elizabeth Erbaugh. Presented at The Society for Study Social Problems Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, Nevada, August 19-21.
2011 “A New Tack: Model Legislation for Reproductive Rights as Civil Rights” With Jessica Clements, Lisa Pratt, Marj Singer, and Erin Matson. The National Organization for Women (NOW) Annual Conference and Meeting, Tampa, Florida. June 25.
2010 “Social Trust and African American Women’s Health.” With Elizabeth Erbaugh. The National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado, November 10-14.
2009 “The Curricular Balancing Act: Navigating Anti-Feminist Spaces In Our Teaching.” With Karla Erickson. The MidAtlantic Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, March 27-28.
2008 “Feeling the Erotic First-Hand: A Narrative Analysis of HIV and Sexual Health Guides for Black and Latina Women.” Presented at Race, Sex, Power: New Movements in Black and Latina/o Sexualities. University of Illinois-Chicago Forum, April 11-12.
2007 “Mother, Father, and State: Welfare Policies and the African American Family” Presented at Women Engaging the World: Political Science and Political Activism, APSA Women’s Caucus and Women and Politics Pre-conference. August 29.
2000 “It’s No Longer Just About Race: Sex Roles, the Family, and the Resurrection of the Moynihan Report” Presented at the American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., September 1-3.
2000 “In the Eye of the Storm: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender in the Study of Welfare” Presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 27-30.
2000 “From Widows to Welfare Queens: Race and Gender Construction in Welfare Reform” Presented at the Western Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting, San Jose, CA, March 24-26.
1999 “Welfare Queens and Other Metaphors: The Effects of Gender and Race Construction on Implementation and Bureaucratic Values” Presented at the American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, September 2-5.
1997 “From the Ground Up: Welfare Reform and Relationships Between the States, Congress, and the President” Presented at the Northeastern Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, November 13-15.
Invited Lectures, Talks, Seminars and Panels
2020 Invited Lecture: “Who Are Your People? Centering Black Women’s Epistemologies in Advocating for Political Change” Marist College “Saturday Lecture Series,” September 12.
2013 Invited Lecture/Panel: “Race, Class and Reproductive Justice After Roe v Wade,” Forty Years After Roe v. Wade, Reproductive Rights and Justice Today, Huntington Library Women’s Studies Seminars, Feminist Majority Foundation. March 9.
2013 Invited Lecture: “Pushing Forward: Advancing the Conversation about Gender Politics & Public Policy in the Coming Year.” Woman’s Perspective Forum, Pilgrim Place. February 27.
2012 Invited Lecture: “From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice: Race, Class, and Access to Care After Roe v. Wade.” Commemorating the 39th Anniversary of Roe v Wade, Pomona College. January 24.
2011 Invited Lecture: “Framing the Discourse: Black Women’s Reproductive health and Policy Change After the 2008 NIH Summit on Health Disparities” Tuesday Lunch Talk Series, School of Politics and Economics, Claremont Graduate University. April 26.
2011 Invited Lecture: “Race, Choice and Reproductive Health in the Age of Health Care Reform” Mallott Commons Lunchtime Talk Series, Scripps College. March 9.
2008 Panel Discussant: “Race, Gender, and the Politics of Representation: Media Images of Women in the 2008 Presidential Election” Center for the Humanities, Grinnell College. October 27.
2000 Invited Lecture: “From Widows to Welfare Queens: Race and Gender Construction in Welfare Reform” Cornell University Lecture Series on Race, Gender and Sexuality. Co-sponsored by the Departments of Government, Women’s Studies and African American Politics. March 14.
1999 Facilitator: Diversity Issues in Teaching Seminar, The TA Program of the Graduate School, Syracuse University.
1998 Presenter: AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American Student’s Association) Graduate Forum.
Professional and Community Service
2017 – Member, Board of Directors and Co-Founder: Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Justice a national reproductive justice organization working at the intersections of faith-based and secular communities to promote progressive politics and practices in the areas of reproductive justice and health.
2018 – 2019 Advisory Board Panel: Parents for Liberation, a reproductive justice non-profit focusing on black parenting and providing care/ support to black mothers in order to promote mental health and well-being of black children in Southern California.
2016 – 2017 Board Member: El Roble Intermediate School Orchestra. Responsible for securing grants, fund raising, and organizing community volunteers for the El Roble Orchestra – El Roble Intermediate School. Claremont, California.
2013 – 2015 School Site Council: Elected Representative responsible for approving changes to the school budgets and policy, as well as overseeing site management in consultation with other council members. Mountain View Elementary, Claremont, California.
2013 – 2013 Committee Member: Graduation Requirements Committee, Claremont Unified School District. Parent representative responsible for consulting and advising on new graduation requirements and policy for the Claremont school system.
2007 – 2008 Board Member: The Ford Foundation “Black & Latina/o Sexuality Project.” Participated in year-long commitment with the Ford Foundation to identify and select new research areas focusing on Black and Latina/o health and sexuality for the Ford Foundation. Principal Investigator: Juan Battle, The New School.
2006 – 2008 Policy Studies Concentration Committee: Participant in Expanding Knowledge Initiative (EKI) for the Policy Studies Concentration, successfully designed a new policy studies concentration, assisted with proposal writing and recruitment of faculty, served as a member of the curriculum development and hiring sub-committees, Grinnell College.
2006 – 2008 Faculty Mentor: Participated as a faculty mentor to undergraduates involved with the Office of Multicultural Affairs faculty-mentoring program. Grinnell College.
1998 – 2000 Literacy Tutor: The Learning Place, Syracuse New York.
Dissertation Committee Service
2020 Jessica Chapman Lape “Misstreated: A Womanist Clinical Pastoral Theology On African American Women’s Mistreatment In U.S. Healthcare” Claremont School of Theology at Willamette University. Salem, Oregon.
2019 Casey Crosbie “Towards Political Pluralism: Appreciative Inquiry, Interfaith Relations and Politics Today” Claremont School of Theology. Claremont, California.
2019 Jasmine Brewer “It Takes a Village: The Role of Parent, Family and Community Involvement in the Academic Achievement of Black Boys and Girls” Claremont Graduate University. Claremont, California.
2018 Marquisha Spencer “Dedicated: Diapers and Degrees Student Mothers & Higher Education Support and Success,” Claremont Graduate University. Claremont, California.
Grants and Honors
2020 Semi-finalist: Echoing Green Fellowship, Echoing Green Foundation.
2010 Postdoctoral Fellowship: Consortium for Faculty Diversity, Scripps College.
2009 Exemplary Diversity Scholar: “National Center for Institutional Diversity” University of Michigan.
2008 Curricular and Faculty Development Grant: “The Mellon Foundation,” with William Ferguson, Professor of Economics, Grinnell College. $3,000.
2008 Faculty Development Grant: “The Mellon Foundation,” with Karla Erickson, Associate Professor of Sociology, Grinnell College. $1,000.
2008 Mentored Advance Project (MAP): Grinnell College. $1,500.
2000 Diversity Predoctoral Fellowship: Government Department, Cornell University.
2000 Predoctoral Fellowship: Preparing Future Faculty Program, Government Department, Hamilton College.
1999 Teaching Fellow and Consultant: The TA Program of the Graduate School, Syracuse University.
1997 Teaching Associate: Department of Political Science, Syracuse University.
Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith 