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Alexandra Minna Stern

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Alexandra Minna Stern is the Humanities Dean, and Professor of English and History, and at the Institute for Society and Genetics, at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Academic career

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Her research focuses on the history of eugenics,[1][2] the uses and misuses of genetics, and the extremism of the far right in national and international contexts.[3] She has also written about the history of public health, infectious diseases, and tropical medicine.[4] Through these topics, she explores the dynamics of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability, social difference, and reproductive politics.

In 2013, Stern founded the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab (SSJL), an interdisciplinary research team studying the history of eugenic sterilization in the United States.[5] Stern currently co-directs the SSJL with Nicole Novak, and Natalie Lira.[6] In January 2017, Stern and co-authors Nicole Novak, Natalie Lira, Kate O'Connor, Sharon Kardia, and Siobán Harlow published an article in the American Journal of Public Health entitled, "California's Sterilization Survivors: An Estimate and Call for Redress" which estimated the likely living number of survivors of California's 20th century eugenic sterilization program.[7] This research received extensive media coverage in The New York Times,[8] The Atlantic,[9] and NPR.[1] It inspired and informed a Los Angeles Times editorial urging the State of California to seriously consider reparations for survivors of eugenic sterilization.[10] In 2021, California passed the California Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program,[11][12] which provides compensation to survivors of eugenic sterilization laws from 1909 to 1979 and survivors of involuntary sterilizations in women's prisons after 1979.[13] The SSJL's research helped inform this effort, and the lead author of the bill was Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo.[14] The bill was co-sponsored by the Back to the Basics Community Empowerment, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ), and California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), in collaboration with the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab and with contributions from the Belly of the Beast film team. The SSJL was the source for demographic information and contextual historical research to identify survivors from the historic era.[15]

Publications

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Stern has written over 50 books and articles,[16] and contributes to popular media stories about gender, medicine, and health in venues such as The New York Times Magazine,[17] The Daily Beast,[18] NPR,[19] The Washington Post,[20] and The Guardian.[21]

Eugenic Nation

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Stern is the author of Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America (University of California Press, 2005),[22] which won the Arthur Viseltear Award for outstanding contribution to the history of public health by the American Public Health Association.[23] Eugenic Nation is now in its second edition (University of California Press, 2015).[24]

Telling Genes

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Stern is also the author of Telling Genes: The Story of Genetic Counseling in America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012),[25][26] which Choice Reviews named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.[27]

Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate

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Stern's latest book, Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right is Warping the American Imagination (Beacon Press, 2019), applies the lenses of historical analysis, feminist studies, and critical race studies to deconstructing the core ideas of the alt-right and white nationalism.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "On a 'Eugenic Registry,' A Record of California's Thousands of Sterilizations". NPR. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  2. ^ Novak, Nicole L.; Lira, Natalie; O'Connor, Kate E.; Harlow, Siobán D.; Kardia, Sharon L. R.; Stern, Alexandra Minna (May 2018). "Disproportionate Sterilization of Latinos Under California's Eugenic Sterilization Program, 1920-1945". American Journal of Public Health. 108 (5): 611–613. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304369. ISSN 1541-0048. PMC 5888070. PMID 29565671.
  3. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna. "Current Research". Alexandra Minna Stern Professor. Historian. Public Scholar. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  4. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna. "Publications". Alexandra Minna Stern Professor. Historian. Public Scholar. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  5. ^ "Sterilization and Social Justice Lab". Sterilization and Social Justice Lab. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  6. ^ "About Us". Sterilization and Social Justice Lab. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  7. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna; Novak, Nicole L.; Lira, Natalie; O'Connor, Kate; Harlow, Siobán; Kardia, Sharon (January 2017). "California's Sterilization Survivors: An Estimate and Call for Redress". American Journal of Public Health. 107 (1): 50–54. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303489. ISSN 1541-0048. PMC 5308144. PMID 27854540.
  8. ^ McPhate, Mike (20 December 2016). "California Today: Wrestling With a Legacy of Eugenics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  9. ^ "A Long-Lost Data Trove Uncovers California's Sterilization Program". The Atlantic. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  10. ^ "California needs to do more than apologize to people it sterilized". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  11. ^ "Bill Text - AB-1007 Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program".
  12. ^ "California Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program". CA Victim Compensation Board. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  13. ^ "Bill Text - AB-1007 Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  14. ^ Morris, Amanda (2021-07-11). "'You Just Feel Like Nothing': California to Pay Sterilization Victims". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  15. ^ "Survivors". Sterilization and Social Justice Lab. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  16. ^ a b "Publications". Alexandra Minna Stern Professor. Historian. Public Scholar. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  17. ^ Villarosa, Linda (2022-06-08). "The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  18. ^ Hay, Mark (2021-11-14). "The Sneaky, Disturbing World of White-Nationalist Wellness". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  19. ^ "A Tale Of 2 Radicalizations". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  20. ^ Witte, Griff; Craig, Tim; Whoriskey, Peter; Ruble, Kayla (January 16, 2021). "State Capitols Tighten Security and Brace for the Unknown as Far-Right Groups Plot Shows of Strength". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ "Survivors of California's forced sterilizations: 'It's like my life wasn't worth anything'". the Guardian. 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  22. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna (2015). Eugenic Nation (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 9780520285064.
  23. ^ Eugenic Nation.
  24. ^ Eugenic Nation.
  25. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna (2012-08-31). Telling Genes. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9781421406671.
  26. ^ Allen, G. E. (2013-11-01). "Telling Genes: The Story of Genetic Counseling in America". Journal of American History. 100 (3): 878–879. doi:10.1093/jahist/jat373. ISSN 0021-8723.
  27. ^ Stern, Alexandra Minna (2012). Telling Genes: The Story of Genetic Counseling in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-0748-7.
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