As part of our “Women on Wednesdays” series, please join American University's Women & Politics Institute for a virtual conversation with American University Alumna Dr. Rebecca DeWolf, author of the book, Gendered Citizenship: The Original Conflict over the Equal Rights Amendment, 1920–1963 and WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin.

The first full-length comprehensive study of the original conflict over the Equal Rights Amendment, Gendered Citizenship, provides readers with rich context to “trace how the arguments against gender equality of nearly a century ago continue to shape our cultural attitudes about the role and duties of women in the domestic sphere today.” Ultimately, Dr. Rebecca DeWolf reveals how the original conflict “became the defining narrative for the changing nature of American citizenship in the era.” Order the book here

Rebecca DeWolf is a historian with a Ph.D. in history from American University. She has extensive experience as an educator, researcher, and writer. Her areas of expertise include European history and United States' history and her thematic specialties include gender and women’s history, politics, and United States' constitutional culture. As an affiliated faculty member for the Women & Politics Institute at American University, she currently teaches a course on “Women, Citizenship & the ERA.”

Her research has achieved recognition through several awards and grants, including the Dirksen Center Congressional Research Grant, American University's Vice Provost Doctoral Research Award, and a Clendenen Dissertation Fellowship at American University. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, History News Network, New America Weekly, and Frontiers.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

“Women On Wednesdays”: Rebecca DeWolf - “Gendered Citizenship”