Jane Sherron De Hart (born 1936) is an American feminist historian and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

academic. She is a professor emerita at

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

. De Hart has authored and edited several works on the

history of women in the United States The history of women in the United States encompasses the lived experiences and contributions of women throughout American history. The earliest women living in what is now the United States were Native Americans. European women arrived in th ...

, the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

, the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

, and

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

. During the 1970s, she founded the women's studies program at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

Early life and education

De Hart was born in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

and raised in

Bryson City, North Carolina Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 1,558 as of the 2020 census. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded as Charleston to serv ...

. She graduated with a degree in history from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. On a

Carnegie Fellowship The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

, De Hart earned a Ph.D. at Duke University in 1967. She married while attending graduate school and moved to

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

where she continued work on her dissertation and taught at

Douglass College Douglass Residential College is a non-degree-granting program established in 2007 and open to Rutgers undergraduates at any of the degree-granting schools of Rutgers University-New Brunswick. It replaced the liberal arts degree-granting Douglas ...

. Her dissertation on the

became her first book.

Career

In 1970, De Hart joined

for ten years, first temporarily before becoming permanent professor and founding the women's studies program. She was co-bicentennial chair of American studies at

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

from 1981 to 1982. De Hart became a professor of history and director of women's studies at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. In 1992, De Hart joined the

. In 2018, De Hart published ''Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life''. It was the first full-length biography of Ginsburg.

Awards and honors

De Hart was a fellow of the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

in 1975 and 1998. In 1991, she was awarded the Victoria Schuck Award alongside Donald G. Mathews for their book on the intersection of the

and sex, gender, and politics.

Selected works

* * * * Reviews of ''Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life'': * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Hart, Jane Sherron 1936 births Living people Writers from Asheville, North Carolina People from Bryson City, North Carolina Feminist historians American feminist writers 20th-century American historians 21st-century American biographers American women biographers Duke University alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty University of California, Santa Barbara faculty 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American academics of women's studies Fellows of the National Endowment for the Humanities