Lori Ginzberg

Lori Ginzberg is a historian of nineteenth-century American women with a particular interest in the intersections between intellectual and social history. Her previous research focused on the ways that ideologies about gender obscure the material and ideological realities of class, how women of different groups express political identities, and the ways that commonsense notions of American life shape, contain, and control radical ideas. She has written several books, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2009) and Untidy Origins: A Story of Woman’s Rights in Antebellum New York (UNC Press, 2005). Prof. Ginzberg retired from Penn State in 2022 after teaching in the departments of History and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies since 1987. In 2023 and 2024 she was a visiting professor of history at Haverford College. Lori Ginzberg’s newest book is entitled Tangled Journeys: One Family’s Story and the Making of American History (UNC Press, 2024).

Prof. Ginzberg has spoken and written widely about the centennial commemoration of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A few examples include “All Men and Women are Created Equal:’ The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton” (National Park Service website) A National Constitution Center conversation on the life and legacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Prof. Ginzberg also appeared in Penn State’s “HumIn focus” film, “Who Counts: The Complexities of Democracy in America” See Lori Ginzberg’s recommended reading list in women’s history on Shepherd.com’s “Five Best Books” website.