Kristin Luker
Encyclopedia
Kristin Luker is Elizabeth Josselyn Boalt Professor of Law in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley
. Earlier she was the Doris Stevens Chair of Women's Studies at Princeton University
and professor at the University of California, San Diego
.
Luker has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the Sociological Research Association
, and was invited to the White House by President Bill Clinton
to discuss issues of politics and social policy. She has been awarded grants from the Spencer and Ford Foundation
s, as well as the Commonwealth Fund
, and has won fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
and the National Institute of Mental Health
. Her interests include sexual and reproductive behavior, gender, and the relationship between gender and the history of the social sciences in the United States and elsewhere.
Luker is the author of five books: Taking Chances: Abortion and the Decision Not to Contracept (1975), Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood (1984), Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy (1996), When Sex Goes to School (2006) and Salsa Dancing Into the Social Sciences (2008) and many articles in scholarly journals.
Her book Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
and received the Charles Horton Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism
. The book contrasts the worldviews of pro-choice
and pro-life
activists, arguing that the two sides of the debate on abortion are rooted in different sets of values and ideas about women's roles. The book also explores the historical connection between the rise of both pro-life and pro-choice sentiments, and the desire on the part of physicians to professionalize their image. She is careful in the book not to reveal her personal position on abortion, but her 1992 article "She's Come To You For An Abortion" in Harper's Magazine
reveals that she is pro-choice.
In her book Dubious Conceptions, Luker discusses the evolution of public perceptions about teenage pregnancy during the twentieth century, and argues that teenage pregnancy should be recognized not as a distinct social problem, but as a symptom of the need for better approaches to poverty
. The book was named a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year." .
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Earlier she was the Doris Stevens Chair of Women's Studies at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and professor at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
.
Luker has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the Sociological Research Association
Sociological Research Association
The Sociological Research Association is an honor society of sociological scholars founded in 1936.With more than 400 members, the association's importance comes from the members being leading sociologists who use the SRA's meetings to network and exchange views on the direction of the field...
, and was invited to the White House by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to discuss issues of politics and social policy. She has been awarded grants from the Spencer and Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
s, as well as the Commonwealth Fund
Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, especially for society's most vulnerable.-History:...
, and has won fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
and the National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
. Her interests include sexual and reproductive behavior, gender, and the relationship between gender and the history of the social sciences in the United States and elsewhere.
Luker is the author of five books: Taking Chances: Abortion and the Decision Not to Contracept (1975), Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood (1984), Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy (1996), When Sex Goes to School (2006) and Salsa Dancing Into the Social Sciences (2008) and many articles in scholarly journals.
Her book Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
and received the Charles Horton Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism
Symbolic Interaction, also known as interactionism, is a sociological theory that places emphasis on micro-scale social interaction to provide subjective meaning in human behavior, the social process and pragmatism.-History:...
. The book contrasts the worldviews of pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
and pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
activists, arguing that the two sides of the debate on abortion are rooted in different sets of values and ideas about women's roles. The book also explores the historical connection between the rise of both pro-life and pro-choice sentiments, and the desire on the part of physicians to professionalize their image. She is careful in the book not to reveal her personal position on abortion, but her 1992 article "She's Come To You For An Abortion" in Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
reveals that she is pro-choice.
In her book Dubious Conceptions, Luker discusses the evolution of public perceptions about teenage pregnancy during the twentieth century, and argues that teenage pregnancy should be recognized not as a distinct social problem, but as a symptom of the need for better approaches to poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. The book was named a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year." .
Selected publications
- Taking Chances: Abortion and the Decision Not to Contracept (University of California Press, 1975) (ISBN 0-520-02872-4)
- Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood (University of California Press, 1984) (ISBN 0-520-05597-7)
- Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of the Teenage Pregnancy Crisis (Harvard University Press, 1996) (ISBN 0-674-21703-9)
- A reminder that human behaviour frequently refuses to conform to models created by researchers. Family Planning Perspectives, 1999, 31(5), 248-249.
- Is academic sociology politically obsolete? Contemporary Sociology, 1999, 28(1), 5-10.
- Sex, social hygiene and the double-edged sword of social reform. Theory and Sociology, 1998, 27, 601-634.
- Does liberalism cause sex (with J. Mauldon). American Prospect, 1996 (winter).
- The effects of sex education on contraceoptive behavior (with J. Mauldon). Family Planning Perspectives. 1996 (March)
- When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex—and Sex Education—Since the Sixties (W. W. Norton & Company, 2006) (ISBN 978-0-393-34996-4)
- Young Single Mothers and 'Welfare Reform' in the United States. In A. Daguerre and C. Nativel (eds) When Children become Parents: Welfare State Responses to Teenage Pregnancy (with C. Carter. Polity Press, 2006)
- Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences (Harvard University Press, 2008)