Jo Freeman - Career in Law and Political Science

Career in Law and Political Science

After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1973, Freeman taught for four years at the State University of New York. She then spent two years in Washington, DC as a fellow at the Brookings Institution and then as an APSA Congressional Fellow. With an increasing interest in public policy, and unable to find a full-time appointment in academia, Freeman decided to study law after she was offered a Root-Tilden Scholarship at New York University School of Law. She received a J.D. degree in 1982 and was admitted to the New York State Bar the next year. She maintained a private practice in Brooklyn, New York for many years, serving as counsel to women running for political offices and to pro-choice demonstrators.

Freeman has published 11 books and hundreds of articles. Most are on some aspect of women or feminism, but she also writes about social movements and political parties. Two of these are considered classics: “On the Origins of Social Movements” and “The Political Culture of the Democratic and Republican Parties.” Women: A Feminist Perspective went into five editions and for many years was the leading introductory women’s studies textbook. A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics (2000) also won a prize for scholarship given at the APSA.

She has continued to attend the major party political conventions, but as a journalist. Many of her articles are posted to her webpage, as are some of her photographs of political events and a small selection from her button collection.