I am the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. I also hold appointments in the Departments of History, Women's Studies, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. I direct the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab, an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research team that is reconstructing and analyzing the history of eugenics and sterilization in four U.S. states (Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, and California). 

My research has focused on the history of eugenics, genetics, society, and justice in the United States and Latin America. Through these topics, I have explored the dynamics of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability, social difference, and reproductive politics. I believe that historical research and analysis can provide important coordinates for understanding and navigating contemporary dilemmas in health, especially with respect to racial inequalities and reproductive injustice.. My recent book, Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate (2019), applies the lenses of historical analysis, feminist studies, and critical race studies to deconstructing the core ideas of the alt-right and white nationalism. 

amstern@umich.edu