Selected Publications
Women, Power and Money from the First Gilded Age to the Second, forthcoming book project
American Creed: Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil Society, 1700-1865 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003).
Women, Philanthropy and Civil Society. Editor. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001)
Women's Culture: American Philanthropy and Art, 1830-1930 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991).
Lady Bountiful Revisited: Women, Power, and Philanthropy (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1990) Editor and Contributer.
Noblesse Oblige: Charity and Cultural Philanthropy in Chicago, 1849-1929 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982).
Articles and Reviews since 2003:
“Philanthropy in Tocqueville’s America and France, 1800-1840,” article submitted for publication
“Gendering Money in Gilded Age New York, 1870-1900,” article submitted for publication
“Follow the Money,” in Frank Christianson and Leslee Thorne-Murphy, eds., The Discourse of Philanthropy in the Anglo-American Tradition, 1850-1920 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Forthcoming).
“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” Reviews in American History 41:2 (June, 2013): 306-311.
“Spreading the Gospel of Self Denial: Voluntary Associations and the Thrift Ethic in Antebellum America” in Joshua Yates and James Davison Hunter, eds., Thrift and Thriving in America: Capitalism and Moral Order from the Puritans to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2011): 160-182.
“Frauen, Philanthropie und Wissenschaft,” in Juergen Kocka and Gunter Stock, eds., Stiften-Schenken-Praegen (Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2011).
“Weibliche Philantropie und Offenlichkeit als Tranatlantisches Phänomen 1790-1860,” in Thomas Adam, Simone Lässig and Gabriele Lingelbach, eds. Stifter, Spender und Mäzene: USA un Deutschland im historischen Vergleich (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2009): 17-40.
“Foundations, Philanthropy and Civil Society,” Stanford Conversations in Philanthropy (Stanford: Stanford University, 2007): 89-96.
“Anonymous Donor,” Democracy 4 (Spring, 2007): 100-107.
Papers and Presentations since 2004
2014
Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting, Atlanta
“Philanthropy in Tocqueville’s America and France, 1800-1840”
2013
Mercator Foundation, Berlin
“Civil Society Organizations and Advocacy”
2011
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, Fourth Australasian Welfare History Conference
“The Good, The Bad, and The Impossible: Philanthropy in the United States”
Keynote Address
Sődertőrn University, Stockholm, Sweden
“Transnational Civil Society”
2010
Hong Kong University
“American Voluntarism: An Overview”
Akademie der Wissenschafter, Berlin, Germany
“Women, Philanthropy and Science in the United States”
Can Haas University, Istanbul, International Society for Third Sector Research Biennial Conference
“Funding Suffrage Reform: Women and Philanthropy in the U.S., 1880-1920”
2009
Instituto Europeo, Florence, Italy/University of Oslo, Workshop of Civil Society and Global Crisis
“Beyond the Veil: Islamic Feminism and Global Civil Society”
2008
Nobel Institute/ University of Oslo
“Re-Visioning Civil Society: Women, Power and Money”
Huntington Library, San Marino, California
“Grace Nicholson and American Women’s Cultural Philanthropy”
University of Barcelona, Workshop on “The State of Philanthropy in Africa”
“Studying Philanthropy: The Theoretical Challenge”
Keynote Address
University of Barcelona, International Society for Third Sector Research Biennial Conference
“Tocqueville and Transnationalism”
Comparative Panel on Theory and Methodology
Pocantico Conference Center, Pocantico Hills, NY
“Foundations: Impact and Policy”
2007
American Embassy, Cyprus
“The History of Philanthropy in the United States”
Heidelberg University, Germany, Center for Social Investment
“American Exceptionalism and Transnational Philanthropy”
Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, Turin
“American Philanthropy in Transnational Perspective”
Princeton University, Conference in Honor of Stanley N. Katz
“Was Tocqueville Right? The Case Against American Philanthropic Exceptionalism, 1800-1850”
2006
London School of Economics
“Women and Philanthropy in the US: A Commentary”
City University of New York School of Law
"The Grassley Hearings and Foundation Funding"
German Historical Institute, Washington, DC
“Sacred Space: Women and Philanthropy”
Keynote Address
2005
University of Virginia
“Spreading the Gospel of Self Denial: Voluntary Associations and the Thrift Ethic in Antebellum America”
2004
University of Bologna, Italy
Colloquium on “Religion, Civil Society and Philanthropy”
Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris, France
“Le Troisième Secteur en Europe: Une Optique Americane”
Organization of American Historians, Annual Meeting, Boston
“Philanthropy and Civil Society”
Stanford University, Center on Philanthropy
“Foundations, Philanthropy and Civil Society”
Indiana University, Center on Philanthropy, Indianapolis
“Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil Society”
Selected Professional Activities
Organization of American Historians, Merle Curti Award Committee (2015-2016)
Women and Social Movements, Advisory Board (2014)
Delegate and Member, Informal Planning Group, First White House Conference on Philanthropy (1999)
Selected Television Appearances
“20/20” ABC TV
“Mechanic to Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story” PBS Documentary
“The O’Reilly F actor” Fox TV News
“Today,” NBC TV
“Your Money,” CNN fn;
CNN News
BBC World TV
Articles, Reviews, Essays:
"Women and Political Culture", in Lawerence J. Friedman and Mark D. McGarvie, Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001): 179-198.
"Patronage of the Arts," Stanley I. Kutler, Robert Dallek, David A. Hollinger and Thomas McCraw, eds., Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996): VI-1725-1742.