Curriculum Vitae
Simone M. Caron
Department of History
Wake Forest University
Box 7806, Reynolda Station
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
Office Phone: (336) 758-5556
email: caron@wfu.edu
EDUCATION:
Clark University, Worcester, MA. Ph.D. in History (1990).
 Major Doctoral Field: United States History since 1815.
 Other Fields:
o Women's Political and Social Movements in the United States since 1800
o Women in Modern Asia, with a concentration on Japan, China, and India
o United States History to 1815.
 Dissertation: "Race, Class, and Reproduction: The Evolution of Reproductive Policy in the
United States, 1800-1989."
 Dissertation Director: Ronald P. Formisano
Northeastern University, Boston, MA. M.A. in History (1985).
 Exams passed in American and European historiography.
Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA. B.A. in History (1983).
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Wake Forest University, Associate Professor of History, Spring 1998-.
American Medical History
Gender in Modern America
US Gilded Age to Depression
US Depression to the present
Europe and the World in the Modern Era
FYS: The Depression through the Eyes of American Novelists
US Social History to 1865
US Social History since 1865
Honors Seminar
Seminar: Controversies in American Medical History since 1700
Seminar: Race, Class and Gender in American History
Seminar: The Long Decade of the Sixties, 1956-1974
Wake Forest University, Assistant Professor of History, Fall 1991-1998
History of American Women, Colonial to the Present
United States History since 1865
United States Social History, Colonial to the Present
Women in Modern Asia
Europe and the World in the Modern Era.
Ancient World Civilizations
Seminar: Women in Japan
Seminar: History of Sexuality in the United States
Seminar: Honors in History
The College of William and Mary, Visiting Assistant Professor, September 1990 to May 1991.
United States History, 1920-1945.
United States History, 1945-1990.
Women's Political and Social Activism (US) since 1800.
Women in Modern Asia.
University of Massachusetts, Harbor Campus, Visiting Assistant Professor, January to August 1990.
United States History, 1865 to the present
The Individual and History (Lenin, Hitler, Gandhi, Mao & Ho).
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Visiting Instructor, January 1987 to May 1990.
Concepts of Historical Analysis
Women in the Labor Movement (US).
United States Foreign Policy, 1865-1941.
United States History, 1877-1921.
The Shaping of Post-1920 American Society.
Introduction to Social History.
Topics in Social History (Senior Seminar).
Advisor for (Independent Senior Research Papers).
Clark University, Visiting Instructor, College of Continuing and Professional Education, 19881989.
History of American Women, Colonial to the Present.
Women in Modern Asia.
Clark University, Visiting Instructor, Fall 1989.
United States Social History, 1850 to the Present.
Northeastern University, Visiting Instructor, Summer 1988.
History of Ancient World Civilization.
Clark University, Teaching Assistant (1985 to 1987).
Various courses in Afro-American History, Asian History, and United States Social History.
Northeastern University, Teaching Assistant (1983-1985), Western Civilization.
PUBLICATIONS:
Books/Articles
Who Chooses? American Reproductive History since 1830 (Gainesville: University Press of
Florida, 2008). Paper back and audio editions both in 2010.
“Capitalism’s Hidden Victims: Desperate Women, Abortion, Infanticide and Single Motherhood,”
in Sexuality: Perspectives, Issues and Role in Society (NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2012).
“‘Killed by Its Mother’: Infanticide in Providence County, Rhode Island, 1870-1938,” Journal of
Social History (Fall 2010): 217-41.
“‘I Have Done it and I Have Got to Die’: Coroners’ Inquests of Abortion Deaths in Rhode Island,
1876-1938,” The History of the Family 14 (Spring 2009): 1-18.
"Richard M. Nixon: The ‘Problem of Population’ versus the ‘Sanctity of Human Life’." New
England Journal of History 56 (Winter 1999-Spring 2000): 101-21.
"Birth Control and the Black Community in the 1960s: Genocide or Power Politics?" Journal of
Social History 31 (March 1998): 545-70.
"Recent Perspectives on Abortion." NWSA Journal 5 (Fall 1993): 393-404.
Encyclopedia Entries:
“Reproductive Rights Movement,” Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History (NY: Oxford
University Press, 2012).
“Abortion,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage Publishers,
2012)
“Andrea Yates,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage
Publishers, 2012)
“Buck v. Bell,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage Publishers,
2012)
“Comstock Law,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage
Publishers, 2012)
“Eisenstadt v. Baird,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage
Publishers, 2012)
“Griswold v. Connecticut,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage
Publishers, 2012)
“Infanticide,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage Publishers,
2012)
“Roe v. Wade,” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America (London: Sage Publishers,
2012)
“Frank Bosworth Brandegee," American National Biography, ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C.
Carnes, 24 vols. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), vol. 3: 413.
"LeBaron Bradford Colt," American National Biography, ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes,
24 vols. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), vol. 5: 268-69.
Book Reviews:
Review of Ourselves Unborn: A History of the Fetus in Modern America (NY: Oxford University
Press, 2011) in American Historical Review (April 2012): 573-74.
Review of The Notorious Dr. Flippin: Abortion and Consequence in the Early Twentieth Century
(Lubbock: Texas Tech, 2011) in Journal of American History 98 (2011): 864-65.
Review of From Marriage to the Market, Susan Thistle (Berkeley: University of California Press,
2006), in Journal of the History of Sexuality 20 (September 2011): 656-59.
Review of Fit to Be tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America, 1950-1980, Rebecca
M. Kluchin (Rutgers University Press, 2009), in Journal of American History (March 2010): 125455.
Review of The Fertility Doctor: John Rock and the Reproductive Revolution, Margaret Marsh and
Wanda Ronner (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), in American Historical Review (December
2009): 1496-97.
Review of Becoming an Unwed Mother: A Sociological Account, Prudence Mors Rains, New
Brunswick: Aldine Transaction, 2007, in International Journal of Sociology of the Family, Volume
34, No. 1 (Spring 2008): 93-95.
Review of Website, "The Adoption Project" for Women and American Social Movements, Vol. 10,
no. 3 (September 2007).
Review of Johanna Schoen, Choice and Coercion: Birth Control, Sterilization, and Abortion in
Public Health and Welfare (2005), Journal of Southern History 72, no. 2 (May 2006):
499-500.
Review of Donald T. Critchlow, Intended Consequences: Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal
Government in Modern America, http:www.h-net.msu.edu/~women/ August 25, 1999.
Review of Janet Farrell Brodie, Contraception and Abortion in 19th-Century America (1994)
Journal of the History of Sexuality (July 1995).
Review of Anne N. Costain, Inviting Women's Rebellion: A Political Process Interpretation of the
Women's Movement (1992) Social Science Quarterly 74 (September 1993): 695.
Review of Mary C. Brinton, Women and the Economic Miracle: Gender and Work in Postwar
Japan (1993) Journal of Asian and African Studies.
WORKS IN PROGRESS:
Women Helping Women: The Sophia Little Home of Rhode Island
“‘Poison that Lurks in the Blood’: Medical Views of Female Alcoholics in Late-Nineteenth
Century American Society,” [under review 2012]
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
External Reviewer for J. William T. Youngs, Eleanor Roosevelt: A Personal and Public Life. 2nd
ed. (Longman Publisher, 2004)
External Reviewer for Clash of Will: Confrontations in the Making of Modern America (Longman
Publisher, 2003).
External Reviewer for National Endowment for the Humanities Project, December 2003.
External Reviewer for Parallel Lives: Black and White Women in American History (Longman
Publisher, 2001)
Referee for articles in the Journal of the History of Sexuality and Journal of America History.
Clark University, Research Assistant to Professor Ronald Formisano for his book, Boston Against
Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s (Chapel Hill: The University of North
Carolina Press, 1991). Fall 1987 to Spring 1989.
Clark University, Research Assistant to President Richard Traina. Summer 1986.
Northeastern University, curriculum development. Developed computerized programmed
instruction modules for Western Civilization survey courses. Phase I implemented Fall 1984;
Phase II implemented Fall 1985.
Northeastern University, developed computerized index and retrieval system for the American
History slide collection (4000 slides) for use by faculty. Summer 1985.
RECOGNITIONS:
Reid-Doyle Prize for Teaching Excellence, February 1995.
Omicron Delta Kappa Award for Contribution to Student Life, February 1994.
Finalist, Allan Nevins Award, 1990 (National Award for best
dissertation).
PRESENTATIONS AND CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES:
“‘It’s Been a Long Road’: Midwives in Rhode Island, 1890-1990,” American Association of the
History of Medicine, April 27, 2012, Baltimore, MD.
“Midwives in Urban New England, 1890-1940,” Social Science History Association, November 18,
2011, Boston, MA.
Chair and Commentator, Session: Health Issues 1880--1920, Social Science History Association,
November 19, 2011, Boston, MA.
“Illegitimacy and the Impact of Roe v. Wade,” Southern Association for the History of Medicine
and Science, March 2011, Memphis, TN.
“Unwed Mothers and Abortion, 1960 – 1974,” Social Science History Association, November 2010,
Chicago, Il.
Chair and Commentator, Session: Parenthood and Policy Session, Social Science History
Association, November 2010, Chicago, Il.
“Medical Discourse on Alcoholic Women,” Social Science History Association, October 2009,
Long Beach, CA.
“Physicians, Alcoholics, and the Sophia Little Home,” Southern Association for the History of
Medicine and Science, March 2009, Birmingham, AL.
“Medical Professionals’ Reaction to Deaths from Abortion, 1820-1938,” Social Science History
Association, October 2008, Miami, FL.
Chair and Commentator, Session: Violence in Late Nineteenth Century US, Social Science History
Association, October 2008, Miami, FL.
“‘I have done it and I have got to die’: Coroners’ Inquests of Abortion Deaths,” American
Association of the History of Medicine, May 2007, Quebec.
“Infanticide and Coroners,” Social Science Historical Association, November 2006, Minneapolis,
MN.
“Unwed Motherhood and Adoption at the Sophia Little Home, 1905-1936,” Organization of
American Historians Southern Regional Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, July 2004.
Chair and Commentator, Session: Natural Family Planning in the Twentieth Century, Southwest
Historical Association, Corpus Christi, TX, March 2004.
“Mothers, Doctors, and Neonaticide in Rhode Island, 1874 to 1938,” New England Historical
Association, Worcester, MA, October 2003.
“‘Killed by Its Mother’: Neonaticide in Rhode Island, 1804 to 1938,” Social Science Research
Seminar, Wake Forest University, September 2003.
“‘Killed by its Mother’: Infanticide in Rhode Island, 1830 to 1940,” American Association for the
History of Medicine, Boston, MA, April 30 to May 4, 2003.
Chair of Symposium, and opening remarks, “History of Women in American Medicine,” History of
Women in Medicine Symposium, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem,
NC, October 2002.
"Surviving A Turbulent Decade in Reproductive Health: Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island,
1965-1975," American Association for the History of Medicine, Charleston, SC, May 2001.
"The Rhode Island Birth Control League vs. Planned Parenthood Federation of America,"
Berkshire Conference on Women's History, Rochester, NY, June 6, 1999.
"Birth Control and the Black Community: Two Case Studies, Pittsburgh and Providence, 19301965," Sigerist Circle of Scholars, American Association of the History of Medicine, New
Brunswick, NJ, May 6, 1999.
"The Rhode Island Maternal Health Association: Comprehensive Health Care, 1931-1965,"
Organization of American Historians, Toronto, April 22, 1999.
"Women and the Law: From Myra Bradwell to Ruth Ginsburg," North Carolina Association of
Women Attorneys Conference, October 10, 1998.
"Reproductive Policy in Nineteenth Century Rhode Island," The John Nicholas Brown Center for
the Study of American Civilization Symposium, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island,
November 14-15, 1997.
"Birth Control in the 1960s: Black Male Militants versus Black Women in Pittsburgh," Oral
History Association, September 24-28, 1997, New Orleans, Louisiana.
"The 1960s Pittsburgh Birth Control Controversy: Genocide or Reproductive Freedom?" Southern
Conference on Women's History, June 12-14, 1997, The College of Charleston in South Carolina.
"Birth Control, Sterilization and the Black Community during the Great Depression." Northeast
Popular Culture Association, Worcester, MA, October, 1995.
"Reproductive Policies during the Great Depression." New England Historical Association,
Hartford, CT, October 1994.
"Richard Nixon and `The Problem of Population'." Southwestern Social Science Association, New
Orleans, March 1993.
Discussant on Panel, "Women and Social Change." Southwestern Social
Science Association, New Orleans, March 1993.
"Reproductive Policy and the Welfare State: Birth Control, 1960-1970." Social Science Research
Seminar, Wake Forest University,
February 1993.
"Strange Bedfellows: Black Power, the Catholic Church and the AntiBirth Control Campaign in Pittsburgh during the 1960s." Southwestern
Social Science Association, Austin, March 1992.
"Birth Control and Social Policy during the 1960s." New England
Historical Association, American Antiquarian Society, April 1991.
"Birth Control, Abortion, and Sterilization in the United States, 1850-1973." Worcester Area
History Seminar, Clark University, November 1988.
PRESENTATIONS ON CAMPUS:
Panelist on Dr. Deacon Radio Show, “NC and Eugenic Sterilization,” February 25, 2009.
“The Medical Profession and Abortion since 1800,” Physician Assistants Program, Wake Forest
University Medical School, April 23, 2004.
“History of Domestic Violence,” WISE, October 15, 2001.
“Women in Contemporary Asia,” ASIA, April 19, 2000.
“History of Birth Control,” WIN, March 31, 1999.
“Impact of the Car on American Culture in the 1920s,” Euzelian Society, March 23, 1999.
“Civil Rights: Can We Do the Right Thing?” Benson Discovery Series, October 20, 1998.
“The Rape of Nanking,” Panel Discussant for Phi Alpha Theta, April 23, 1998.
“The Historical Roots of the Gay Rights Movement,” GALBA, March 30, 1998.
“Has the Feminist Movement Helped or Hindered Women’s Progress?” WIN, March 17, 1998.
"The Raft Debate," October 17, 1997.
"The History B.A. as Preparation for Law School," History Department
Open House, February 19, 1996.
"The Rhetoric of the STOP-ERA Movement," Huffman Lecture Series, October
26, 1995.
"Seventy-Five Years of Women's Suffrage," Women's Issues Network,
November 1995.
"Women and the Struggle for Abortion Rights in the Twentieth Century,"
Philomathesian Society, November 14, 1994.
History and Pre-Law," History Department Open House, February 1994.
"Women in the United States and Asia: Exploring the Myth of
Liberalism and Patriarchy," WorldNet, The Professors' Lecture
Series, November 10, 1993.
"The National Woman's Party and the Equal Rights Amendment," Women's
Issues Network, October 21, 1993.
"The Possibilities of Graduate Study for History Majors," Phi Alpha
Theta, April 1992
"Alice Paul and the March on Washington," Pi Omicron Chapter of Delta
Sigma Theta and WFU Pro Choice Committee, March 1991.
STUDENT RECOGNITIONS:
Omicron Delta Kappa Student Award, February, 1994.
Old Gold and Black mention in "Best Professor or Class" category,
February 1994.
Luter Hall recognition as "one of W.F.U.'s Most Outstanding Professor
for 1993-1994."
Omicron Delta Kappa Salute for constant dedication and commitment to
the students of Wake Forest, February 18, 1993.
COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Volunteer at Hanes Middle School, 2006-.
Volunteer at Samaritan Ministries, 2009-.
Volunteer at Brunson Elementary School, 2004-2008.
Volunteer at Jefferson Elementary School, 2000-2005.
Co-Leader of Girl Scout Troop: 2003-2007
Friendship Family to Swedish Student, 1998-2003.
Interviewed by Winston-Salem Journal for two articles: one on birth control, and one on
housework. 2000-01.
TV Interview with ABC-45 on Historical Memory and Americans’ Sense of History, November 18,
1998.
“Historical Analysis of the Woman’s Movement,” Family Services & United Way Sponsored Talk
at the Family Services Building, W-S, March 5, 1998.
Member of the Democratic Women of Forsyth County, 1994-.
"The Fight for Reproductive Freedom," presentation to National
Organization of Women, Winston-Salem Chapter, March 1994
Fundraising Cookout for Battered Women's Shelter of Winston-Salem,
April 1993
"Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice," presentation to National
Organization of Women, W-S Chapter, March 1992
March of Dimes Consultant for Birth Defects and Birth Control Policy
Display, December 1992
UNIVERSITY SERVICE:
Chair of History Department, 2005-.
Judicial Council, 2004-.
Executive Committee of WFU-AAUP, 2008-.
Women and Gender Studies Curriculum Committee, 2009-.
Dean’s Advisory Committee, Spring 2009.
Dean’s Search Committee, Fall 2008.
President WFU-AAUP, 2006-07.
Women’s Studies Steering Committee, 2001-2006.
Committee on Academic Affairs, 1998-2001; Chair 1999-2001, 2004.
Officer in WFU-AAUP, 1999-2001 (President 2000-01).
Co-Director of the Social Science Research Seminar, Spring 1994--.
Pre-Law Advisor, August 1993-1999.
Lower Division Advisor, August 1992-1999.
Truman Scholarship Committee, October 1993-2006.
American Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee, Fall 1996--2001
Faculty Facilitator for Drink Think Alcohol Symposium, Spring 1996.
Provost Brown's Co-Interview Committee, 1995-1996.
Participant in President's Leadership Conference, Fall 1995.
Department Representative at Sexual Harassment Workshop, Fall 1995.
Steering Committee for Faculty Writing Workshop, Summer 1994.
Faculty Judge for Senior Colloquium, May 1993.
History Subcommittee for President Hearn meetings, Spring 1992