Barbara Ehrenreich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Born: | August 26, 1941 Butte, Montana |
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| Occupation: | social critic, journalist, author |
| Genres: | non-fiction, fiction |
Barbara Ehrenreich (born August 26, 1941 in Butte, Montana) is a prominent American writer, columnist, feminist and political activist.
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[edit] Biography
Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Alexander. Her father was a copper miner who went on to study at Carnegie Mellon University and who eventually became an executive at the Gillette Corporation. Ehrenreich studied physics at Reed College, graduating in 1963. Her senior thesis was entitled Electrochemical oscillations of the silicon anode. In 1968, she received a Ph.D in cell biology from Rockefeller University.
Citing her interest in social change ([1]), she opted for political activism, instead of pursuing a scientific career. She met her first husband, John Ehrenreich, during an anti-war activism campaign in New York City.
In 1970, her first child, Rosa (later Rosa Brooks), was born. Her second child, Benjamin, was born in 1972. Barbara divorced John and in 1983 married Gary Stevenson, then a warehouse employee who later became a union organizer. She divorced Stevenson in the early 1990s.
From 1991 to 1997, Ehrenreich was a regular columnist for Time magazine. Currently, she contributes regularly to The Progressive.
Ehrenreich has also written for the New York Times, Mother Jones, The Atlantic Monthly, Ms, The New Republic, Z Magazine, In These Times, Salon.com, and other publications.
In 1998 and 2000, she taught essay writing at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2004, Ehrenreich wrote a month-long guest column for the New York Times while regular columnist Thomas Friedman was on leave. Her insightful columns received much acclaim, and she was invited to stay on as a columnist. She declined, saying that she preferred to spend her time more on long-term activities, such as book writing.
Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the release of her book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. In her article "Welcome to Cancerland," published in the November 2001 issue of Harper's Magazine, she describes her breast cancer experience and debates the medical industry's problems with the issue of breast cancer.
In 2006, Ehrenreich founded United Professionals, an organization whose website, http://www.unitedprofessionals.org, describes it as "a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for white-collar workers, regardless of profession or employment status. We reach out to all unemployed, underemployed, and anxiously employed workers — people who bought the American dream that education and credentials could lead to a secure middle class life, but now find their lives disrupted by forces beyond their control."
Ehrenreich is currently an honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. She also serves on the NORML Board of Directors.
[edit] Books
[edit] Non-fiction
- The Uptake, Storage, and Intracellular Hydrolysis of Carbohydrates by Macrophages (with Zanvil Cohn) (1969)
- Long March, Short Spring the Student Uprising at Home and Abroad (1969)
- The American Health Empire: Power, Profits, and Politics (1971)
- Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers (with Deirdre English) (1972)
- Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness (with Deirdre English) (1973)
- For Her Own Good: 100 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (with Deirdre English) (1978)
- Women in the Global Factory (1983)
- Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex (with Elizabeth Hess and Gloria Jacobs) (1986)
- The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight from Commitment (1987)
- The Mean Season (with Fred L. Block, Richard A. Cloward, and Frances Fox Piven) (1987)
- Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class (1989)
- The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed (1990)
- Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War (1991)
- The Snarling Citizen: Essays (1995)
- Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America (2001)
- Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (ed., with Arlie Hochschild) (2003)
- Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream (2005)
- Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy (2007)
[edit] Fiction
- Kipper's Game (1994)
[edit] Essays
- Welcome to Cancerland (2001 National Magazine Award finalist)
- A New Counterterrorism Strategy: Feminism (2005 [AlterNet])
- The Charge: Gynocide investigative journalism about the Dalkon Shield in the third world. Mother Jones ([2])
- Fight for Your Right to Party (2006 [TIME Magazine, December 18, 2006])
[edit] Translations
German:
- Die Herzen der Männer, 1984
- Hexen, Hebammen und Krankenschwestern, 1987
- Gesprengte Fesseln, 1988
- Angst vor dem Absturz, 1994
- Blutrituale, 1999
- Arbeit poor. Unterwegs in der Dienstleistungsgesellschaft, 2001
Finnish:
- Nälkäpalkalla (Nickel and Dimed), 2003
- Petetty keskiluokka (Bait and Switch), 2006
French:
- L'Amérique pauvre: Comment ne pas survivre en travaillant, 2005
Spanish:
- Por cuatro duros: Cómo (no) apañárselas en Estados Unidos, 2003
Swedish:
- Det manliga hjärtat: revolten mot försörjarrollen, 1984
- Barskrapad: konsten att hanka sig fram, 2002
Portuguese:
- Ritos de Sangue: Um estudo sobre as origens da guerra, 2000
- Salário de Pobreza: Como (não) sobreviver na América, 2004
[edit] External links
- Official website
- [3] Dancing in the Streets reviews at Metacritic
- Articles by Barbara Ehrenreich on Alternet
- NickelAndDimed.net -re her book, Nickel and Dimed in America
- 3-hour interview on CSPAN's "In-Depth" series.
- [4]Quotations
- [5] More quotations
- [6] United Professionals
