The Department of History is pleased to welcome Estelle Freedman, Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History (Emerit) at Stanford University and co-founder of Stanford’s Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, for the 2026 Pierson Lecture: "Speaking of Sexual Violence: Voices from Women’s Oral Histories in the Twentieth Century U.S."

How can historical research contribute to understanding silence and speech about sexual violence? Based on her analysis of a large text database of oral history collections, Professor Freedman will explore how women from diverse backgrounds remembered and reacted to unwanted sexual advances during the twentieth century. She applies both quantitative digital humanities tools and qualitative close readings of relevant women’s narratives to consider two topics: stories of sexual assault handed down in African American families, and varied responses to educational and workplace harassment.

Freedman is the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History (Emerit) at Stanford University and co-founder of Stanford’s Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, where she is currently a Stanford Faculty Fellow. Freedman’s ten books on the histories of women, feminism, and sexuality include two prize-winning studies of prison reform--Their Sisters' Keepers and Maternal Justice; the surveys No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women and (with John D'Emilio) Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America; and the multi-award winning Redefining Rape: Sexual Violence in the Era of Suffrage and Segregation. She is currently writing about narratives of sexual assault and harassment in 20^th century women’s oral histories. Freedman co-directed (with Christie Herring) the 2024 documentary film, Singing for Justice, about S.F. Bay Area folk musician and political activist Faith Petric (1915-2013).

The Annual Pierson Lecture is a Department of History tradition that spans back to 1993, when it was founded to honor Stan and Joan Pierson. The Piersons were both exemplary citizens of the community, dedicated to history and education as proven by their distinguished records of intellectual accomplishment and community involvement. This lecture series brings distinguished scholars to the University of Oregon, so that they may share their work in alignment with the Piersons’ interests in cultural, intellectual, and political life.