Mary Felstiner, Professor Emerita of History, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Latin American and women’s history.
In a career spanning more than four decades, Felstiner has created and taught unprecedented courses in comparative women’s history, the history of genocide, creative resistance in history, Latin American history and is a consummate historical researcher and creative non-fiction, fiction and poetry writer. She served as a professor of history at San Francisco State University from 1972 until her retirement in 2006. She continued educating future generations from 2007 to 2011 as a visiting professor at Stanford University. In her career, she has received such acknowledgments as the American Historical Association Joan Kelly Memorial Prize in Women’s History, the Women’s Heritage Museum First Annual Book Award and the Hubert Herring Award in Latin American Studies. Felstiner has received a number of scholarships, grants and fellowships throughout her career,
Felstiner first pursued her own academic pursuits at Harvard University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1963. Her interest in women’s issues was piqued at this time due to witnessing discrimination against women on the campus. She continued her education at Columbia University, earning a Master of Arts in 1966. Following this, she earned a Ph.D. at Stanford University in 1971. She published To Paint her Life: Charlotte Salomon in the Nazi Era, in 1994 and Out of Joint: A Public & Private Story of Arthritis in 2005. In her career, she has maintained professional affiliation with Phi Beta Kappa, the Harvard and Stanford Alumni Associations and various civic groups.
