Caitlin Reed Wiesner

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of History at Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where I specialize in the history of women, gender, and sexuality in the 20th century United States. I earned my PhD at Rutgers University- New Brunswick in 2021 and my Bachelor of the Arts with Distinguished Honors in History and Women's & Gender Studies from The College of New Jersey in 2015.

My research focuses on gender violence, feminist activism, African American women, and state crime control policy in the late 20th century United States. I am currently working on a book project based upon my recently defended dissertation, “Controlling Rape: Black Women, the Feminist Movement Against Sexual Violence, and the State, 1974-1994." This project examines how Black anti-rape organizers critically engaged both the feminist movement against sexual violence and the federal War on Crime between 1974 and 1994.

My research has been supported by the Graduate School of New Brunswick, the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis, Rutgers Oral History Archives, Smith College Libraries, the New-York Historical Society, and the P.E.O. International.