Paula S. Fass

Paula S. Fass is an American historian renowned for her pioneering work in the history of childhood and the history of education. A professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, she has authored and edited numerous influential books that have shaped the field of social history in the United States. Her scholarship is distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach, drawing from cultural history, legal history, and sociology to examine the experiences of young people and the evolution of educational institutions.

Biography

Paula S. Fass was born in New York City in 1944. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then pursued graduate work at Columbia University, obtaining both her Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in history. Her doctoral dissertation, which focused on education and social change, laid the groundwork for her future research. She is married to the intellectual historian Martin Jay, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and they have two children.

Academic career

Fass began her academic career teaching at several institutions before joining the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of History. At Berkeley, she taught courses on American history, the history of childhood, and the history of education, mentoring a generation of graduate students. She served in various administrative roles and was instrumental in developing interdisciplinary programs. Fass has also been a visiting professor at institutions like Princeton University and has lectured widely at universities including Harvard University and Stanford University.

Research and scholarship

Fass's research is foundational to the modern study of childhood as a historical construct. She challenged traditional narratives by placing children and adolescents at the center of historical analysis, exploring how societal forces like immigration, urbanization, and state policy shaped their lives. Her work often intersects with legal history, examining how laws concerning compulsory education, child labor, and juvenile justice reflected and transformed American values. She has also contributed significantly to the historiography of education in the United States, analyzing the role of schools in assimilation and social mobility.

Major works

Fass's first major book, *The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920s* (1977), is a landmark study that analyzed the creation of modern adolescence amidst the cultural conflicts of the Jazz Age. Her edited volume, *Childhood in America* (2000), co-edited with Mary Ann Mason, is a comprehensive anthology of primary sources that became a standard text. *Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America* (1997) explored the history of child abduction, linking sensational cases like the Lindbergh kidnapping to broader anxieties about family and society. *End of American Childhood: A History of Parenting from Life on the Frontier to the Managed Child* (2016) examined the evolution of parenting philosophies from the colonial period to the contemporary era.

Awards and honors

Throughout her career, Fass has received numerous accolades for her scholarship. She has been awarded fellowships from prestigious organizations such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Her book *The Damned and the Beautiful* received the Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians. In recognition of her lifetime contributions, she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Category:American historians Category:Historians of education Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty Category:1944 births Category:Living people