Joanne B. Freeman is the Class of 1954 Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University. An award-winning author, Professor Freeman’s books include Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic and The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War.
Professor Freeman specializes in early American politics and political culture. Her interest in political violence and political polarization—dirty, nasty, politics—has made her work particularly relevant in recent years.
Freeman has long been committed to public-minded history. She is co-host of the popular American history podcast, BackStory, and host of the webinar, History Matters … (and so does coffee). Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Atlantic Magazine, among others, and she has been featured in documentaries on PBS and the History Channel.
