Kicking off Women’s History Month, please join American University's Women & Politics Institute for a virtual conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs, Melbern Glasscock Chair at Texas A&M University,  author of the  book, Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé and WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin.

In Fearless Women, Dr. Cobbs chronicles the long fight for women’s rights that began with the founding of the country. Telling the story of the women who led the charge for these rights, she shows the diversity of the movement and highlights the lesser-known voices that were essential to the cause. “This passionate and inspiring book by the New York Times bestselling author of The Hello Girls shows us that the quest for women’s rights is deeply entwined with the founding story of the United States.” Order the book here

Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs is an award-winning historian and best-selling author. Her books have won four literary prizes, two for American history and two for fiction, and she has won four prizes for documentary filmmaking. She also currently holds the Melbern Glasscock Chair at Texas A&M University. She has been a Fulbright scholar in Ireland and a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. She has served on the Historical Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department and on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in History.

From California, Cobbs studied literature at the University of California, San Diego. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in American history at Stanford University.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer Martin did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a cum laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communication.

“Women On Wednesdays”: Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs - “Fearless Women”