Alexandra Minna Stern elected to Society of American Historians
Todd Cheney
Stern is one of 20 newly elected members to the society, which was formed in 1939 to promote literary distinction in the writing of history and biography.
| April 16, 2026
Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of the UCLA College Division of Humanities, has been elected to the Society of American Historians. The honor is a recognition of the excellence and import of her historical writing, which has covered subjects including the uses and misuses of genetics in the U.S. and Latin America.
“I’m delighted to be invited to join this esteemed and creative group of historians, scholars and artists,” Stern said. “It’s especially gratifying to know that the society recognizes interdisciplinary scholars like myself.”
The Society of American Historians elects members based on achievement in the presentation of history and biography in books, essays, film, drama, museum exhibitions and other forms of public communication. The society recognizes “excellence in historical work marked, among other qualities, by clarity, empathy, narrative power, accuracy and explanatory force,” according to its website.
Stern’s award-winning “Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America” (University of California Press, 2005; second edition 2015), examines the surprisingly broad reach of eugenics in the U.S. throughout the 20th century. She also is the author of “Telling Genes: The Story of Genetic Counseling in America” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012), which was named a Choice 2013 Outstanding Academic Title in Health Sciences.
Her most recent book was “Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right is Warping the American Imagination” (Beacon Press, 2019), which deconstructs the core ideas of the far right and white nationalism in through the lenses of historical analysis, feminist studies and critical race studies. Following her work on that book, Stern was asked to contribute her expertise to the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Stern has served as dean of the Humanities Division since 2022, and she holds faculty appointments in the departments of English and history, and in the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics.
The Society of American Historians was founded in 1939 to promote literary distinction in the writing of history and biography. Its membership includes more than 450 academic scholars, public historians and professional writers working on topics in American history.
Stern joins a list of distinguished UCLA faculty who have been elected previously, including Ariela Gross (law and history), Kelly Lytle Hernández (history), Robin D. G. Kelley (history) and Brenda E. Stevenson (history).