Kara W. Swanson

Kara W. Swanson is a Professor of Law and Affiliate Professor of History at Northeastern University. She holds a BS from Yale, MA/JD from UC Berkeley, and PhD in History of Science from Harvard. Her research bridges intellectual property law, legal history, and the history of science/medicine, with a focus on race, gender, and citizenship. Key roles include former Associate Dean for Research at Northeastern Law, Berger-Howe Fellow at Harvard Law, and visiting professorships at Boston University and Victoria University (New Zealand).

• Education: Yale (BS 1987), UC Berkeley (MA 1988/JD 1992), Harvard (PhD 2009)

Her work investigates patent systems’ intersections with social equality movements. Recent projects include a book on body commodification (Banking on the Body, Harvard UP 2014) and fellowships at the Lemelson Center, Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), and Kansas City’s Linda Hall Library. Awards include the History of Science Society’s Rossiter Prize (2018) and Law & Society Association’s Franklin Prize (2021).

Grants: Mellon Foundation, NSF, NEH, Lemelson Center. Current projects explore patents’ role in shaping American citizenship and nationhood through marginalized groups’ inventive histories.