Susanne M. Klausen

Susanne M. Klausen holds the rank of Brill Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She also serves as Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for the Afterlife of Violence and Reparative Quest (AVReQ) and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Humanities. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of History at Carleton University, Ottawa.

Dr. Klausen earned her Ph.D. in History from Queen’s University, Canada. Her research focuses on the intersections of nationalism, sexuality, and reproductive rights in South Africa, particularly during the apartheid era. She has authored two major monographs and contributed to top journals such as the American Historical Review and the Journal of Women’s History.

Her recent work examines legal criminalization of interracial heterosexual relationships under apartheid, as seen in her 2022 American Historical Review article. Her 2015 book on abortion under apartheid won prestigious awards from the Canadian Committee on Women’s History and Canadian Association of African Studies.

• Awards: Women’s History Prize (2016), Joel Gregory Prize (2016), Wallace Ferguson Prize finalist (2016)
• Research Networks: AVReQ (Stellenbosch University), Faculty of Humanities (University of Johannesburg)

Current projects include a monograph on the 1950 South African Immorality Act’s impact on interracial relationships. Her work consistently bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates on gender, race, and human rights.