Trisha Franzen

Trisha Franzen is a Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Albion College. She is the author of Anna Howard Shaw: The Work of Woman Suffrage, a groundbreaking biography of suffragist leader Anna Howard Shaw, and Spinsters and Lesbians: Independent Womanhood in the United States. Her research focuses on gender nonconformity, labor history, and the intersection of personal and political activism in women's movements.

Her work challenges traditional historiography by emphasizing Shaw's early economic struggles and non-traditional family structure, offering a new perspective on the suffrage movement's dynamics. The book was honored as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title (2014).

Franzen's scholarship bridges biography and social history, examining how individual lives reflect broader cultural and political shifts. She has contributed to interdisciplinary discussions on gender, labor, and historical memory through her publications and academic presentations.