Biography:

Ellen Herman is an academic expert on adoption, psychology, psychiatry, family and gender studies, especially how they have developed throughout American history. Ellen is the author of "Kinship by Design: A History of Adoption in the United States" and is currently writing a new book on the history of autism spectrum disorder.

Recent Media:

• Far from the fairy tale: Broken adoptions shatter promises to 66,000 kids in the US (USA Today, May 19, 2022)
• How an adoption broker cashed in on prospective parent’s dreams (The New Yorker, Oct. 18, 2021)
• UO prof's amicus brief is part of Supreme Court foster care case (OregonNews, Dec. 1, 2020)
• Brush up on autism history with this website (Futurity, March 27, 2019)
• A Court Battle Over a Dallas Toddler Could Decide the Future of Native American Law (The Atlantic, Feb. 21, 2019)
• The twilight of closed adoptions (Boston Globe, Aug. 4, 2018)
• Why is adoption so expensive? A look at the rising costs (Romper, Aug. 26, 2016)
• New Oregon law makes adoption records easier to access than ever (The Oregonian, Dec. 17, 2015)
• In gay marriage decision, Supreme Court turns to historians for insight (The Oregonian, June 26, 2015)
• Our evolving understanding of autism (Cascade Magazine, Spring 2015)
• After Haiti earthquake, spike in adoption requests benefits other countries in need (The Oregonian, April 3, 2010)