Sara Matthiesen works on modern U.S. history, with an emphasis on gender, race, sexuality, and reproduction after 1945. Her current book, Reproduction Reconceived (University of California Press), examines battles over the right to family making since the 1970s. This project traces a number of debates between activists and public institutions in order to understand how family making was reconceptualized as a choice by the end of the 20th century. Matthiesen has taught courses on the history of reproductive politics, the history of criminal sexualities, feminist theory, and critical legal theory. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington she was a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University. Matthiesen also teaches in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at The George Washington University.