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Joan Acker was an American sociologist, researcher, writer, and educator. She was a part of the University of Oregon faculty from 1967 until her death in 2016. Acker is considered one of the leading analysts regarding gender and class within the second wave of feminism Acker was born in Illinois in 1924. She received a bachelor's degree from Hunters University before obtaining her Master's Degree from the University of Chicago. Acker continued her education with a PhD in sociology at the University of Oregon before joining the UO as a faculty member in 1967 in the department of sociology. Acker is best known for her work in "transforming women's studies on campus, her pioneering scholastic work on gender and class, and her ardent activism to change the political, economic and academic landscape for her gender." Acker also developed numerous courses that looked closely at gender and also worked to "establish UO's Center for the Study of Women in Society, which she directed from 1973 until 1986." Throughout her career Acker also wrote and published many notable works which include Doing Comparable Worth: Gender, Class, and Pay Equity (1988); Class Questions: Feminist Answers (2006); and Stretched Thin: Poor Families, Welfare Work, and Welfare Reform (2010), which she coauthored with Sandra Morgen and Jill Weigt.

Sources

Halnon, Emily. "Memorial Set for Revolutionary UO Sociology Professor Joan Acker." Around the O, 19 July 2016, around.uoregon.edu/content/memorial-set-revolutionary-uo-sociology-professor-joan-acker.

"In Memory of Joan Acker: 1924 – 2016." Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS), 17 Aug. 2016, csws.uoregon.edu/memory-joan-acker-1924-2016/.