Carroll, Berenice A.
Biographical Information
Berenice Carroll was born December 14, 1932 to Margaret and Morris Jacobs. She earned her undergraduate degree from Queens College in New York (1953), and her PhD from Brown University (1960). Carroll's upbringing during WWII and her experiences of the Cold War during her college years and early career significantly impacted her research and activism over the course of her career.
Carroll's first book, Design for Total War: Arms and Economics in the Third Reich, was written as a result of research she performed in Germany during her tenure as a Fulbright Scholar. This early text provided a foundation for her later peace research, which blended theory and activism and focused on the impacts of war, the power of peace and justice movements, and the intersection of feminist theory and peace.
As Carroll realized the centrality of women in peace work, she published a number of studies about women who were engaged as political theorists and activists: Christine de Pizan, Mary Beard, Virginia Woolf, and, later, Jane Addams. She also published a book, Liberating Women's History: Theoretical and Critical Essays; Women's Political and Social Thought: An Anthology; and a special issue of the Women's Studies International Forum titled "In a Great Company of Women." In service to the developing fields of women's studies and political studies, Carroll played an active role in several professional organizations. She developed a women's caucus in both the American Political Science Association and the American Historical Association, and served as president of the National Women's Studies Association. She built the International Peace Research Association and the Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development (COPRED), now the Peace and Justice Studies Association, and served as it's chair in the 1980s. She also served as editor of Peace and CHange: A Journal for Peace Research.
Over the course of her career, Carroll served as the Director of Women's Studies at University of Champaign-Urbana (1983-1987), University of Maryland- College Park (1975-1976), and Purdue University (1990-2000). She also taught political science at a number of universities: University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (1966-1969, 1969-1990), University of Maryland at College Park (1975-76), and University of Texas at Austin (1975). Prior to her first tenure track position at University of Illinois, Carroll worked as a researcher and lecturer. During her tenure at University of Illinois, Carroll was active in the formation of the Grass Roots Group of Second Class Citizens, which advocated for the passage of the ERA. She also co-founded the first women's shelter in Illinois. At Purdue, Carroll was a part of the Council on the Status of Women, and numerous other social justice efforts, including some led by students.
The WGSS program at Purdue annually awards the Berenice Carroll Feminism, Peace, and Social Justice Award in honor of her contributions at Purdue and to the fields of women's studies and peace studies. Berenice Carroll died in 2018.