ALEXANDER KEYSSAR
Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy. An historian by training, he has specialized in the excavation of issues that have contemporary policy implications. His 1986 book, Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts, was awarded three scholarly prizes. His book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000), was named the best book in U.S. history by both the American Historical Association and the Historical Society; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Keyssar is coauthor of Inventing America, a text integrating the history of technology and science into the mainstream of American history, as well as coeditor of a series on Comparative and International Working-Class History. In 2004/5, Keyssar chaired the Social Science Research Council's National Research Commission on Voting and Elections. Keyssar's current research interests include election reform, the history of democracies, and the history of poverty.
Research
for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.
Selected Publication Citations:
Books
Roland, Alex, W. Jeffrey Bolster, and Alexander Keyssar. The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Op-Eds
Keyssar, Alexander. "Quem Leva a Cadeira de Bush?" O Estado de S. Paolo, December 30, 2007.
Research Papers/Reports
Keyssar, Alexander. "Current Challenges to Democracy in the United States." League of Women Voters Speakers Series, February 27, 2008.
Keyssar, Alexander. “Democracy as an Ongoing Project: Threats and Challenges to Democratic Governance in the U.S.” The September Project, University of Utah, September 2007.
Keyssar, Alexander. “Democracy as a Project: The Strange Career of Political Participation in the U.S.” Latin American Regional Forum, Monterrey, Mexico, August 2007.
Keyssar, Alexander. “The Meaning of Democracy: Electoral Reform in Local and Global Contexts.” American Historical Association's Annual Meeting, January 2007.