Dr. Serena Mayeri

Biography

Serena Mayeri is the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and a Professor of History (by courtesy) at Penn Carey Law. Her scholarship focuses on the historical impact of progressive and conservative social movements on legal constitutional change. Mayeri's forthcoming book, 'Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, Transformation of American Law' (Yale University Press, 2025), examines the historical challenges to marriage as a legal institution and its impact on public and private benefits. Her previous book, 'Reasoning Race: Feminism, Law, and the Civil Rights Revolution' (Harvard University Press, 2011), received the Littleton-Griswold Prize from the American Historical Association and the Darlene Clark Hine Award from the Organization of American Historians. Mayeri's work engages with reproductive rights, justice, equality, democracy, and the role of history in constitutional discourse and litigation. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and co-authored amicus briefs in significant cases involving abortion rights, employment discrimination, immigration, and family law. At Penn, she teaches courses in family law, employment discrimination, reproductive rights justice, and legal history.

Research Interests