Claudia Dreifus is an American journalist, educator and lecturer, producer of the weekly feature “Conversation with…” of the Science Section of The New York Times, and known for her interviews with leading figures in world politics and science. She is adjunct associate professor of international affairs and media at the
School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) of
Columbia University.
Early life
Claudia Dreifus was born in New York City to Marianne and Henry Dreifus, both German-Jewish refugees.[1][2] Henry Dreifus was a mechanic in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later went on to become involved in local politics.[1][3]
Claudia Dreifus obtained her bachelor of science in
dramatic arts from
New York University.[4] She was active in student politics as the leader of
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Democratic Reform (SDR). After graduation, she worked as a labor organizer for hospital workers,
Local 1199. During this time, she also began working as a freelance journalist.
In the 1990s, Dreifus increasingly took on interviews related to major political figures. She interviewed
Benazir Bhutto (1994) and
Aung San Suu Kyi for The New York Times (1996).[9][10] She also kept up her established work as an interviewer for major celebrities, such as
Toni Morrison,
Bette Midler and
Samuel L. Jackson.
Through this work for The New York Times Tuesday Science Section, Dreifus has become increasingly involved in writing about the lives and work of scientists.[4][11] Her works have appeared in various journals including The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Smithsonian, AARP The Magazine, and Scientific American.[14] In 2006, Dreifus was named an Honorary Member of
Sigma Xi for her ability to illuminate the work of scientists for a wide public.[15]
University instructor
In the 1990s, Dreifus worked as a teacher in the Graduate Department of English at the
City University of New York.
Dreifus has authored, edited, or co-authored eight books, and her work has appeared in over ten anthologies.
In their 2010 book Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids—and What We Can Do About It,
Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus critically scrutinize the system of academia that provides
higher education, and question the driving factors behind
tuition payments, money spending and financial investments in academia.[16][17]
Honors, awards and affiliations
Among various honors and affiliations, Dreifus is senior fellow of the World Policy Institute.[4] In 2006, she was inducted as honorary member of
Sigma Xi,[18] and in 2007 she was awarded the Career Achievement Award from the
American Society of Journalists and Authors.[19]
In 1977 Dreifus became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP).[20]
Earlier awards to Dreifus included, in 1980, a Special Award for Service to Women from the New York
YWCA and obtained three awards in 1987: the Outstanding Magazine Article Award from American Society of Journalists and Authors for Rodrigo's Last Trip Home, the American Values Award for How Rural Woman are Saving the Family Farm, and the
American Jewish Press Association's Simon Rockower Award for Distinguished Commentary for Why I Write. She was nominated for the
National Magazine Award of 1992 by TV Guide for TVs Censor from Tupelo, an
investigative report on
censorship.[4]
In 2000 she was listed in the Who's Who in America and the Who's Who In The World, both of
Marquis Who's Who.[4]
Publications
Books (author or co-author)
Andrew Hacker, Claudia Dreifus: Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids—and What We Can Do About It, Henry Holt & Co., 2010,
ISBN978-0805087345
Andrew Hacker, Claudia Dreifus: The Athletics Incubus: How College Sports Undermine College Education, Henry Holt and Co., 2011 (previously published as part of Higher Education?),
ISBN978-1429958608
Andrew Hacker, Claudia Dreifus: The Golden Dozen: Is the Ivy League Worth the Dollars?, 2011 (previously published as part of Higher Education?),
ISBN9781429958745
Claudia Dreifus: Scientific Conversations: Interviews on Science from The New York Times', Times Books, 2002,
ISBN978-0805071801
Claudia Dreifus, ed.: Seizing our bodies: the politics of women's health, Vintage Books, 1977,
ISBN978-0394723600
Dreifus, Claudia. "Forward." The Doctor's Case against the Pill. Barbara Seaman, ed. 25th Anniversary Edition. Alameda, CA: Hunter House, 1995.
Strainchamps, Ethel R. Rooms with No View: A Woman's Guide to the Man's World of the Media. Harper and Row, 1974. (Compiled anonymously by the Media Women's Association).
Anthologies including Dreifus' work
Capaldi, Nicholas. Immigration: Debating the Issues. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1997. (Includes interview with Doris Meissner "The worst job in the world?")
Denard, Carolyn C. Toni Morrison: Conversations. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2008. (Includes interview "Chloe Wofford talks about Toni Morrison")
Funk, Robert, Linda S. Coleman, and Susan Day. Strategies for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2003.
García, Márquez G., and Gene H. Bell-Villada. Conversations with Gabriel García Márquez. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2006. (Includes Playboy interview)
Gartner, Alan, Colin Greer, and Frank Riessman. What Nixon Is Doing to Us. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. (Chapter "Women: Behind Every Man")
Jaggar, Alison M, and Paula S. Rothenberg. Feminist Frameworks: Alternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between Women and Men. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.
Katzman, Allen. Our Time: An Anthology of Interviews from the East Village Other. New York: Dial Press, 1972.
Polner, Murray, and Stefan Merken. Peace, Justice, and Jews: Reclaiming Our Tradition. New York: Bunim Bannigan, 2007. ("Berlin Stories" by Claudia Dreifus)
Price, Barbara R, and Natalie J. Sokoloff. The Criminal Justice System and Women: Women Offenders, Victims, Workers. New York, NY: Clark Boardman, 1982.
Schulder, Diane, and Florynce Kennedy. Abortion Rap. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
Stambler, Sookie. Women's Liberation: Blueprint for the Future. New York: Ace Books, 1970. ("The Great Abortion Suit")
Winburn, Janice. Shop Talk and War Stories: American Journalists Examine Their Profession. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. ("Preparation, chemistry, and the interview as an act of seduction" by Claudia Dreifus.)