Stephen Pemberton
Chair, Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts
- stephen.g.pemberton@njit.edu
- 973-596-5716
- 329 Cullimore Hall (CULM)
About Me
Stephen Pemberton, Ph.D., is Chair of the NJIT Federated Department of History
Dr. Pemberton is a historian of medicine, disease, and health with expertise in United States history and the history and sociology of science. His research and teaching is also informed by his training in philosophy and his engagements with medical humanities scholarship and health policy debates.
He is author of The Bleeding Disease: Hemophilia and the Unintended Consequences of Medical Progress (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011) and co-author of The Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine: Ethnicity and Innovation in Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Disease (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006).
His current research project is ‘Bleeding Disorder: What Hemophilia Experiences Reveal about Biocapitalism and Health Advocacy.’
Dr. Pemberton is a historian of medicine, disease, and health with expertise in United States history and the history and sociology of science. His research and teaching is also informed by his training in philosophy and his engagements with medical humanities scholarship and health policy debates.
He is author of The Bleeding Disease: Hemophilia and the Unintended Consequences of Medical Progress (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011) and co-author of The Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine: Ethnicity and Innovation in Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Disease (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006).
His current research project is ‘Bleeding Disorder: What Hemophilia Experiences Reveal about Biocapitalism and Health Advocacy.’
Education
Ph.D.; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; History; 2001
M.A.; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; History; 1997
M.A.; University of Memphis; Philosophy; 1992
B.A.; Trinity University; Philosophy; 1990
Awards & Honors
Office Hours
Email for Appointment
2026 Fall Courses
HIST 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
HSS 404 - HISTORY SEMINAR: HEALTH, JUSTICE, AND CAPITALISM - HONORS
HIST 311 - HISTORY CO-OP II
HIST 727 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY - HONORS
HIST 702 - MASTER'S ESSAY
HIST 403 - INDEPENDENT STUDY HONORS
HIST 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 310 - HISTORY CO-OP I
HIST 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 701C - MASTER'S THESIS
Teaching Interests
History of medicine
History of public health
History of biomedical sciences and technology
History of health law and policy
United States history
History of public health
History of biomedical sciences and technology
History of health law and policy
United States history
Past Courses
Research Interests
Dr. Pemberton is a historian of medicine, disease and health with expertise in United States history and the history and sociology of science. His research and writing is also informed by his training in philosophy and his engagements with medical humanities scholarship and health policy debates.
In Progress
Bleeding Disorder: What Hemophilia Experiences Reveal about Biocapitalism and Health Advocacy
This book of scholarly essays situates historical and contemporary efforts to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders as a lens for interpreting biocapitalism and health advocacy; the book asks readers to consider what the pursuit of healing and justice entails for democratic societies committed to using biocapital to promote medical and social progress.
This book of scholarly essays situates historical and contemporary efforts to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders as a lens for interpreting biocapitalism and health advocacy; the book asks readers to consider what the pursuit of healing and justice entails for democratic societies committed to using biocapital to promote medical and social progress.
The Case for Irony in Medicine
This research project explores how and why a therapeutic concept of irony can serve as a standpoint for judging the vexed character of “high tech” medicine and healthcare today. Fully understood, a therapeutic concept of irony provides physicians and other caregivers with a means for overcoming some of the conceptual as well as practical difficulties that have impeded their best efforts to care for their patients as well as themselves.
This research project explores how and why a therapeutic concept of irony can serve as a standpoint for judging the vexed character of “high tech” medicine and healthcare today. Fully understood, a therapeutic concept of irony provides physicians and other caregivers with a means for overcoming some of the conceptual as well as practical difficulties that have impeded their best efforts to care for their patients as well as themselves.
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