Martha Porter Saxton received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1989, and joined the Columbia Society of Fellows during that same time. More recently, Saxton has been named a Cullman Fellow (2007-2008) and has received the Whiting Travel Fellowship (2012). Saxton’s teaching interests, like her research, began with and still embrace women's history and gender. She integrates both into her other interests, which include Colonial North America and the U.S. up to the Civil War, the Old South and African American and Native American history. Recently, in conjunction with colleague in Political Science, Saxton has developed a course on human rights, which is introduced to students through its history, its evolving philosophy including critiques, and through case studies of activism and work in the field. She is the Co-founder and co-editor of The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, since 2006.