Terry Karl


Terry Lynn Karl is the Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Political Science in the Political Science Department at Stanford University.

Early life and academics

Karl was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Karl's parents, Irene E. Karl and Michael M. Karl, married in 1940 and were both professors of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She has a sister, Bonnie Karl Staffier. She has lived in Noe Valley, San Francisco, California, since 1986.
Karl attended the John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, graduating in 1966. She received a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Stanford University in Political Science, and a Ph.D. with Special Distinction from Stanford University in Political Science. Karl was granted a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the University of San Francisco in 2005.

Academia

Karl was an Assistant Professor, in the Department of Government, at Harvard University from 1982-85. During that time she brought a sexual harassment complaint against Harvard Professor Jorge I. Domínguez, the senior Latin American scholar in the Department of Government. In 1983, Domínguez was officially disciplined by Harvard's administration for "serious conduct" for sexually harassing her.
Karl served as director of Stanford's Center for Latin American Studies from 1990-2002. Karl is the Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Political Science in the Political Science Department at Stanford University.
She won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Allan V. Cox Medal for Faculty Excellence Fostering Undergraduate Research, the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching, and was given the Rio Branco Prize by Brazil President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in recognition of her service in fostering academic relations between the United States and Latin America.

Scholarship

She is the author of The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States. It was named one of the two best books on Latin America by the Latin American Studies Association. She also co-authored Limits of Competition, co-authored with Ian Gary The Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor, is co-author with Mary Kaldor and Yahia Said of the forthcoming New and Old Oil Wars, and is co-author with Joseph Stiglitz, Jeffrey Sachs, and others of the forthcoming Overcoming the Resource Curse. Her writings have been translated into 15 languages.

Selected publications