Jane Perry Clark Carey
Jane Perry Clark Carey was an American political scientist and consultant to the Federal Government specializing in displaced persons and refugees.
Early life
Jane Perry Clark was born in Washington and raised in New York City in a progressive household deeply engaged in social and political discourse. Her upbringing was marked by intellectual stimulation and a commitment to social justice, instilled by her parents who were activists in their own right. From an early age, she was encouraged to question prevailing norms and explore alternative perspectives, fostering her independent thinking. Growing up in a politically charged environment, she was exposed to a wide range of ideologies, which laid the foundation for her future academic pursuits. Carey's upbringing imbued her with a sense of responsibility towards societal issues, influencing her later work in political science and activism.Carey completed her undergraduate studies at Vassar College before earning her master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.
Career
Carey taught American government at Barnard College from 1929 to 1953, ascending from instructor to assistant professor. Her scholarly pursuits included a focus on constitutional law.Beginning in 1944, during World War II, Carey served as an assistant adviser to the U.S. Department of State on displaced persons and refugees, a role she held until 1946, when she was promoted to consultant. There, she provided expertise on refugees and displaced persons during critical periods of global conflict and recovery. In 1948, she became a consultant to the United States Military Government in Germany. She served with the State Department again in 1951, and from 1964 to 1967.
In 1952, she served as chief investigator for a joint Canadian and United States survey of refugees for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Written works
Her first major written work was the 1938 book The Rise of a New Federalism, which explored the dynamics of federal-state cooperation during the New Deal era. She dedicated the book to her close friend U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo, with whom she maintained correspondence for many years. The book argues that "the federal and state governments are not separate and rival agencies but that they are both necessary to handle the manifold problems of government today".Carey wrote extensively on migration studies and the complexities of post-war reconstruction, including in the books Deportation of Aliens from the United States to Europe and The Role of Uprooted People in European Recovery.
She collaborated with her husband, Andrew Galbraith Carey, on multiple articles on political and economic developments across various countries, and on the 1968 book The Web of Modern Greek Politics.