Mirra Komarovsky Papers, 1922-1997
Collection context
- Creator:
- Komarovsky, Mirra
- Abstract:
- This collection consists of the personal papers of former Barnard College faculty member and alumna, Mirra Komarovsky.
- Extent:
- 14.66 Linear Feet (14 full size boxes, 3 half size boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 1 document drawer)
- Language:
- English .
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains the papers of former Barnard College professor of Sociology, and alumna, Mirra Komarovky. Materials in the collection include clippings of reviews of Komarovsky's work, copies of publications that featured articles by Komarovsky, awards, correspondence with students and researchers, and programs from conferences attended by Komarovky. The collection primarily contains materials relating to Komarovky's academic work, including research files, notes, drafts of papers and lectures, course preparation materials, and grant applications and reports.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mirra Komarovsky was born in 1906, in Baku, a city located on the Caspian Sea, in what was then Russia. In 1920, she immigrated to the United States, and completed high school in Wichita, Kansas. She moved to New York City and began her education at Barnard College. She obtained a degree in Sociology from Barnard, and went on to receive an MA at Columbia University, also in Sociology. She taught at Skidmore College for two years before returning to Columbia University to complete a PhD in Sociology, and joined Barnard College as an instructor in 1938. She continued to teach at Barnard for thirty-two years, retiring in 1970. However, she returned to the college in 1978 to serve as chairwoman of the Women's Studies department.
Mirra Komarovsky was an influential figure in the field of Sociology, focusing her work on studies about family, gender relations, and women's education. She was the author of numerous books and articles, including Women in College: Shaping New Feminine Identities, a study on the women's movement and education, in which she analyzed survey responses from over 200 students of the Barnard class of 1983. She found that while attitudes about women's place within the world may be changing, institutions have not adapted to these changes. Mirra Komarovsky also served as the second female president of the American Sociological Association in 1973 and 1974, and was presented with the Distinguished Career Award from the Association in 1991. Mirra Komarovsky passed away at the age of 93, in 1999.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box 11, Folder 13 is restricted per the Archive's policy as it contains information about Mirra Komarovsky's reappointment and salary. Materials in this folder will be open to researchers 75 years following their date of creation, in 2045.
- Terms of access:
-
Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes.
- Preferred citation:
-
Mirra Komarovsky Papers, 1922-1997; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College.
- Location of this collection:
-
Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning 423Barnard College3009 BroadwayNew York, NY 10027, USA
- Before you visit:
- Please contact archives@barnard.edu with research requests or to schedule a visit; see our website for more information.
- Contact:
- archives@barnard.edu