Mary Mothersill Papers, 1963-1993
Collection context
- Creator:
- Mothersill, Mary
- Abstract:
- Mary Mothersill (1923-2008) was a Canadian philosopher who taught philosophy at Barnard College from 1963-1993. The collection includes her philosophical writing, philosophy course curricula, texts intended for publication and related correspondence, annotated copies of the works of other philosophers, and letters from fellow philosopher Arnold Isenberg. Her material may be useful to scholars of Kant, C.I. Lewis, philosophy students, teachers, as well as researchers of 1968 counterculture, gender in education, theory of knowledge, aesthetics and anyone researching the case of Linda LeClair.
- Extent:
- 0.63 Linear Feet (1 full document box, 1 half document box)
- Language:
- English .
- Scope and content:
-
The collection includes Mary Mothersill's philosophical writing, publication correspondence, drafts and revisions, peer reviews, a copy of her text Beauty Restored with handwritten annotation, a videotape recording of her presidential address (titled "Old Age") at the 1998 American Philosophical Association meeting, and annotated copies of the works of other philosophers. There are course curricula, material generated by conferences, office files generated by academic administrative meetings and responsibilities, material documenting the activities of the Department of Philosophy, and files generated by student-led councils and committees related to school governance. Also present in the collection is correspondence with and annotated drafts of work by Arnold Isenberg, a friend and colleague of Mothersill's, dating from 1962, and one folder devoted to material relating to Linda LeClair, including correspondence from strangers reacting to the 1968 controversy. There is some material documenting Mothersill's accomplishments, including a Curriculum Vitae, and newspaper clippings dating back to the 1950s and her time at Vassar.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mary Mothersill was a Canadian philosopher, born in 1923 in Edmonton, Canada. She earned her BA in English at the University of Toronto, her MA in Philosophy from Radcliffe College, and her PhD from Harvard. She taught at a number of colleges including Vassar, Columbia University, and City College before joining Barnard to teach undergraduate philosophy from 1963-1993.
Mothersill was politically active, taking part in a taskforce to evaluate the role of Barnard in women's education and recommending, among other things, to build a Women's Center. She would eventually teach courses there and serve on its Advisory Board. Like her colleague Sue Larson (whose papers were donated to the archives alongside Mothersill's), Mothersill was active in the life of the school, advocating for students, agitating against the Vietnam War, and joining the search committee to find a new president for the college after Martha Peterson's departure. She published across North America and the United Kingdom on a variety of topics including ethics, death, feminism, and pornography, but she professed that her area was aesthetics. In 1984 her book Beauty Restored was published by Oxford Press. She died in January 2008.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection has no restrictions and is is located on-site.
- Terms of access:
-
Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard College Archives. The Barnard College Archives approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Reproductions can be made for research purposes.
- Preferred citation:
-
Mary Mothersill Faculty Papers, 1963-1993; Box and Folder; Barnard College Archives, 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