Oral History Interview with Margaret Anne O'Connor, July 1, 1987. Interview L-0031. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
English professor Margaret O'Connor reviews her early teaching experiences at UNC and how they led her to become interested in women's literature. She attributes much of her growing feminist awareness to Katherine Carmichael and to her students, who pushed for many of the early changes that occurred for women. As the status of women became an increasingly important topic, more and more demands were made on the female faculty who were already at the school. In response to these pressures, Catherine Maley established a women's forum so that they could share their stories. O'Connor responds with empathy when addressing the opposition to feminist faculty initiatives at the time, reflecting on how the male faculty must have felt. Despite this opposition, the women's studies department gained faculty approval, and the first class was taught by Joan Scott. The first director of women's studies was Mary Turner Lane, for whom O'Connor has great respect, though at the time she was disappointed in the way Lane handled the administrative side of the position. She credits Lane with improving the visibility of the program. O'Connor was on the board that appointed Lane's successor; she expresses her disappointment with the selection process and with the final selection. Nonetheless, O'Connor says she feels hopeful about the future of women's studies at UNC.
Excerpts
O'Connor becomes interested in women's studies
Katherine Carmichael's contributions to gender equity
Female graduate students play important role in the push for gender equality at UNC
Catherine Maley encourages female faculty to share their past struggles
Reflection on the male facutly who resisted feminism in the academy
Committee that proposed the women's studies department
Joan Scott's dedication to women's studies and women's issues on campus
Mary Turner Lane's dedication to women's studies and women's issues
Mary Turner Lane chosen as the first director of women's studies at UNC
All that has changed for the new generation of faculty members
Lane's leadership increases local visibility for the women's movement
Jane Sherron De Hart Mathews takes over women's studies
The future is bright for women's studies
Citation
Interview L-0031, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection #4007, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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