Alice Huntington Bushee (December 4, 1867 – April 28, 1956) was an American librarian and early pioneer in

Hispanic studies Hispanism (sometimes referred to as Hispanic studies or Spanish studies) is the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking world, principally that of Spain and Hispanic America. It can also entail studying Spanish language and ...

. She was a professor at Wellesley College and wrote several books, including ''Fundamentals of Spanish Grammar''.

Early years and education

Bushee was born on December 4, 1867, in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. She grew up in

Morrisville, Vermont Morrisville is a village in the town of Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 2,086. Morrisville has two country clubs, a hospital, a school featuring Greek architecture and an air ...

. Bushee graduated from the Peoples Academy in 1886. In 1891, she graduated from Mount Holyoke College. She was the class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

Career

After graduation, Bushee taught in schools in the United States. In 1893, she traveled to Europe to be a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

where she was slated to work in San Sebastian. In San Sebastian, she worked as a

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

, math teacher and Spanish literature teacher at the International Institute for Girls in Spain (IIGS). In 1904, she organized the IIGS. When her father died in 1907, Bushee returned to the United States. Bushee graduated with a master's degree in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

in 1909. She became a Spanish teacher at Wellesley College in 1911. Bushee published ''Fundamentals of Spanish Grammar'' in 1917 which was praised by ''

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

'' as "nothing quite like it in modern language grammars published in this country." The grammar book used a deductive method of language instruction. In 1931, she became the Helen J. Sanborn Chair of Spanish literature at Wellesley. Other accomplishments include recovering a "lost" volume of the book, ''The Sucesos of Mateo Alemán'', which helped fill in missing history about Mateo Alemán's life in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. ''

Hispanic Review Published in Philadelphia, the ''Hispanic Review'' is the oldest peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to research in Hispanic, Catalan and Luso-Brazilian literature and culture published in North America. The journal has published continuou ...

'' called Bushee an early pioneer in

in the United States. She published ''Three Centuries of Tirso de Molina'' in 1939 about theater of writer,

Tirso de Molina Gabriel Téllez ( 24 March 1583 20 February 1648), better known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing '' The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest'', the play from ...

. She later published a study about de Molina called ''La prudencia en la mujer'' in 1948. In 1936, Bushee retired to live with her family in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. Bushee died on April 28, 1956, in

Woonsocket Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

in the hospital after an illness.

References

External links

Bushee papers
*
The Fundamentals of Spanish Grammar
'
Find-a-Grave Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushee, Alice Huntington 1867 births 1956 deaths American librarians Mount Holyoke College alumni Boston University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni Wellesley College faculty People from Worcester, Massachusetts American Christian missionaries 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers American women librarians Female Christian missionaries Writers from Vermont People from Morristown, Vermont Protestant missionaries in Spain American women academics