Barbara Engel (born 28 June 1943) is an American historian of Russia.

Life

Barbara Alpern Engel was born in New York City on 28 June 1943 and graduated from Valley Stream Central High School in 1961. Enrolled in the City University of New York (CUNY), she was one of five women accepted into Princeton University's Cooperative Program in Critical Languages in 1963–64, the first female undergraduates there. Engel graduated from CUNY with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Russian area studies in 1965 and was awarded a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in the same subject two years later by Harvard University. After graduation, she worked for two years as a bilingual secretary and part-time translator for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, but felt frustrated as women were not getting promoted there despite possessing the same credentials. Engels enrolled in Columbia University, receiving her

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Russian history in 1975. She was appointed

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

at Sarah Lawrence College in 1973 and moved to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of C ...

three years later, where she has remained ever since. She was promoted to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

in 1982 and full professor a decade later. Engel was the director of the Central and East European Studies Program from 1993 to 1995 and has also served as the chair of the Department of History.

Work

Engel has written two solo books, "the most recent of which is ''Between the Fields and the City: Women, Work and Family in Russia, 1861–1914''. In this work she examines the effects of industrialization and urbanization on Russian peasant women. 'Her perceptive and sensitive use of disparate sources,’’ writes a reviewer, ‘‘including comparative works on women in Europe and fascinating archival evidence for the experiences of individual female peasants, is particularly noteworthy.' She is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Writing Award from the University of Colorado, a winner of the Elizabeth Gee Award for Excellence, a Boulder Faculty Assembly Award Winner for Excellence in Research and Creative Work, and the recipient of a

Mortar Board Mortar Board is an American national honor society for college seniors. Mortar Board has 233 chartered collegiate chapters nationwide and 15 alumni chapters. History Mortar Board was the first national honor society for college senior women ...

Senior Honor Society Excellence in Teaching Award."

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Engel, Barbara 1943 births City University of New York alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 21st-century American historians Living people Valley Stream Central High School alumni