Elizabeth A. Clark
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Elizabeth Ann Clark (September 27, 1938 – September 7, 2021) was a professor of the John Carlisle Kilgo professorship of religion at
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
. She was notable for her work in the field of
Patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...
, and the teaching of ancient Christianity in US higher education. Clark expanded the study of early Christianity and was a strong advocate for women, pioneering the application of modern theories such as
feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or Philosophy, philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's Gender role, social roles, experiences, intere ...
, social network theory, and
literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
to ancient sources.


Early life

Clark was born in
Port Chester Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, in 1938. She moved to
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, New York, when she was nine. She attended high school there and subsequently described her education in history as 'dismal'. She received a state scholarship and attended
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
, where she received her AB in Religion in 1960. Clark was taught history by Mildred Campbell, Mary Martin McLaughlin, and J. B. Ross, and Religion by Jack Glasse. Clark received her MA and PhD from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1962 and 1965. As a graduate student, Clark studied
Early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
alongside
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, including a course run by
Paul Oskar Kristeller Paul Oskar Kristeller (May 22, 1905 in Berlin – June 7, 1999 in New York, United States) was a scholar of Renaissance humanism. He was awarded the Haskins Medal in 1992. He was last active as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia Uni ...
on Hellenic philosophy after
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
. Clark described Kristeller as 'the most learned scholar I have ever known'. Clark's doctoral thesis was ''The Influence of Aristotelian Thought on Clement of Alexandria: A Study in Philosophical Transmission,'' written under the direction of the faculty of Union Theological Seminary.


Career

In 1964, Clark founded the Department of Religion at Mary Washington College (now part of the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion at the University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, Virginia.Clark, "Retrospective Self," 6 She held the position of the Chair of the Department 1979–82. In 1982, Clark was appointed a Professor of Religion at
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, where she subsequently worked for forty years, supervising students including Maureen Tilley and Kristi Upson-Saia. She founded the Center for Late Ancient Studies at Duke in 1986. At the time of her appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences, the faculty numbered around 500; only four women held the rank of full professor. Clark held a fellowship at the National Humanities Center, North Carolina, 2001–02. Clark was awarded an honorary degree by
Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
in 2001. She was given the shell of the cannon that was fired during the ceremony as a memento. Clark received an honorary degree from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 2013. Clark has served on the boards of many academic journals, including '' Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society''. She helped to launch and co-edited the ''
Journal of Early Christian Studies The ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' is an academic journal founded in 1993 and is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society. It is devoted to the study of patristics, that is Christianity in the ancient period of ro ...
.'' Clark was a prolific writer, authoring or editing thirteen books and over seventy articles. Her research has focused on Augustine, John Chrysostom, Origen, social networks, early ascetic practices, and women in the early church. Clark retired from Duke in 2014 as the John Carlisle Kilgo Professor. She remained on the board of the Center for Late Ancient Studies at Duke. Reflecting on her career, Clark observed that it was 'rather eclectic': 'I branched into byways as well as highways, stumbled into enterprises for which neither my background nor graduate school had prepared me.'


Recognition and awards

Clark has served as president of the
American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...
(1990), the
American Society of Church History The American Society of Church History (ASCH) was founded in 1888 with the disciplines of Christian denominational and ecclesiastical history as its focus. Today the society's interests include the broad range of the critical scholarly perspecti ...
(1987), and the North American Patristics Society (1989). She was responsible for launching the ''
Journal of Early Christian Studies The ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' is an academic journal founded in 1993 and is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society. It is devoted to the study of patristics, that is Christianity in the ancient period of ro ...
'', a flagship journal in the field of Patristics, early Christianity, and late ancient studies. She was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1988. She has been the recipient of grants from the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
and the
American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...
. In 2003, she received the Distinguished Career Award from the
American Society of Church History The American Society of Church History (ASCH) was founded in 1888 with the disciplines of Christian denominational and ecclesiastical history as its focus. Today the society's interests include the broad range of the critical scholarly perspecti ...
. In 2006 she was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the North American Patristic Society. Clark's critical influence is demonstrated in the two ''
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
en'' published in her honor: the first, ''The Cultural Turn in Late Ancient Studies'' (2005) edited by Dale Martin and Patricia Cox Miller; the second edited by C. M. Chin and Caroline T. Schroeder: ''Melania: Early Christianity through the Life of One Family'' (2017). In 2018,
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
renamed the Center for Late Ancient Studies as the Elizabeth A. Clark Center for Late Ancient Studies, "in honor of Dr. Clark’s career and leadership in the field." Clark has served as dissertation adviser for a number of leading scholars in the field. For her support of young scholars, especially her commitment to support women and others who have not traditionally been represented in the academy, Clark was awarded the Dean's award for Excellence in Mentoring. Her most recent book, ''The Fathers Refounded'', was described as 'a truly brilliant book, massively researched, beautifully written, often witty, and rich with insight'.


Death

Clark died on 7 September 2021. Flags were lowered at Duke University as a result.


Activism

Clark was involved with the
women's movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...
from the late 1960s, co-founding the Fredericksburg chapter of National Organization for Women (NOW).


Select bibliography


Books, translations, and edited volumes

* ''Clement's Use of Aristotle: The Aristotelian Contribution to Clement of Alexandria's Refutation of Gnosticism'' (Lewiston, New York:
Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press, sometimes stylised as Mellen Press, is an academic publisher. It was founded in 1972 by theology professor Herbert Richardson (publisher), Herbert W. Richardson. It has been involved in a number of notable legal and acad ...
, 1977) * ''The Golden Bough, The Oaken Cross: The Virgilian Cento of Faltonia Betitia Proba'', translation and commentary co-authored with D. Hatch (Chicago: Scholars Press, 1981) * ''Jerome, Chrysostom, and Friends: Essays and Translations'' (Lewiston, New York:
Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press, sometimes stylised as Mellen Press, is an academic publisher. It was founded in 1972 by theology professor Herbert Richardson (publisher), Herbert W. Richardson. It has been involved in a number of notable legal and acad ...
, 1982) * ''Women in the Early Church'' (Wilmington: M. Glazier, 1983) * 'Introduction', ''On Virginity; Against Remarriage'', translated by S. R. Shore (Lewiston, New York:
Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press, sometimes stylised as Mellen Press, is an academic publisher. It was founded in 1972 by theology professor Herbert Richardson (publisher), Herbert W. Richardson. It has been involved in a number of notable legal and acad ...
, 1983) vii-xlii * ''The Life of Melania, the Younger: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary'' (Lewiston, New York:
Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press, sometimes stylised as Mellen Press, is an academic publisher. It was founded in 1972 by theology professor Herbert Richardson (publisher), Herbert W. Richardson. It has been involved in a number of notable legal and acad ...
, 1984) * ''Ascetic Piety and Women's Faith: Essays on Late Ancient Christianity'' (Lewiston, New York:
Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press, sometimes stylised as Mellen Press, is an academic publisher. It was founded in 1972 by theology professor Herbert Richardson (publisher), Herbert W. Richardson. It has been involved in a number of notable legal and acad ...
, 1986) * ''Sisters and Workers in the Middle Ages'', co-edited with J. M. Bennett et al. (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...
, 1989) * ''The Origenist Controversy: The Cultural Construction of an Early Christian Debate'' (Princeton:
Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
, 1992) * ''Women and Religion: The Original Sourcebook of Women in Christian Thought'', edited by E. A. Clark and H. Richardson, with assistant editors G. Brower and R. Styers (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1996) * ''St. Augustine on Marriage and Sexuality'', edited by E. A. Clark (Washington:
Catholic University of America Press The Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the publishing division of The Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939 and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the CUA Press is a long-time member of the Associ ...
, 1996) * ''Reading Renunciation: Asceticism and Scripture in Early Christianity'' (Princeton:
Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
, 1999) * ''History, Theory, Text: Historians and the Linguistic Turn'' (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
, 2004) * ''Founding the Fathers: Early Church History and Protestant Professors in Nineteenth-Century America'' (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...
, 2011) *''The Fathers Refounded. Protestant Liberalism, Roman Catholic Modernism, and the Teaching of Ancient Christianity in Early Twentieth-Century America'' (Pennsylvania:
University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...
, 2019)


Articles and book chapters

* 'John Chrysostom and the "Subintroductae"', ''Church History'', vol. 46, no. 2 (1977) 171-85 * 'Jesus as Hero in the Vergilian "Cento" of Faltonia Betitia Proba', ''Vergilius'', E. A. Clark and D. F. Hatch, no. 27 (1981) 31-9 * 'Ascetic Renunciation and Feminine Advancement: A Paradox of Late Ancient Christianity', ''Anglican Theological Review'' 6 (1981) 240-57 * 'Claims on the Bones of Saint Stephen: The Partisans of Melania and Eudocia', ''Church History'', vol. 51, no. 2 (1982) 141-56 * '"Adam's Only Companion": Augustine and the Early Christian Debate on Marriage', ''Recherches Augustiniennes'', 21 (1986) 139-62 * 'The Place of Jerome's Commentary on Ephesians in the Origenist Controversy: The Apokatastasis and Ascetic Ideals', ''Vigiliae Christianae'', vol. 41, no. 2 (1987) 154-71 * 'Foucault, The Fathers, and Sex', ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', vol. 56, no. 4 (1988) 619-41 * 'Theory and Practice in Late Ancient Asceticism: Jerome, Chrysostom, and Augustine', ''Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion'', vol. 5, no. 2 (1989) 25-46 * 'New Perspectives on the Origenist Controversy: Human Embodiment and Ascetic Strategies', ''Church History'', vol. 59, no. 2 (1990) 145-62 * '1990 Presidential Address: Sex, Shame, and Rhetoric: En-Gendering Early Christian Ethics', ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', vol. 59, no. 2 (1991) 221-45 * 'Elite Networks and Heresy Accusations: Towards a Social Description of the Origenist Controversy', ''Semeia'' 56 (1991) 81-117 * 'Ideology, History, and the Construction of "Woman" in Late Ancient Christianity', ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'', 2 (1994) 155-84 * 'Sane Insanity: Women and Asceticism in Late Ancient Christianity', ''Medieval Encounters'', Vol. 3, Issue 3 (1997) 211 – 230 * 'The Lady Vanishes: Dilemmas of a Feminist Historian after the "Linguistic Turn', ''Church History'', vol. 67, no. 1 (1998) 1-31 * 'Holy Women, Holy Words: Early Christian Women, Social History, and the "Linguistic Turn"', ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' 6 (1998) 413-30 * 'Introduction', ''Church History'', vol. 69, no. 2 (2000) 277-80 * 'Women, Gender, and the Study of Christian History',''Church History'', vol. 70, no. 3 (2001) 395-426 * 'Engaging Bruce Lincoln', ''Method & Theory in the Study of Religion'', vol. 17, no. 1 (2005) 11-17 * 'The Celibate Bridegroom and His Virginal Brides: Metaphor and the Marriage of Jesus in Early Christian Ascetic Exegesis', ''Church History'', vol. 77, no. 1 (2008) 1-25 * 'From Patristics to Early Christian Studies', ''Oxford Handbook of Early Christianity'', edited by S. Ashbrook Harvey and D. Hunter (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) 7-41 * 'Postcolonial Theory and the Study of Christian History Introduction', ''Church History'', vol. 78, no. 4 (2009) 847-8 * 'The Retrospective Self', ''The Catholic Historical Review'' 101.1 (2015) vi-27


References


External links


Elizabeth A. Clark, Duke University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Elizabeth A. 1938 births 2021 deaths American classical scholars American women classical scholars Columbia University alumni Duke University faculty Presidents of the American Society of Church History People from Port Chester, New York Patristic scholars Vassar College alumni American academic journal editors University of Mary Washington faculty Women classical scholars