Gertrude Reif Hughes (April 22, 1936 – January 4, 2022) was an American college professor. She taught English at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

from 1976 to 2006, and was one of the founders of the school's women's studies program. She was also a noted scholar of

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensibl ...

Early life and education

Geertrui (Gertrude) Bernadette Reif was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, the Netherlands, one of the three daughters of Paul Reif and Maria Reif. She and her family emigrated to the United States in 1940. She was raised in New York City. She graduated from the

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It has been at that site since its founding in 1893, an ...

, and from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in 1958. She earned two master's degrees at Wesleyan University, and completed doctoral studies at

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 1976, with a dissertation directed by

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world". Af ...

Career

Hughes taught high school English after college. She was a member of the English department faculty at Wesleyan University for thirty years, from 1976 until she retired with full professor status in 2006. She was one of the founders, and chair, of the women's studies program at Wesleyan. She was also on the faculty of the Sunbridge Institute. In addition to her academic pursuits, Hughes was a serious student of anthroposophy. She chaired the board of the Anthroposophic Press, was president of the Rudolf Steiner summer institute, and published on

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

's philosophy. In 2012 she gave an oral history interview for the Wesleyan Oral History Project.

Publications

* ''Emerson's Demanding Optimism'' (1984) * ""Imagining the Existence of Something Uncreated: Elements of Emerson in

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

's ''Dream of a Common Language''" * "Subverting the

Cult of Domesticity The Culture of Domesticity (often shortened to Cult of Domesticity) or Cult of True Womanhood is a term used by historians to describe what they consider to have been a prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes during the 19th c ...

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

's Critique of Women's Work" (1986) * "Making it Really New: Hilda Doolittle,

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poet ...

, and the Feminist Potential of Modern Poetry" (1990) * "Rudolf Steiner's activist epistemology and its relation to feminist thought in America" (2012) * ''More Radiant than the Sun: A Handbook for Working with Steiner's Meditations and Exercises'' (2013)

Personal life

Gertrude Reif married Robert Gerald Hughes in 1958. They had four children and divorced in 1981. Her son Ken died in 2014. She died in

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connecticut ...

, in 2022, at the age of 81, after several years of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Gertrude Reif 1936 births 2022 deaths George School alumni Mount Holyoke College alumni Wesleyan University alumni Wesleyan University faculty Yale University alumni Anthroposophists People from Bergen op Zoom