Edith Margaret Dalziel (21 November 1916 – 5 May 2003) was an English literature scholar at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. She was the first female Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university.

Biography

Dalziel was born in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

in 1916; her parents were Robert and Eva Dalziel. She received her education at Rangiora District School and

Rangiora High School Rangiora High School (nicknamed Goon High School) is a state co-educational secondary school located in Rangiora, New Zealand. Established in 1881 by an act of parliament and opened in 1884, the school has a roll of students from years 9 to 13 ...

. She then completed a master of arts degree at

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in 1937 and a doctoral degree at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1953. Dalziel was a frequent correspondent with

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian–British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the ...

and his wife Hennie from their time together at the University of Canterbury, and was thanked in the acknowledgments of his seminal work

The Open Society and Its Enemies ''The Open Society and Its Enemies'' is a work on political philosophy by the philosopher Karl Popper, in which the author presents a defence of the open society against its enemies, and offers a critique of theories of teleological historicism, a ...

for assisting in the preparation of drafts and the final manuscript. She joined the Department of English at the University of Otago in 1953, and remained with the department until her retirement in 1981. On her promotion to professor in 1966 she became the first female professor in the department. In 1971 she was elected Dean of the Faculty of Arts; she was Pro-Vice Chancellor from 1975 to 1977; and Head of Department of English from 1978 to 1980. During her tenure, Dalziel taught and mentored

Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of We ...

, who went on to become a notable New Zealand poet. Dalziel died in Dunedin on 5 May 2003. Her family remembers her as an indomitable champion of women's rights in academia and a trailblazer for academic leadership.

Recognition

In the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

, Dalziel was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to education and literature. In 1981, the Department of English and Linguistics established an annual Margaret Dalziel Lecture in Dalziel's memory. On her retirement, colleagues published a volume of essays in her honour: ''The Interpretive Power: Essays on Literature in Honour of Margaret Dalziel'' (University of Otago, 1980).

Publications

* ''Popular Fiction 100 Years Ago'' (1957), Cohen & West * ''Myth and the Modern Imagination'' (1967), University of Otago Press * ed., Charlotte Lennox, ''The Female Quixote, or, The Adventures of Arabella'' (1970), Oxford University Press * ''Janet Frame'' (1980), Oxford University Press * "Looking back" in Greg Waite,

Jocelyn Harris Jocelyn Margaret Harris (née Wood; born 1939) is a New Zealand academic known for her studies of Jane Austen's creative process, and for her promotion of the teaching and study of women's literature at the University of Otago. Harris was a f ...

, Heather Murray and John Hale (eds), ''World and stage: essays for Colin Gibson'' (1998), University of Otago Department of English

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalziel, Margaret 1916 births 2003 deaths 20th-century New Zealand women writers New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand women academics Academic staff of the University of Otago People from Rangiora People educated at Rangiora High School University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford