Barbara Engel (born 28 June 1943) is an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

of Russia.

Life

Barbara Alpern Engel was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on 28 June 1943 and graduated from

Valley Stream Central High School Valley Stream Central High School is a public senior high school (grades 10–12) in the village of Valley Stream, New York on the South Shore of Nassau County. It is part of the Valley Stream Central High School District. Dr. Joseph Pompillo ha ...

in 1961. Enrolled in the City University of New York (CUNY), she was one of five women accepted into

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

'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 yea ...

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. Tho ...

in the same subject two years later by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. 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 Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, 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 A docto ...

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 o ...

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