Barbara Alpern 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 species; as well as the ...

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 College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(CUNY), she was one of five women accepted into

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

's Cooperative Program in Critical Languages in 1963–64, the first female undergraduates there. Engel graduated from CUNY with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Russian area studies in 1965 and was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in the same subject two years later by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. After graduation, she worked for two years as a bilingual secretary and part-time translator for the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on Astrophysics, astrophysical studies including Galactic astronomy, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, Sun, solar ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

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

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 ...

, receiving her Ph.D 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, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

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: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

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''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

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 Senior Honor Society Excellence in Teaching Award." She co-edited with Clifford N. Rosenthal, ''Five Sisters: Women Against the Tsar'' (1975), the memoirs of five female revolutionaries of the 1870s.

Notes

References

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