Elaine Ryan Hedges (August 18, 1927 – June 5, 1997) was an American feminist who pioneered Women's Studies in the 1970s and advocated for curricula encompassing a more inclusive body of American literature which brought together works by ethnic and gendered minorities. A recognized expert in feminist literary criticism, she was awarded ''

The Feminist Press The Feminist Press at CUNY is an American independent nonprofit literary publisher of the City University of New York, based in New York City. It primarily publishes feminist literature that promotes freedom of expression and social justice. The ...

'' Award for Contributions to Women's Culture in 1988 and inducted into the

Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 1998.

Early life

Elaine Ryan was born on August 18, 1927, in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

to John Aloysius and Catherine Mary Ryan. Graduating from

Gorton High School Gorton High School (GHS or G-High) is a public high school for grades 9–12, in Yonkers, New York, operated by the Yonkers Public Schools. History Groundbreaking for Gorton High School started in December 1922. The school opened in 1924. Eigh ...

in Yonkers in 1944, she went on to further her education at

Barnard College Barnard 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 affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

. She graduated summa cum laude in 1948, moving on to obtain 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 history from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1950. That same year, she worked at

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 ...

as a grader for Perry Miler in the American literature department, where she met fellow student William Hedges. Between 1951 and 1956, she taught at Harvard and

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, before she and Hedges married in 1956 and relocated to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Career

Hedges taught at

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the Califor ...

, the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

and

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

and had two children, over the next few years. In 1967, she joined the faculty at

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, ...

and then completed her PhD at Harvard in 1970. She taught English and founded the Women's Studies Program at Towson in 1972. Towson developed an interdisciplinary program to transform the curricula of 13 disciplines to incorporate education on women and worked with Sara Coulter to promote a similar model in five of Maryland's area community colleges. Directing the program for nearly 20 years, Hedges fostered a nationwide program to initiate women's studies in universities and colleges and shared her expertise abroad in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China, as a visiting professor at the Freie Universitat in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany, and at conferences in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. Hedges was a founding member of the

National Women's Studies Association The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) is an organization founded in 1977, made up of scholars and practitioners in the field of women's studies also known as women's and gender studies, feminist studies, and related names in the 21st c ...

and a member of the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

, the

Modern Language Association of America The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

, and the Women's Caucus for the Modern Languages. In 1988, she was awarded ''The Feminist Press'' Award for Contributions to Women's Culture. Hedges died June 5, 1997, in Baltimore, Maryland, and was inducted into the

the following year.

Publications

In 1973, Hedges published an afterword to ''The Feminist Press'' release of

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, early sociologist, advocate for social reform ...

's ''The Yellow Wallpaper'', which became a key text for feminist courses throughout the country. In 1976, she wrote a short essay on quilts which was later incorporated into '' In Her Own Image: Women Working in the Arts''. The anthology looked at the relationship between domestic work and artistry, a theme which she pursued for 20 years, publishing several articles in ''Quilt Journal''. In 1980, Hedges wrote ''Land and Imagination: The Rural Dream in America'', which explored the difference between the mythology and reality of rural life for women. In addition to advising, editing and writing for ''The Feminist Press'', Hedges edited the ''Heath Anthology of American Literature''. In all, she published 12 books, including ''Ripening: Selected Works, 1927-1980'' in 1982, a compilation of works by feminist writer

Meridel Le Sueur Meridel Le Sueur (February 22, 1900, Murray, Iowa – November 14, 1996, Hudson, Wisconsin) was an American writer associated with the proletarian literature movement of the 1930s and 1940s. Born as Meridel Wharton, she assumed the name of her mo ...

and ''Listening to Silences'', a compilation of essays released in 1994.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Elaine Ryan 1927 births 1997 deaths People from Yonkers, New York Barnard College alumni Radcliffe College alumni American women academics Harvard University faculty Wellesley College faculty San Francisco State University faculty University of California, Berkeley faculty Goucher College faculty and staff Towson University faculty American feminists American women's rights activists 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American women writers Activists from California 20th-century American journalists Journalists from New York (state) Activists from New York (state) Journalists from California