Martha Vicinus (born November 20, 1939) is an American scholar of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and

Women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

. She serves as the Eliza M. Mosher Distinguished University Professor of English, Women's Studies, and History at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Vicinus was a faculty member in the English Department at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

from 1968 to 1982. She has written several books about Victorian women as well as gender and sexuality. She earned a PhD from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1968. She has been noted for drawing attention to the Victorian

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

s that were applied to women and to the Victorian ideal of women without sexual desires. She has argued that society often defines sexuality through a male heterosexual perspective. In addition to her career as a scholar, she has been active as an advocate of

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

and

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

causes.

Selected works

* Coeditor, with Caroline Eisner. ''Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. . * ''Intimate Friends: Women Who Loved Women''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. . * Editor. ''Lesbian Subjects: A Feminist Studies Reader''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996. . * Coeditor, with Martin Bauml Duberman and George Chauncey, Jr. ''Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay & Lesbian Past''. New York: New American Library, 1989. . * Coeditor, with Bea Nergaard, ''Ever Yours, Florence Nightingale: Selected Letters''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989. . * ''Independent Women: Work and Community for Single Women, 1850-1920.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. . * ''The Ambiguities of Self-Help: Concerning the Life and Work of the Lancashire Dialect Writer Edwin Waugh''. Littleborough: George Kelsall, 1984. . * ''A Widening Sphere: Changing Roles of Victorian Women''. London: Methuen, 1977. . * ''Broadsides of the Industrial North''. Newcastle upon Tyne: F. Graham, 1975. . * ''The Industrial Muse: A Study of Nineteenth-Century British Working-Class Literature''. London: Croom Helm, 1974. . * Editor. ''Suffer and Be Still: Women in the Victorian Age''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972. Oxon: Routledge, 2013. . * ''The Lowly Harp: A Study of 19th Century Working Class Poetry''. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vicinus, Martha 1939 births Living people Northwestern University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Indiana University faculty University of Michigan faculty American academics of women's studies Writers from Michigan Writers from Wisconsin Historians of LGBTQ topics American historians