Living with History / Making Social Change

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I owe special thanks to my main readers, Linda Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris. They offered more than several superb critical readings and many suggestions for improvements; they encouraged me throughout the process of revising and gave me new perspectives on how some of my arguments fit into the concerns of a younger generation of students and general readers. I feel honored by their faith in this book. My daughter Stephanie Lerner Lapidus read the entire manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions. I especially benefited from her viewpoint as someone outside of the profession of history and her insistence that I strengthen the autobiographical aspects of the book. Thank you, Stephanie, for what you did for this book, over and above what you do for me in giving support, encouragement, and love each day of my years of aging. The steady support and love of my son, Dan Lerner, of his wife Elizabeth, and of my grandchildren sustain and anchor me through sickness and health in my determination to continue my life as a writer. I gratefully acknowledge the special contribution made to this book by my son-in-law, Todd Lapidus. The title of this book and the concept implicit in the title were the result of a long conversation I had with Todd, whose expertise as an educator in the field of business management enabled him to understand the connection between theory and practice, which is the core of this work, at a time when I could not see it as clearly. Thank you, Todd. The chapter on Sarah Lawrence, Chapter 3, drew on the shared memories of several of the participants in the Graduate Program. I am greatly appreciative of the help provided by Amy Swerdlow, Eva Kollisch, Alice Kessler-Harris, and Carole Artigiani. In addition to sharing their memories, Amy Swerdlow and Eva Kollisch gave the chapter a critical reading that helped me improve it. My continuing contact and friendship with Sarah Lawrence students Pam Elam, Bonnie Johnson, Jan Simpson, Joy Jones, and Peggy Pascoe have kept memories alive and provided continuity that goes well beyond my actual time at the college. I am also indebted to Natalie Rose, who shared her M.A. essay on the history of the Sarah Lawrence Graduate Program with me, providing me with an alternative view. The 2004 reunion on the twenty-fifth anniversary of our Summer Institute in Women’s History for Leaders of Women’s Organization provided me with new understanding of the transformative power of educating women in their history, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 219 as I saw the astonishing accomplishments of my former students that they credited to the intensive two weeks of training we had offered.Their accomplishments and enthusiasm inspired me to record my memories of the Sarah Lawrence Program in this chapter. The oral history of Midwestern leaders of the modern women’s movement described in Chapter 5 was based on the excellent research and interviewing skills of Jennifer Frost, Marie Laberge, and Joyce Follet. The latter has carried this project forward by creating a powerful video documentary, Step by Step: Building a Feminist Movement, 1941–1977, that tells the story of eight of the women leaders who were interviewed. Several of the other chapters are grounded in the collective work of women of earlier generations and of twentieth-century feminist educators and students. It is impossible here to credit by name all who contributed by their work and spirit to what is recorded in this book, but I hope I have shown how much my own thought and practice have benefited from and been influenced by the work of others. At the University of North Carolina Press, Kate Torrey patiently nurtured this book through several versions until it found its final form. Her sharp and insightful criticism and her painstaking insistence on formal elegance and unity of style made this a far better book than I alone could have produced. I deeply appreciate her contribution and her support of both the work and its author. Lastly, I am grateful to Ron Maner for turning what could have been a pedestrian task into a cooperative endeavor by his tact and superb skill as a copyeditor . This page intentionally left blank ...