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By Archives Staff
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Folder contains an obituary, a short autobiography, an article about her from The Indianapolis News, four English exams from Harvard, and a rough draft of a paper written by Margaret Church, along with a catalog record for a book written by her.
Biographical Note
Margaret Church was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 8, 1920. She received her A.B. from Radcliffe (1941), her Master’s degree from Columbia University (1942), and then returned to Radcliffe for her PhD (1944). Church taught at Temple University and at Duke University before coming to Purdue in 1953, where she joined the English Department. When Church became a full professor in 1965, she was the first woman in the School of Liberal Arts to do so. In 1955, Church helped to found a journal that would become internationally known, Modern Fiction Studies. She remained instrumental with the publication and served as its co-editor from 1971 until her death. Church also founded Purdue’s doctoral program in Comparative Literature and served as its first director. Outside of Purdue, Church was widely known for her work with the James Joyce Foundation and for her many published writings. Her first book was entitled Time and Reality: Studies in Contemporary Fiction (1963). Her second book was Don Quixote: The Knight of La Mancha (1971). Before her death in 1982, Church was also in the midst of finishing a third book, Structure and Theme: Don Quixote to James Joyce. The work was later finished by a friend and colleague of Church. Throughout nearly thirty years at Purdue, Church acted as a mentor to numerous women. The Margaret Church MFS Memorial Prize was established in 1984 in memory of Dr. Church. In addition, the Purdue Board of Trustees named a distinguished professorship in honor of Church in 1998.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions:
Copyright Holder: Margaret Church or her heirs/estate.
Acquisition Source:
Tom Adler, Purdue English Department
Acquisition Method:
Donation.
Preferred Citation:
MSF 74, Margaret Church papers, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Folder:
[Folder 1: Miscellaneous Papers, 1939-1982],
[
All]
- Folder 1: Miscellaneous Papers, 1939-1982
- Folder contains four English exams taken at Harvard, a rough draft of a paper written by Margaret Church, a short autobiography, with the notation, "I wrote this for my 40th reunion yearbook." Folder also contains a catalog record for a book written by Margaret Church, along with an obituary, and an article, "Purdue Staff, Students mourn Margaret Church," (Friday, September 3, 1982) The Indianapolis News, p. 36.
