Elizabeth R. Baer (born 1946) is an American academic whose work specializes in women's and Holocaust studies. She was a member of the Coordinating Council of the National Women's Studies Association from its founding in 1977 through 1979. She was appointed as the Raymond and Florence Sponberg Chair of Ethics at Gustavus Adolphus College in 2000. In 2004 and again between 2016 and 2017, she was the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Holocaust studies for Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey. She has written numerous books and articles evaluating the impact of war and conflict on women's lives. She is currently a research professor for English and African studies at Gustavus Adolphus College and a senior researcher with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Elizabeth R. Baer | |
---|---|
Born | Elizabeth Roberts 1946 (age 77–78) Ithaca, New York, U.S. |
Other names | Elizabeth Roberts Baer |
Occupation | Academic |
Years active | 1968–present |
Early life and education
editElizabeth Roberts was born in 1946 in Ithaca, New York,[1] to Emmie Elizabeth (née Herbermann) and James Herbert Roberts.[2] Her mother attended Manhattanville College and graduated with a double major in biology and chemistry. She became the first woman scientist hired by the Squibb corporation and worked on their penicillin project.[2] Roberts attended her mother's alma mater, graduating in 1968 summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree.[1] She married Clinton D. Baer Jr., with whom she would have two children, Hester and Nathaniel Baer.[2][3] Continuing her education, Baer completed a master's degree at New York University in 1970 and her PhD in 1981 from Indiana University.[1]
Career
editDuring her studies, Baer taught at Indiana University Bloomington between 1972 and 1975 and lectured at Dartmouth College on women's studies between 1977 and 1981.[1][3] The National Women's Studies Association was formed in 1977 to advocate for inclusion of women and their accomplishments in academic studies.[4] At the time there were no national organizations in the United States which advocated for curricula which included women, and few formal advocacy groups pressing for the inclusion of women as a field of study.[5] The governing body of the organization was a coordinating council,[6] and Baer served on the council from its founding through 1979.[7][8] In 1981, she was appointed assistant dean at Sweet Briar College in Virginia,[9] and became dean of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland in 1985.[1][10] At both universities, in addition to her administrative duties, Baer lectured for the English department.[11]
Baer left Chestertown in 1992 and accepted two administrative positions at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, as the faculty dean and vice president of academic affairs. She also taught in the English department.[1][11] In 2000, she stepped away from administration and completed a Fulbright Fellowship studying the Holocaust in Germany.[11][12] Completing her research, later that year, she returned to Minnesota to take up the Florence and Raymond Sponberg Professorship in Ethics and taught both English and ethics courses at Gustavus Adolphus College.[11] Her article "A New Algorithm in Evil: Children's Literature in a Post-Holocaust World" won the Virginia Hamilton Prize from the University of Minnesota in 2001, as the best article written in 2000 on "multicultural children's literature".[12][13] In 2004, she was designated as the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Holocaust Studies by Stockton State College in Galloway, New Jersey,[14] and held the post again between 2016 and 2017, teaching on genocide and gender.[15]
Expanding her research into other conflicts, in 2012, Baer analyzed the Rwandan genocide and organized a class and lecture series about the Dakota War of 1862. She was awarded the Faculty Scholarly Accomplishment Award for this work in 2013.[16] Two years later, she was appointed as research professor of English and African Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College,[15][17] and subsequently also became a researcher at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.[15][18]
Research
editWhile she was working at Washington College, Baer was focused on transcribing nineteenth-century women's diaries,[10] to evaluate the experiences of women impacted by war.[1] She edited Lucy Buck's diary and published the third edition of it in 1997.[19][20] The Blessed Abyss: Inmate #6582 in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for Women, edited by Baer and her daughter evaluated the memoir of Nanda Herbermann, which had originally been published in 1946.[15] Herbermann, a distant relative of Baer, was a Catholic with ties to high ranking Nazi officers. Although she was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück for collaborating with the resistance, Hebermann was released on the order of Heinrich Himmler. Baer and her daughter provided context of Herberman's background noting that her privilege as an Aryan with internalized anti-Semitism made her story an unusual Holocaust memoir of life in a concentration camp.[21]
Continuing on the theme of the impact of conflict on women, in 2003, Baer and Myrna Goldenberg edited Experience and Expression: Women, the Nazis, and the Holocaust.[22] The anthology collected and evaluated scholarship on gendered experiences of the Holocaust, examining a wide range of women’s experiences such as how authorities dealt with childbirth and pregnancy; resistance activities; the importance of recipes, writing, and art; survival strategies; and wartime sexual violence.[23] Karin Doerr, a specialist on the Holocaust teaching at Concordia University in Montreal, noted that despite lacking a bibliography, a section on film and video presentations, an in-depth analysis of art, and other "minor shortcomings", that the volume "fills significant gaps and points clearly to new directions in our comprehension of gendered Holocaust experiences".[24] Kirsten Krick-Aigner, a professor of German studies and chair of the language, literature and culture department at Wofford College,[25] noted that the interdisciplinary volume gave views from actors on both sides of the conflict and brought "together some of the finest research and writing in Holocaust studies".[26]
Baer's work The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction, published in 2012, examined the legend of the golem, a Jewish folk being, as it appears in contemporary comics, literature, and media.[15][27] The book traces the history of the golem's metamorphosis from a Jewish protector to an evil creature,[28] and analyzes how various interpretations of it have been manipulated to evaluate human nature, what is divine, and even social justice.[29] In 2017, she published The Genocidal Gaze: From German Southwest Africa to the Third Reich, which evaluated the links between the Herero and Namaqua genocide and the Holocaust.[30][18] By analyzing literary works, Baer noted the shared characteristics of racism, concentration and death camps, dehumanization, forced labor, medical experimentation, deliberate starvation, and rape, among others in the policies of the administrators of German South West Africa and Nazi Germany.[30][18] Co-published by Wayne State University Press and the University of Namibia Press, the book has been used as a textbook in Namibia.[30]
Selected works
edit- Buck, Lucy Rebecca (1997). Baer, Elizabeth R. (ed.). Shadows on My Heart: The Civil War Diary of Lucy Rebecca Buck of Virginia. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-1852-3.
- Herbermann, Nanda (2000). Baer, Hester; Baer, Elizabeth R. (eds.). The Blessed Abyss: Inmate #6582 in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for Women. Translated by Baer, Hester. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-2904-7.
- Baer, Elizabeth Roberts (September 2000). "A New Algorithm in Evil: Children's Literature in a Post-Holocaust World". The Lion and the Unicorn. 24 (3). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press: 378–401. doi:10.1353/uni.2000.0026. ISSN 1080-6563. OCLC 924120117. S2CID 143981474.
- Baer, Elizabeth R.; Goldenberg, Myrna, eds. (2003). Experience and Expression: Women, the Nazis, and the Holocaust. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3062-3.
- Baer, Elizabeth R. (2012). The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3626-7.
- Baer, Elizabeth Roberts (2017). The Genocidal Gaze: From German Southwest Africa to the Third Reich. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-4438-5.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Contemporary Authors 2007.
- ^ a b c The Providence Journal 2006.
- ^ a b The Burlington Free Press 1980, p. 42.
- ^ Gerber 2002, p. 1.
- ^ Gerber 2002, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Gerber 2002, pp. 10–12.
- ^ Women's Studies Quarterly 1977, p. 9.
- ^ Baer 1979, p. 15.
- ^ Bulletin of Sweet Briar College 1981, p. 3.
- ^ a b York Daily Record 1986, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d Senne 2000.
- ^ a b Joeres & Gelus 2003, p. 251.
- ^ Hoyle 2001.
- ^ The Press of Atlantic City 2004, p. 23.
- ^ a b c d e Aarons & Lassner 2020, p. 806.
- ^ Dugdale 2013, p. 15.
- ^ General Catalog 2015, p. 256.
- ^ a b c Miller 2021.
- ^ Weiner 1999, p. 237.
- ^ Berkowitz 1998.
- ^ Rapaport 2002, p. 153.
- ^ Doerr 2004, p. 11.
- ^ Doerr 2004, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Doerr 2004, pp. 12–13.
- ^ The Fount 2018, p. 4.
- ^ Krick-Aigner 2005, p. 198.
- ^ Feiner 2014, p. 866.
- ^ Feiner 2014, pp. 866–867.
- ^ Feiner 2014, p. 869.
- ^ a b c Tenorio 2018.
Bibliography
edit- Aarons, Victoria; Lassner, Phyllis, eds. (2020). "Contributor's Notes". The Palgrave Handbook of Holocaust Literature and Culture. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 805–818. ISBN 978-3-03-033428-4.
- Baer, Elizabeth (Spring 1979). "NWSA Coordinating Council Meeting Participants, February 1979". Women's Studies Quarterly. 7 (2). Old Westbury, New York: Feminist Press: 15. ISSN 0363-1133. JSTOR 25159492. OCLC 5547032994. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- Berkowitz, Leah (June 1998). "Review of Baer, Elizabeth R., ed., Shadows on My Heart: The Civil War Diary of Lucy Rebecca Buck of Virginia". H-CivWar. East Lansing, Michigan: H-Net Reviews. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- Doerr, Karin (Fall 2004). "Review: Experience and Expression: Women, the Nazis, and the Holocaust. Elizabeth R. Baer and Myrna Goldenberg. Eds. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2003. 321 pages. Cloth ISBN 0- 8143-3062-2 $39.95. Paper. ISBN 0-8143-3062-2. $24.95" (PDF). The Bulletin of the Carolyn and Leonard Miller Center for Holocaust Studies. 9 (1). Burlington, Vermont: University of Vermont: 11–13. OCLC 60261903. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Dugdale, Eric (2013). "Elizabeth Baer, PhD, Recipient of the 2012 Faculty Scholarly Accomplishment Award" (PDF). Research, Scholarship, and Creativity 2012–2013. St. Peters, Minnesota: John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning, Gustavus Adolphus College: 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Feiner, Karen (Winter 2014). "Reviewed Work: The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction by Baer Elizabeth R." Modern Fiction Studies. 60 (4). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press: 866–869. ISSN 0026-7724. JSTOR 26421761. OCLC 8512565020. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Gerber, Barbara W. (Spring 2002). "NWSA Organizational Development: A View from within, at 25 Years". NWSA Journal. 14 (1). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press: 1–21. ISSN 1040-0656. JSTOR 4316866. OCLC 358655753. S2CID 143357009. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- Hoyle, Karen Nelson (Summer 2001). "From the Curator". The Kerlan Collection: Newsletter Archive. South Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Joeres, Ruth-Ellen Boetcher; Gelus, Marjorie (2003). Joeres, Ruth-Ellen Boetcher; Gelus, Marjorie (eds.). "About the Contributors". Women in German Yearbook. 19. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press: 251–254. doi:10.1353/wgy.2003.0000. ISSN 1058-7446. Retrieved April 1, 2023. – via Project MUSE (subscription required)
- Krick-Aigner, Kirsten (February 2005). "Review: Experience and Expression: Women, the Nazis, and the Holocaust by Elizabeth R. Baer, Myrna Goldenberg". German Studies Review. 28 (1). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press: 198–200. ISSN 0149-7952. JSTOR 30038113. OCLC 5546542076. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Miller, Yvette Alt (June 20, 2021). "Germany's Other Genocide: Dress Rehearsal for the Holocaust". Aish.com. Jerusalem: Aish HaTorah. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Rapaport, Lynn (March 2002). "Reviewed Work: The Blessed Abyss: Inmate #6582 in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for Women by Nanda Herbermann, Hester Baer, Elizabeth Baer". Central European History. 35 (1). Boston, Massachusetts: Humanities Press: 153–155. doi:10.1017/S0008938900008426. ISSN 0008-9389. JSTOR 4547177. OCLC 8271160869. S2CID 145133536. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Senne, Stacia (April 11, 2000). "Gustavus Adolphus College Dean Appointed to Endowed Chair". News from Gustavus Adolphus College. St. Peter, Minnesota: Gustavus Adolphus College. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Tenorio, Rich (August 29, 2018). "Genocide of African tribes was Germany's Holocaust dress rehearsal, says scholar". The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- Weiner, Marli F. (June 1999). "Review of Tokens of Affection: The Letters of a Planter's Daughter in the Old South.; The Diary of Dolly Lunt Burge, 1848–1879.; Shadows on My Heart: The Civil War Diary of Lucy Rebecca Buck of Virginia". The Journal of American History. 86 (1). Bloomington, Indiana: Organization of American Historians: 237–239. doi:10.2307/2567460. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 2567460. OCLC 5545609474. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- "42nd Annual Philological Association of the Carolinas" (PDF). The Fount. 14 (2). Charleston, South Carolina: The Citadel: 4. Spring 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- "Alcott's 'Little Women' Subject of Library Lecture". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. April 16, 1986. p. 15. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- General Catalog 2015–2016 (PDF). St. Peter, Minnesota: Gustavus Adolphus College. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2022.
- "Holocaust Lecture at Stockton Nov. 10". The Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. November 5, 2004. p. 23. Retrieved April 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Elizabeth Roberts Baer". Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale. 2007. Gale H1000163661. Retrieved March 31, 2023. – via Gale Biography (subscription required)
- "Emmie Roberts Obituary". The Providence Journal. Providence, Rhode Island. December 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via Legacy.com.
- "New Staff". Bulletin of Sweet Briar College (3). Sweet Briar, Virginia: Sweet Briar College: 3. Spring 1981. OCLC 638063180. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- "NWSA News: Coordinating Council of the NWSA". Women's Studies Quarterly. 5 (1–2). Old Westbury, New York: Feminist Press: 9. Winter 1977. ISSN 0363-1133. JSTOR 40042428. OCLC 5547220110. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- "Watching TV May Have Effects". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. May 29, 1980. p. 42. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.