Florence Rosenfeld Howe was an American author, publisher, literary scholar, and historian who was also a leader of the contemporary feminist movement.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 17, 1929, Howe was the daughter of Samuel Howe, a taxi driver, and Frances Stilly Rosenfeld, a bookkeeper who later worked for an aeronautics manufacturer. In 1943, Howe was admitted to Hunter College High School in Manhattan, ranked among the top public schools in the country. She graduated high school early and attended Hunter College, earning a BA in English in 1950. While there, she formed an interracial and interfaith sorority with friends and was elected student body president. She went on to earn an MA in English from Smith College in 1951 and a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1954. She also received honorary doctorates from New England College (1977), Skidmore College (1979), and DePauw University (1987).
Howe held positions at Hofstra University, Queens College, Goucher College, the State University of New York, and the City University of New York. During her early career, Howe taught women's studies courses before such a program ever existed in higher education. While leading the way in the feminist movement, Howe was also a staunch supporter of the civil rights movement. In 1963, she joined Goucher College students in organizing a protest demonstration against a segregated movie theater near Morgan State College, a historically Black institution. And in 1964, she volunteered to teach African American children in a Jackson, Mississippi, freedom school. She was also a fierce opponent of the war in Vietnam, signing a public statement declaring her intention to refuse to pay income taxes in protest against the war in 1967.
In 1970, Howe founded The Feminist Press, "an educational nonprofit organization founded to advance women's rights and amplify feminist perspectives." Authors whose titles have been published or republished by the Feminist Press include Zora Neale Hurston, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Willa Cather, Alice Walker and the members of the Russian feminist performance group Pussy Riot. From 1972–1982, Howe also assisted in editing the Women's Studies Quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal. In 1973, she took on the role of President of the Modern Language Association after previously serving as Chair of the MLA's Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession in the '60s.
Howe wrote several books, including The Conspiracy of the Young (1970) and The Impact of Women's Studies on the Curriculum and the Disciplines (1980), both coauthored by her then husband, Paul Lauter. Her essays were collected in a book entitled Myths of Coeducation: Selected Essays, 1964–1983 (1984). In addition, she edited various titles including With Wings: An Anthology of Literature by and About Disabled Women (1987); Traditions and the Talents of Women (1991); and No More Masks: An Anthology of Poems by Women (1993).
Howe passed away on September 12, 2020 in New York at the age of 91.
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This title was neither authored nor edited by Howe
This collection contains the professional papers of Florence Howe, American author, publisher, literary scholar, and founder of the Feminist Press. Materials include correspondence, meeting and research materials from the Modern Language Association's Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession 1968-1973, research materials for Howe's publications on women in higher education, and photographs. Materials date from 1968 to 2003 and are arranged into 8 series. PLEASE NOTE that folder titles in quotations were created by Howe. All other folder titles were created by the processor.
Series 1, ADMINISTRATIVE, 1968 – 2002, includes conference materials, meeting materials, reports, and correspondence related to various organizations for which Howe worked. Most notable are the folders pertaining to Howe's work on the Modern Language Association's Committee on the Status of Women. This set of material includes statistics, case studies, correspondence, and questionnaires related to women in higher education and in modern language departments specifically. This series is arranged alphabetically by organization then by record type.
Series 2, CORRESPONDENCE, 1969 – 1972, includes correspondence with publishers, colleagues, and scholars. Topics include publishing and discrimination and sexism in higher education. This series is arranged by correspondent's last name then by topic.
Series 3, WRITINGS AND RELATED, 1972 – 2003, includes offprints, bound articles, typed drafts, and correspondence related to publications by Howe and the Feminist Press. Titles include, "Feminism and Women's Studies Survival in the Seventies;"
Series 4, SUBJECT FILES, 1970 – 1978, includes readings, clippings, and handwritten notes, related to women in higher education. Topics include curricula, academic departments, and women's studies programs at various institutions including Kansas State Agricultural College, the State University of New York, and Wellesley College. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject with people listed first then topics.
Series 5, PRINT MATERIAL, 1970 – 2000, includes journals, catalogs, and newsletters. Titles include
Series 6, EPHEMERA, circa 1980, contains three academic hoods and one hand-sewn banner for the "Women's Studies International UN Mid-Decade Forum" from July 1980. This series is arranged alphabetically by item type.
Series 7, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1970 – 1989, includes black and white photos, color photos, slides, and negatives. Subjects include Bella Abzug, Feminist Press staff, and Women International. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject with people listed first then topics.
Series 8, ELECTRONIC RECORDS, 2000, contains two cassette tapes and three VHS tapes from an unidentified conference on politics. This series is arranged alphabetically by the title written on the carrier.
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Florence Howe papers, MS.2011.003, Feminist Theory Archive, Brown University Library.
This collection is arranged into 8 series.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Gift of Florence Howe in 2004.