Faculty Wives – ‘Dames, Dishes and Degrees’

In Dames, Dishes, and Degrees: Faculty Wives in America, local author Amy Mittelman reveals what really went on behind ivy-covered walls as she explores the origins, structure, and history of faculty wives’ clubs. These comprised the well-educated women who turned their energy and unpaid labor from arranging receptions, teas, and picnics to creating social clubs that mentored young academic wives, supported philanthropic efforts, and took part in great political movements. Through historical examples and biographies, Mittelman delves into race and gender, social and cultural history, the intersection of modern feminism with other social and political causes, and the ways in which faculty wives worked to overcome chauvinism, misogyny, and tremendous odds to establish their own, autonomous identities. Amy Mittelman was a Five College Women’s Studies Research Center Associate for the academic year 2010-2011. In the past, Amy had a business, Academic Publicity, which helped scholarly authors promote their books. Amy has been a historian, a mother, a businesswoman, a nurse, and a published author. She has always brought skills, resources, and lessons from previous endeavors to each new one.