Barbara Bowen, outstanding Renaissance scholar at Vanderbilt, has died | Vanderbilt Information

Barbara C. Bowen, professor of French, emerita, and a distinguished Renaissance scholar, died on Nov. 19 at her house in Nashville. Bowen, 82, had suffered a re-occurrence of lymphoma and had been below hospice care.

Bowen was born in Nice Britain on Might 4, 1937. She started taking French at school at age 10, and her curiosity in French literature and tradition blossomed. She acquired a bachelor of arts and a grasp of arts from Oxford College. She then studied on the College of Paris, receiving her doctorate in 1962.

Bowen was recruited from the College of Illinois to Vanderbilt in 1987, when she was named a professor of French and chair of the Division of French and Italian. She was the primary girl to steer a division within the School of Arts and Science.

“Barbara Bowen was a distinguished scholar of the French Renaissance who represented qualities not usually seen at present: immense studying grounded in philological and historic reality mixed with a delight within the comedian and humorous,” stated Patricia A. Ward, professor of French and comparative literature, emerita. “Till her demise, she took enjoyment of jokes, puns, off-beat greeting playing cards and pictures reminiscent of Botticelli’s Venus as a cultural icon, which she referred to as ‘Venus on the Half Shell.’

“As division chair, Barbara was very prescient in instituting superior coaching in second language acquisition. This coaching enabled graduate college students of all specializations to have a versatility that enhanced their success in job placement. The proportion of doctoral college students in French discovering positions upon diploma completion would develop into one of many highest within the nation.”

Amongst Bowen’s analysis pursuits have been Francois Rabelais and 16th-century French literature, French comedian theatre, European Renaissance humor and Renaissance artwork historical past. She traced the historical past of French farce and satire in literature and drama in a few of her works.

“Barbara was well-known nationally and internationally for her work on Rabelais,” stated Virginia M. Scott, professor of French, emerita. “Graduate college students have been fearful however in the end grateful for her direct and pointed criticism of their work. Colleagues revered her and feared her—her acerbic humor and unflinchingly crucial feedback have been widely known. She was a forceful presence within the lives of many individuals and won’t be forgotten.”

Bowen was the creator of 5 main books, together with Enter Rabelais, Laughing (1998) and Humor and Humanism (2004), an anthology of her articles. She additionally gave many keynote addresses and delivered papers at conferences in the USA, France, Greece and Poland. As well as, Bowen served as president of the Renaissance Society of America.

“Inside the career at massive—as at her house college—Barbara Bowen was a formidable and unflinching advocate for social justice, a beneficiant colleague, and a loyal buddy whose incisive scholarship and genial wit might be sorely missed,” stated William E. Engel, a former Vanderbilt Arts and Science school member who’s now the Nick B. Williams Professor of Literature at Sewanee: The College of the South.

Bowen acquired fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Basis and the Nationwide Endowment for the Humanities, the latter of which enabled her to spend a yr on the Villa I Tatti, a middle for superior analysis within the humanities in Florence, Italy.

Bowen taught graduate seminars in French and comparative literature and a wide range of undergraduate programs starting from “Renaissance Utopias” to “The Traditional French Comedian E book.”

She served on the College Senate in addition to a number of college committees, together with the Comparative Literature Advisory Committee, the Committee on the Humanities and the Humanities Heart Advisory Committee.

Along with her time period as division chair, she served as director of graduate research, organized the French poetry studying competitors and incessantly directed the annual French play.

Scott remembers that Bowen was recognized for her frequent events for colleagues and buddies. “Barbara created a big group of individuals from throughout the college, in addition to from Nashville, to collect recurrently at her house to drink and eat collectively,” Scott stated. “Those that knew her effectively do not forget that there was a immediate starting and finish to those social occasions! Those that dared purchase her a present absolutely heard her say, ‘For individuals who like that type of factor, it’s simply the type of factor they want.’ It was an indicator saying of Barbara’s, who was referred to as ‘Ba’ by her buddies.”

Bowen grew to become an emerita professor in 2002. After she retired, she continued to spend days studying and writing in her library carrel for her analysis.

Bowen was predeceased by her husband, Vincent Bowen. She is survived by their two daughters, Sarah L. Wilkinson and Tessa J. Majors, and their households.