Women's Intellectual Contributions to the Study of Mind and Society

Students, as part of an advanced seminar, examined and wrote about the lives of these women, their intellectual contributions, and the unique impact and special problems that being female had on their careers.

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Alice I. Bryant

Alice I. Bryant, born September 30, 1902 described her childhood as not only happy and healthy but also busy (O'Connell and Russo, 1983). In April 1908, at age five and a half she was enrolled into the first grade and by June, she was promoted to the second grade. An event that could only be explained by reasoning that because she was schooled at home this was made possible as well as the opportunity for her to complete the seventh and eight grade in just one year (O'Connell and Russo, 1983).

After graduating, Bryant enrolled into Kearney High School in September 1914 where she graduated at the top of her class as well as serving as the class's secretary. She was also a member of the debate team, a class representative in the school's annual prize-speaking contest as well as playing the lead role in an annual three-act play hosted by her school (O'Connell and Russo, 1983).

Before graduating from high school Bryant recalls her "first awareness that being a woman might be a disadvantage in practicing one's chosen profession [teaching] in June 1918 (O'Connell and Russo, 1983, p. 72)." Bryant claimed "a dismal picture [was painted] for me of the economic and social discrimination encountered by many women teachers in this traditional woman's profession (p. 72)."After leaving high school Bryant attended a two-year program of academic and secretarial studies at Columbia University's Extension Division in 1918.

According to O'Connell and Russo (1983), Bryant was married three times; first in 1924 to Chester Ward Bryant whom she divorced in 1934 the same year she received her Doctorial degree. The two was said to have divided their possessions equally and remain friends. She was then married to Frank Marvin Blasingame in 1936 only to divorce in 1944 because Mr. Blasingame whom traveled from California to New York to advance his career was unable to do so. Then on October 1, 1956 she was happily married to George Virgil Fuller whom later died as the results of cancer in 1960.

Bryant's career was not a tumultuous as her personal life seeing that she was able to publish her researches "study on grades, intelligence, and personality of art school freshman, and 'The testing program in the library school' (O'Connell and Russo, 1983, p. 77)."She also offered the first definition of bibliotherapy - "the prescription of reading materials that will help to develop emotional maturity and sustain mental health (p. 78)."

Alongside her individual work she also worked with E.G. Boring on three studies that was published under the title "Women in American Psychology," as well as with Robert D. Leigh on "The Public Library Inquiry"-a $200,000 grant project made possible by the Carnegie Corporation (O'Connell and Russo, 1983). Bryant finally retired from academic work in 1971 at the age of seventy and was said to have traveled the world there on after (O'Connell and Russo, 1983).

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