On this date (June 25) in the year 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia received a PhD in philosophy. It may not seem like it just yet... but it was actually a pretty big deal. Elena was born in Venice - back when Italy was made up of independent city-states. Options for women were fairly limited at that time, but her father was a bureaucrat who had some friends in the church, so she began to study Latin and Greek. She quickly became fluent in both - and then she learned Hebrew, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Adding those to her native Italian, she was one of the youngest to obtain a special title - Oraculum Septilingue - fluent in 7 languages. Can you imagine? Here in Murica, were thrilled when a student does better than average in English... She also studied mathematics, philosophy, and theology. She translated a number of major theological and philosophical texts, and joined several erudite societies... and in 1670, she became the president of Accademia dei Pacifici. Again, it may not sound like much, but it was an extremely rare honor. Her philosophy tutor petitioned the University of Padua to grant her the right to earn the degree of Doctor of Theology. The Bishop of Padua, Cardinal Barbarigo, said no.. because... well... he was a man... (and had a sadly misguided, although common, understanding of biblical texts). But he did allow her to get a doctorate in philosophy. She earned the degree quickly. At her graduation, the cathedral was full - all of the faculty and students of the university were there, along with most of the Venetian senators, and guests from the Universities of Bologna, Perugia, Rome, and Naples... they all came to hear her speak. Which she did. In classical Latin. For over an hour. She mostly related her thoughts on a novel interpretation of some of the more difficult passages from the works of Aristotle. She received a standing ovation, unheard of at the time - especially for a woman. At Vassar College, theres a stained-glass window called the Cornaro Window that has immortalized her graduation scene. Pretty cool... I know I dont have any scenes from my life set in stained glass on display at a community college, much less at a school like Vassar! Along with her studies, Elena was an expert musician and composer. She played the harpsichord, clavichord, harp, and violin, and composed music for all of them. I havent heard/seen any of her music, but Ive read reports that give glowing reviews. Music from that era isnt really my cup o tea, but then again, neither is a lot of music from our era, so thats probably ok... When she graduated, she spent some time as a guest lecturer at universities all over Europe. During the day, shed present her academic work, and at night shed give recitals of her music. Later, she became an instructor at her alma mater, teaching philosophy and mathematics (she still wasnt allowed to teach theology, but legend has it that she held secret meetings in her apartment to teach theology to female students). When she died of tuberculosis in 1684, in addition to the funeral in Venice, there were memorial services in Padua, Siena, and Rome. The bulk of her writing was published in 1688. At the risk of beating that horse even further, it was unheard of at the time for a female academic to have her work published. Pretty impressive lady. She was one of the very first women in Europe to receive an advanced academic degree - and the first to get a PhD in philosophy. To celebrate the 336th anniversary of the first woman to get a PhD in philosophy, Id like to salute a couple of my philosophy professors: Dr. Tanner and Dr. Olkowski. Youre brilliant and inspiring - thank you!
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 13:58:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015