In Memoriam: E. Jane Doering, 1932-2024

E. Jane Doering, professor emerita at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, passed away on August 23. She was 91 years old.

Dr. Doering’s career in education began in 1958 as a teacher at a private secondary school for boys in Helena, Alabama. In 1965, she and her family moved to South Bend, Indiana, where she taught French at St. Mary’s Academy and St. Joseph’s High School. She transitioned to a faculty position with the University of Notre Dame in 1992. She taught in the university’s department of romance languages and literatures and scholars program, as well as the Forever Learning Institute of South Bend until her retirement in 2012.

As a scholar, Dr. Doering focused her academic pursuits on French literature, particularly the works of French philosopher Simone Weil. She wrote extensively on Weil’s works, comparing the philosopher’s ideas to contemporary issues. As a leader in her field, Dr. Doering served on the governing boards of the American Weil Society and the International Association pour l’étude de la pensée de Simone Weil.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Doering wrote three books: When Fiction & Philosophy Meet (Mercer University Press, 2019), Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010), and Christian Platonism of Simone Weil (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004).

Dr. Doering earned her bachelor’s degree from the New Jersey College for Women, a master of education degree from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, a master’s degree in French literature from the University of Notre Dame, and Ph.D. in French literature from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.