Marsha Hudson, longtime feminist activist and scholar of women’s literature, passed away on December 14. She was 80 years old.
Dr. Hudson earned her bachelor’s degree in English and anthropology, as well as her master’s degree and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley. During her graduate studies, she hosted a feminist literary salon in her apartment to discuss women’s literature and advocate for its inclusion in academic studies. These meetings led to the development of Berkeley’s first women’s literature class and ultimately the creation of a women’s studies major and program and what is now the department of gender and women’s studies.
Similar to numerous other scholars in the humanities, Dr. Hudson was unable to secure a position in academia upon the completion of her doctorate in the late 1970s. Instead, she began a successful career in the banking industry. In the 1990s, Dr. Hudson returned to academia to teach women’s studies, composition, and critical thinking at colleges throughout California, ending with the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Later in life, Dr. Hudson became a certified gestalt practitioner and dream worker. In 2018, she co-founded The Love and Power Institute for Planetary Sustainability, a nonprofit focused on supporting the evolution of human consciousness as a critical path toward resolving the global climate crisis.