Gloria Feman Orenstein, longtime professor and pioneering scholar of feminist studies, passed away on October 17. She was 88 years old.
A native of Brooklyn, Dr. Orenstein earned her bachelor’s degree in romance languages and literature from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She later received her master’s degree in Slavic languages and literatures from Harvard University’s Radcliffe Graduate School and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from New York University.
In 1975, Dr. Orenstein joined the faculty of Rutgers University in New Jersey. She helped shaped the university’s women’s studies program, serving as the program’s chair from 1976 to 1978.
In 1981, Dr. Orenstein was hired as a professor of comparative literature and gender studies at the University of Southern California, where she taught courses on feminist theory, surrealism, and ecofeminism. She retired in 2006 with the title of professor emerita.
Throughout her career, Dr. Orenstein studied feminism as it relates to several topics such as surrealism, spirituality, and environmental studies. She was the editor and author of numerous scholarly publications, including Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism (Sierra Club Books, 1990) and Multi-Cultural Celebrations: The Paintings of Betty LaDuke (Pomegranate, 1993).