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Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015

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Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship The Burke Library Columbia University Libraries Union Theological Seminary, New York Finding Aid for Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 Finding Aid prepared by Leslie Reyman, May 2001 Revised by Michelle Nickens, August 2008; Marlene Smith, August 2009,Megan E. Freda, 2012 Revised with additional material by Rebecca Nieto, June 2016 With financial support from the Henry Luce Foundation Summary Information Creator: Phyllis Trible, 1932- Title: Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 Inclusive dates: 1954-2015 Bulk dates: 1980-2005 Abstract: Professor, lecturer, and biblical scholar, formative figure in the fields of Old Testament, literary criticism of the Bible, and feminist hermeneutics in biblical scholarship. Papers include textual materials, lecture notes, research, drafts and manuscripts, reviews, correspondence, and articles. Also included are photographs, commemorative materials, recordings, degrees and awards, and realia. Size: 61 boxes Storage: Offsite storage, except Series 5B:3 OS and Series 5C Repository: The Burke Library Union Theological Seminary 3041 Broadway New York, NY 10027 Email: [email protected] AWTS: Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 2 Administrative Information Provenance: Phyllis Trible donated her papers as the inaugural collection in the Burke’s Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship in 1998, with later additions in May 2007, summer 2009, spring 2012, 2014 and 2015. Further accruals expected. Access: Archival papers are available to registered readers for consultation by appointment only. Please contact archives staff by phone, fax or email [email protected] as far in advance as possible. Access restrictions: The bulk of this collection is unrestricted. Some materials containing student records are restricted by FERPA legislation for 95 years following the latest date of the materials, and are denoted with a RESTRICTED. Please note that boxes held in Offsite storage will require 48 hours' notice in response to a weekday request for retrieval. Preferred Citation: item description, title, series #, box #, folder #, Phyllis Trible Papers, Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York. Biography Phyllis Trible (b.1932) is an internationally known lecturer and biblical scholar. She is a leading authority on what is now known as feminist hermeneutics, as well as literary and rhetorical modes of biblical criticism. Trible’s first two books, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (1978) and Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (1984) are considered groundbreaking works in feminist biblical scholarship. Trible was born in Richmond, Virginia on October 25, 1932. In 1950, she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1954, graduating magna cum laude. Following the advice of Ralph MacLain – a professor at Meredith College - Trible pursued graduate theological studies at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. After two years in the B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity) program, she transferred to the Ph.D. program offered jointly by UTS and Columbia University. With her major in Old Testament, Trible completed the Ph.D. program in 1963, under the direction of James Muilenburg, Davenport Professor of Hebrew Literature and Languages at Union (1945- Rebecca Nieto 6/10/2016 AWTS: Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 3 1963). She also studied with Professors Samuel Terrien and George Landes of Union Seminary. Trible’s relationship with Muilenburg in particular would have a salient effect on Trible’s career through lifelong mentorship and friendship. Trible’s teaching career began with a three-year tenure at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York, from 1960 to 1963, undertaken during the same years she was completing her dissertation at Union on the Book of Jonah. In 1963, Trible began her formal teaching career at Wake Forest University (1963-1971) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, first as Assistant then as Associate Professor of Religion. In 1971, she moved to Newton-Centre, Massachusetts to teach at Andover Newton Theological School (1971-1979). There, she held the posts of Associate Professor and Professor of Old Testament. In 1975, she was appointed Hitchcock Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature (1975-1979). In 1979, she was appointed Professor of Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, the fourth woman to hold a full professorship at that seminary. In 1981, Trible became the first woman to be named Baldwin Professor of Sacred Literature. She retired from Union in 1998, and was thereafter Baldwin Professor Emerita of Sacred Literature. In 1994, she would also serve as President of the Society of Biblical Literature. During this period of her career, Trible gave numerous lectures, speeches, and sermons as close by as Riverside Church and far afield as New Zealand and Japan. Throughout her academic and recreational travels, Trible came into contact with academic work, religious communities and cultural contexts that were critical in sculpting her scholarly sensibilities as well as her personal relationship to spirituality, gender identity, and academia. Upon retiring from Union Seminary in 1998, Trible helped to found Wake Forest University Divinity School, where she served as Associate Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies from 1998 to 2001, and was University Professor from 2002 to 2012. She was instrumental in designing the school’s curriculum, and remarkably was still living in New York City at the time that she helped found the school in North Carolina. Trible has held temporary or summer-term roles in several theological and academic contexts, including Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, the Pacific School of Religion, and Claremont Graduate School. In addition to teaching at many institutions, she was awarded a number of honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from Franklin College (1985), Doctor of Divinity from Lehigh University (1994), Doctor of Divinity from Wake Forest University (1997), and Doctor of Humane Letters from Meredith College (2001). Rebecca Nieto 6/10/2016 AWTS: Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 4 In the forward to her first book, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (1978), Trible writes the following: Using feminist hermeneutics, I have tried to recover old treasures and discover new ones in the household of faith. Though some of these treasures are small, they are nonetheless valuable in a tradition that is often compelled to live by the remnant. This understanding has guided my vision since events symbolized by 1963 muted the proclamation of the mighty acts of God in history. Thus I dare not despise the day of little things (see Zech. 4:10). Trible’s early use of feminist hermeneutics to frame her engagement in biblical scholarship is evidenced through her extensive academic, professional and personal activities. She went on to publish further fundamental works in her field, including Texts of Terror (1984), and Rhetorical Criticism: Context, Method, and the Book of Jonah (1994). With Professor Letty Russell, she co-edited Hagar, Sarah, and Their Children (2006). With Professor B. Diane Lipsett, she co-edited Faith and Feminism: Ecumenical Essays (2014). She made further contributions through encyclopedic publications and mainstream discussions on religious studies, including contributing the entry on “Jonah” to The New Interpreters’ Bible commentary series and appearing on Bill Moyers’ 1995 PBS special Genesis – A Living Conversation. She provided an academic autobiographical sketch for the publication I (Still) Believe: Essays on Ecumenical Scholarship (2015). Trible’s concomitant investments in literary criticism of the Bible, feminist theology, and books of the Old Testament (notably the Book of Jonah and narratives of violence against women) undergird these aspects of religious discourse today, and have been steadily elucidated over the course of her distinguished career. In addition to her scholarly output, Trible’s papers include valuable transcripts, research, and drafts of sermons, speeches, and memorial pieces written in honor of beloved colleagues, mentors, and peers. The materials arranged in this collection provide evidence of Trible’s work as a mentor, guide and supportive individual in the lives of her students, colleagues and friends. Today, Trible continues to pose questions to the academic and ecumenical community, both in terms of feminism and literary criticism’s role in ecumenical scholarship. Her archive continues to grow, but in their current form the Trible Papers provide a sound introduction to Trible’s formative position in the field of literary criticism of the Old Testament and women in the Bible, as well as her affiliations to significant figures in the theological community such as James Muilenburg and Samuel Terrien, her colleagueship with feminists such as Letty Russell. Finally, these papers reflect her research and planning process when teaching and writing, as well as her activities Rebecca Nieto 6/10/2016 AWTS: Phyllis Trible Papers, 1954-2015 5 responding to, critiquing, and engaging in both classical and innovative modes of biblical discourse. Collection Scope and Content Note The Trible Papers span 61 boxes and consist of textual materials, photographs, graphic
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