Guide to the Nancy Dean Papers, 1950-2017

Collection Summary

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Biographical Note

Nancy Dean (1930-2017), was an scholar of medieval history and literature specializing in Chaucer, professor, playwright, author of fiction, plays and opera, and noted advocate and philanthropist for LGBTQ causes. She founded the Astraea Foundation, which supports the needs of lesbians and women of color. With Beva Eastman, her partner of 54 years, she went on to create the Open Meadows Foundation, a global fund supporting political change directed by and benefiting women and girls. A Vassar alumna (VC Class of 1952), Dean received a masters degree from Radcliffe (1953), a PhD in Medieval Studies from New York University (1963), followed by a 28-year teaching career at Hunter College (1963-1991), teaching Medieval Studies, Chaucer, Creative Writing and Women’s Studies). Before teaching at Hunter, Dean taught at the American College for Girls in Istanbul, Turkey for three years during the 1950s.

Published works by Dean include: In the Mind of the Writer (Cranfield Press), In the Looking Glass: Twenty-one modern short stories by women, (Putnam Press, 1977), and published short stories in periodicals including Room with a View (The Gathering) and IKON (Requited Love). Her first novel entitled Anna’s Country, was written and published under the pseudonym, Elizabeth Lang (Naiad Press, 1981). Playscripts include: Larks and Owls (1986), Returning Home (1989), Hetty Pepper’s Stew (1986), Blood and Water (1986), Ophelia’s Laughter (1988), Ripe Avocados (2008), Gloria’s Visit (1990), Which Marriage? (1991), Burning Bridges (1992), Upstairs? In the Afternoon? (1995), and That Ilk (1998).

Excerpts from her libretto Criseyde, a feminist reading of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, were presented in Middle English at performance staged at City University of New York in 2008. Dean was a member of both the Dramatists Guild and the Women Playwrights Collective.

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Scope and Content Note

Manuscripts, many in draft form, comprise the majority of the collection, documenting Dean’s academic work from Vassar undergraduate studies through graduate and PhD work at Radcliffe and New York University. Included among these is Dean’s PhD dissertation, Studies in Chaucer’s Use of Ovid in Selected Early Poems. Speech and lecture files include talks given at Vassar, Allegheny College, Hunter College, Brooklyn College and Smith College. Playscripts and opera librettos, both in draft and final form are also included among her writings. Playscript files also include some correspondence, editorial notations, contracts, agreements, and program notes. Manuscript files for dramatic works contain scripts, research notes, correspondence, musical scores, and publicity.

Dean’s correspondence files include both professional and personal communication. Of note are letters written to both her mother and father during her years teaching in Turkey during the 1950s.

Teaching and subject files document Dean’s management of her career as both a writer and college professor. A collection of oversized index cards contain notes used for researching and/or teaching 17th & 18th century literature. Teaching files also contain class schedules, notes, bibliographies and syllabi. Audio visual material includes CDs, DVDs, and audio and video tapes documenting selections from Dean’s theatrical works including a recording of Dean reading the libretto of her opera, Criseyde.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged into eight series. Manuscripts are arranged alphabetically, by title. Writings are arranged into subseries by name by of teaching institution, and by genre (fiction and playscripts), as arranged by the author. Subject and teaching files are arranged alphabetically, as titled by the creator.Top

Access and Use

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Encoding Information

Encoded by Laura Streett, July 2019. Updated by Mark Seidl, September 2020.

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Administrative Information

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