Germaine Brée
Germaine Brée | |
|---|---|
Brée in April 1985 | |
| Born | 2 October 1907 Paris, France |
| Died | 22 September 2001 (aged 93) |
| Citizenship |
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Literary studies |
| Sub-discipline | 20th-century French literature |
| Institutions | |
Germaine Brée (2 October 1907 – 22 September 2001) was a French-American literary scholar, who wrote extensively on Marcel Proust, Andre Gide, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre.[1]
Life
Born in Paris, Germaine Brée grew up in the English-speaking Channel Islands. After graduating from the University of Paris,[2] she taught in Algeria from 1932 to 1936. Appointed to teach at Bryn Mawr in 1936,[3] she returned to France to fight for the Free French when World War II broke out. She joined a volunteer ambulance unit, rising to the rank of lieutenant, and was assigned to the intelligence section of the Free French in Algiers. She received a Bronze Star and was named to the Legion of Honor. At this time Brée befriended Albert Camus.[2]
In 1952, Brée gained her American citizenship.[4] The following year, Brée was appointed chair of the French department at New York University College of Arts & Science, the second woman to be appointed a department chair at the university.[2] From 1960 until 1973 she was Professor of French at the University of Wisconsin.[3] From 1973 until 1984 she was Kenan professor of humanities at Wake Forest University.[2] In 1975 she served as president of the Modern Language Association.[3] She was an elected member of both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[5][6]
Brée died in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on 22 September 2001 at the age of 93.[4]
Works
- Marcel Proust and Deliverance From Time, 1955
- Camus, 1959
- Gide, 1963
- Camus and Sartre: Crisis and Commitment, 1972
- Women Writers in France, 1973
References
- ^ Brée, Germaine, American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present, 2000. Republished online at encyclopedia.com
- ^ a b c d Dinitia Smith, Germaine Brée, 93, a Scholar Of Modern French Literature, The New York Times, 26 September 2001.
- ^ a b c "Germaine Brée Lectures | Institute for Research in the Humanities". irh.wisc.edu. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ a b Walker, Cheryl (24 September 2001). "Noted authority on French literature, retired professor dies". Wake Forest News. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Germaine Bree". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 4 October 2022.