Fran Leeper Buss

Fran Leeper Buss

Fran Leeper Buss (March 1942–July 2022) was an American oral historian, ordained minister, author, teacher, social worker, photographer and feminist.

Early years and education

Fran Leeper Buss was born Francis Barker in Manchester, Iowa, in 1942. Her mother was Wilma Irene Barker, a clerk in a sewing department.[1] Her father, Clyde Francis "Frank" Barker was a radio engineer.[2] Her childhood was mostly spent in Dubuque. She gained a teaching degree from the University of Iowa in 1964[3] and a Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. In 1995, she gained a Ph.D. in 20th century American history from the University of Arizona.[4]

Career and publications

In 1971, Buss was the co-founder of the Women's Crisis and Information Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.[5][6] She and her second husband, David Buss,[7][8] served as ministers[9] in the Campus/Community Ministry in Las Vegas, New Mexico.[10] In 1976, Buss was ordained.[11] She also taught women's studies at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater,[12][13] and taught at the University of Arizona. Over four decades, Buss collected the stories of marginalized women in the USA. Firstly, while living in Las Vegas, Buss interviewed Jesusita Aragon, a traditionally trained midwife. In 1980, Buss published Aragon’s life story as La Partera: Story of a Midwife with The University of Michigan Press.[14] Buss moved to Wisconsin in 1976. She wanted to continue her work as an oral historian though the field was in its infancy and she had little money or academic support. Often living at a distance from the women she wanted to interview, she sorted out a system of visits throughout the USA involving a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a secondhand camera and an old car. This eventually led to the publication of Dignity: Lower Income Women Tell of Their Lives and Struggles: Oral Histories (Women and Culture Series) (1985) The University of Michigan Press 978-0472100613.[15][16][17]

Buss also worked and became long-term friends with Maria Elena Lucas, a migrant Chicana farm worker activist and Mary Robinson, a textile union activist. Based on the transcripts of interviews with these two women, Buss published Forged under the Sun/ Forjada bajo el sol: The Life of Maria Elena Lucas (1993) The University of Michigan Press[18][19][20] and Moisture of the Earth: Mary Robinson, Civil Rights and Textile Union Activist (2009) University of Michigan Press 978-0472065875.[21]

After retiring from teaching, Buss analyzed her many oral histories of poor and working-class women and published Memory, Meaning, and Resistance: Reflecting on Oral History and Women at the Margins (2017) University of Michigan Press 9780472053599.[22]

The original transcripts of Buss’s oral history interviews are housed at Harvard University at the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library of the History of American Women along with notebooks on her techniques as an oral historian and her journals. A collage of her photographs can be viewed on her website.[23]

In 1991, Buss published a novel for young adults, called Journey of the Sparrows. with Puffin Books ISBN 9780142302095. It has been translated into six languages, including Norwegian and adapted into a play. The novel depicts the lives of illegal Latin American migrants to the United States of America.[24] The book won the Jane Addams Children's Book Award in 1992.

Personal life

Buss had three children from an early marriage to fellow student Dennis Leeper.[25] After the marriage ended in divorce, Buss took several jobs but still ended up nearly homeless and had to go on welfare. This led to her lifelong interest in economic justice and the status of women. Having medical problems, she consulted a doctor and had an unnecessary and botched hysterectomy which left her in debilitating pain for years. This experience added to her empathy for the powerless and politically voiceless.[26] Buss died in July 2022 and is survived by her second husband, three children, seven grandchildren, her sisters, her brother and many nephews and nieces.[4][27]

Awards

The first, annual Catherine Prelinger Prize for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Women’s History in 1998.[28]

American Library Association (ALA) 2018 Choice, Outstanding Academic Title.[29][30]

References

  1. ^ "Wilma Irene Barker Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information". December 4, 2022. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  2. ^ "Fran Buss | The Southwest Institute for Research on Women". sirow.arizona.edu. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Students List Colleges They Will Attend in Fall: State Teachers". The Gazette. August 14, 1960. p. 44. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "In memoriam: Funeral notices, July 24, 2022". Arizona Daily Star. July 24, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  5. ^ "Crisis Center's Initial Funding Ends". Fort Collins Coloradoan. November 26, 1971. p. 7. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "Training Planned in October for Crisis Center Volunteers". Fort Collins Coloradoan. August 31, 1972. p. 6. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  7. ^ "New Center". Fort Collins Coloradoan. October 19, 1972. p. 9. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Seminary Intern Here to Begin Jail Term Monday". Fort Collins Coloradoan. February 2, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "Celebrity-Apr-11-1975-4410865 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  10. ^ "Other-Articles-Feb-02-1976-4410916 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  11. ^ "Celebrity-Mar-07-1977-4410905 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "Celebrity-Jul-21-1983-4410880 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  13. ^ "Celebrity-Aug-20-1982-4410912 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Celebrity-Jul-25-1980-4410884 | NewspaperArchive". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  15. ^ Buss, Fran Leeper (1985). Dignity: Lower Income Women Tell of Their Lives and Struggles : Oral Histories. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-06357-4.
  16. ^ Aptheker, Bettina (1989). Tapestries of life : women's work, women's consciousness, and the meaning of daily experience. Internet Archive. Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-0-87023-658-7.
  17. ^ Ms. Foundation for Education and Communication (1972). Ms. Internet Archive. New York : Ms. Magazine Corp.
  18. ^ "Forged Under the Sun/Forjada Bajo El Sol: The Life of Maria Elena Lucas". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  19. ^ Powers, Peter Kerry (1997). "Review of Forged under the Sun/ Forjada bajo el sol: The Life of Maria Elena Lucas". MELUS. 22 (4): 202–204. doi:10.2307/468004. ISSN 0163-755X. JSTOR 468004.
  20. ^ Platt, Kamala (Spring 1994). "Environmental Justice and Women's Work: the UFW, Chipko Movement, and Seringueiros". San Jose Studies. 20 (2): 51.
  21. ^ Moisture of the Earth.
  22. ^ Buss, Fran Leeper (2017). Memory, Meaning, and Resistance: Reflecting on Oral History and Women at the Margins. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-12305-6.
  23. ^ "Photo Collage | Fran Leeper Buss | Author & Activist". Franleeperbuss. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  24. ^ Buss, Fran Leeper (1993). Journey of the Sparrows. Dell. ISBN 978-0-440-40785-0.
  25. ^ "Frances Barker Is the Bride of Dennis Leeper". The Gazette. February 3, 1963. p. 37. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  26. ^ Reinharz, Shulamit (1992). Feminist methods in social research. Internet Archive. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507385-0.
  27. ^ "The Biography of Author Fran Leeper Buss". Franleeperbuss. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  28. ^ King, Farina (December 26, 2023). "Catherine Prelinger Award". Coordinating Council for Women in History. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  29. ^ "Choice Outstanding Academic Titles". Choice 360. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  30. ^ Buss, Fran Leeper (September 20, 2017). Memory, Meaning, and Resistance: Reflecting on Oral History and Women at the Margins. University of Michigan Press.