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Daniels, Arlene Kaplan, 1930-2012

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1930 - 2012

Biography

Arlene Kaplan Daniels, sociology professor, was born on December 10th 1930 in New York, New York, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Rathstein) Daniels. As a child, she moved to California where her parents retained their professions as shopkeepers. Daniels attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she took a B.A. degree with honors in English (1952), an M.A. in Sociology (1954) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (1960). On June 9th, 1956, she married Richard Rene Daniels, an area hospital administrator.

From 1959 to 1961 Daniels served as an instructor in the Department of Speech at University of California. From 1966 to 1970 she held an associate professorship in sociology at San Francisco State College. In 1974 Daniels was a visiting professor of sociology at the University of Missouri (Columbia).

In 1975 Northwestern University invited Daniels to become the head of its new Program on Women and a professor in the Department of Sociology. She accepted Northwestern’s offer but chose to maintain her permanent home in California. In 1979 Daniels stepped down as the head of the Program on Women but retained her position in the Department of Sociology. She served as a visiting scholar at the Center for Research on Women at Stanford University in 1979-1980 and at the Center for Women’s Studies at University of Oregon in 1986. From 1992-1994 Daniels was Director of Women’s Studies Program in Northwestern’s College of Arts and Sciences. Upon her retirement in 1995 Northwestern named her professor emerita.

During her professional career Daniels was the principal investigator on many grants including those from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S Army Research and Development Command. In 1975 she received the Ford Foundation Faculty Fellow Award for her research on the role of women in society. Daniels co-edited several publications including, Academics on the Line (1970); Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Media (1978); Education, Straitjacket or Opportunity? (1980), Women and Work (1982); Women and Trade Unions in Eleven Industrialized Countries (1984). In 1985 she co-authored Working Foundations: Career Patterns of Men and Women and later, in 1992, she co-wrote the book The Most Difficult Revolution: Women in Trade Unions. In 1988 Daniels published Invisible Careers: Women in the Volunteer World. Daniels also wrote and published many scholarly papers; one of which, “Careers in Feminism,” focused on the intersection between volunteer work and feminism.

In addition to her work in academia, Daniels also held top positions in organizations where she held membership. From 1979-1982 she was on the Board of Directors for the Legal and Educational Defense Fund for the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL). From 1977-81 she also served on WEAL’s National Advisory Board. Daniels was a member of the Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) and served as SWS president from 1974-76. In 1987 she served a term as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP). Daniels chaired several committees for the American Sociological Association.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Arlene Kaplan Daniels (1930-) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/25/2
Abstract Arlene Kaplan Daniels, sociology professor, was born on December 10th 1930 in New York, New York, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Rathstein) Daniels. As a child, she moved to California where her parents retained their professions as shopkeepers. Daniels attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she took a B.A. degree with honors in English (1952), an M.A. in Sociology (1954) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (1960). On June 9th, 1956, she married Richard Rene Daniels, an area...
Dates: 1960-1994