Ralph Cohen papers and "New Literary History" records

Ralph Cohen (1917-2016) served as the William J. Kenan, Jr. professor of English (and professor emeritus) at the University of Virginia for an impressive 42 years (1967-2009). Born to Polish immigrant parents in Paterson, New Jersey on February 23, 1917, Cohen became one of the most eminent critical thinkers and educators of Twentieth Century America with a career that spanned more than 60 years. (He also taught at the City College of New York (1947-1950),... the University of California Los Angeles (1950-1967), and James Madison University (2010-2013). His focus was on 18th-Century British literature, and he was a pioneer in the field of literary theory. He founded and edited the "New Literary History Journal", which was the first journal of its kind to combine the study of literature with other disciplines. It won more than six awards from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals for its special issues, a unique honor among scholarly journals. Cohen sought out different points of view from contributors across the globe to create more diverse dialogue in the journal. His extraordinary ability to promote and account for diverse positions on theory at professional conferences was legendary. He also founded and directed the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change at the University of Virginia (1988-1995). The Center was set up by the Virginia Council of Higher Education to study the concept of change in individuals, and institutions in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. It also viewed the changes that develop in cultural, social, and political situations in African, Asian, and other non-western societies. The "New Literary History" Journal published articles and activities of the Center. In 2010 Cohen became the Provost's Distinguished Professor at James Madison University where he taught courses on Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication. Cohen's innovative concept of technology led to the establishment of the Cohen Center for the Study of Technological Humanism at James Madison University. His celebrated transactive classroom strategies frequently attracted colleagues and devoted students to his courses. He taught and mentored many generations of students, preparing them for lives and careers as teachers and scholars. He maintained contact with many of his students and made recommendations supporting their teaching, fellowships, and tenure positions throughout their careers. Cohen was a dedicated teacher who examined the changing concepts and styles found in literature and other disciplines of study. Cohen led his students towards deeper insights into understanding cultural changes for society and increased awareness of their perceptions in professional and daily life. Cohen was the editor and author of many articles and books including, "The Art of Discrimination" (1964), "The Essential David Hume" (1965), "The Unfolding of 'The Season" (1970),"New Directions in Literary History" (1974), "Studies in Eighteenth-Century British Art and Aesthetics" (1985), "The Future of Literary Theory" (1989), "Studies in Historical Change" (1992), "History and...: Histories Within the Human Sciences" (1995), and "Literature and History". He was well respected as an author and was best known for promoting the work of his colleagues through editing and publishing their articles.

He was married to Libby Okun Cohen for more than 70 years. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 11, 1913. Due to persecution, her family emigrated to Vilna (now Vilnius) early in her life. She was a frequent companion in Ralph's classes and at his speaking engagements around the world, intent both on supporting her husband and continuing her own education. She co-wrote the index of Volumes I-X for the "New Literary History". She was a librarian at California State College Northridge and created the library at the Tandem Friends School where she was the librarian from 1970 to 1986. Under her inspired and challenging guidance, the multifaceted library generated unprecedented dialogue and quickly became known as "Tandem's Cultural Center. The Tandem library honored her by naming it the Libby O. Cohen Library. She also helped build the multicultural library at the University's Sundberg International Center. She spoke many languages and partnered with her husband as a promoter of education and multiculturalism. James Madison University established the Libby Okun Cohen Chair in technological humanism while her husband was teaching there. She was also an author of children stories, an independent genealogy researcher, a project coordinator for an oral history project that interviewed survivors from Nazi Germany, and an intergenerational program L’Dor V’Dor for young students to learn and share in the lives of older individuals. Ralph and Libby Cohen had two children, Ruth Cohen Morris, and David Cohen who were both born during World War II. Ruth Morris followed in her mother's footsteps by completing a doctorate in Information and Library Science at the University of Michigan, thereby initiating her career as a distinguished librarian. She was married to David B. Morris who co-taught some courses with Ralph Cohen. Libby Cohen died at age 99 in 2013. Ralph Cohen also died at age 99 in 2016.

Sources: http://best-hashtags.com/hashtag/teacherappreciation/ https://news.virginia.edu/content/memoriam-ralph-cohen-professor-who-transformed-literary-criticism-0 https://muse.jhu.edu/article/380552/pdf https://dailyprogress.com/ralph-cohen/article_de380d0a-185c-510e-b74d-3a33511feed3.html https://www.jstor.org/stable/469184?seq=1 https://www.jmu.edu/cohencenter/our-people/cohen-ralph.shtml https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236774952_History_and_Change_An_Interview_with_Ralph_Cohen https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Genre_Theory_and_Historical_Change_Theoretical_Ess?id=0PsmDwAAQBAJ&hl=sw https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Ralph-Cohen/dp/0813940117 Ralph Cohen, “Notes for a History” (from within the collection) Video interview: https://www.jmu.edu/news/2010/10/18-ralph-cohen.shtml