Rose Laub Coser papers

Collection

Identifier: BC-2000-032

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: 1956-1991, undated

Scope and Contents

This collection documents Rose Laub Coser’s professional work and writings as a sociologist, her career at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Boston College, and her mentorship of students. There is lengthy correspondence between Laub Coser and Robert K. Merton, a sociologist and National Medal of Science winner, under whom she studied at Columbia University. Manuscripts include parts of her book, In Defense of Modernity: Role Complexity and Individual Autonomy (1991), reviews of other books, and speeches given at conferences. The collection contains correspondence, curricula vitae, manuscript drafts, pamphlets, and photocopies.

Creator

Coser, Rose Laub, 1916- (Person)

Restrictions on access

Collection is open for research.

Restrictions on use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Biographical note

Rose Laub Coser was born on May 4, 1916, in Berlin, Germany to Polish and Ukrainian Jewish parents. They were both ardent socialists and worked as printers and publishers. Rose was named for one of the writers they published, the Marxist theorist Rosa Luxembourg. In 1939, the Laub family escaped Nazi Germany by immigrating to New York City. There, she met and married another Jewish refugee, Lewis A. Coser, in 1942.

Shortly afterwards, Laub Coser began studying philosophy at the New School of Social Work. The Cosers later both studied at Columbia University, where Laub Coser earned a PhD in sociology in 1957. From 1951-1959, she taught at Wellesley College and also worked for a time at Harvard Medical School and Northeastern University. In 1968, the Cosers both obtained positions at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She built a reputation for her work on gender, race, and societal roles, publishing Life in the Ward (1962) and In Defense of Modernity: Role Complexity and Individual Autonomy (1991).

In 1987 Rose Laub Coser and Lewis Coser both retired from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. They moved to Cambridge and secured adjunct professorships at Boston College. Laub Coser taught there until her death at the age of 78 on August 21, 1994 in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

Sources:

Epstein, Cynthia Fuchs. "Rose Laub Coser: In Memoriam, 1916-1994," Dissent, vol. 42 (1995).

Freidenreich, Harriet. "Rose Laub Coser." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Biography in Context. Web. 18 Aug. 2016.

Saxon, Wolfgang. "Rose L. Coser, 78; Taught Sociology At Stony Brook," The New York Times, August 24, 1994.

Vromen, Suzanne. "Rose Laub Coser." In Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Jewish Women's Archive, 2009. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/coser-rose-laub

Extent

.75 Linear Feet (2 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection documents Rose Laub Coser’s professional work and writing as a sociologist, her career at the State University of New York-Stony Brook and Boston College, and her mentorship of students. It contains correspondence, curriculum vitae, manuscript drafts, pamphlets, and photocopies.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series: I. Correspondence; II. Curricula vitae; and III. Manuscripts. All series are arranged alphabetically.

Provenance

Donated by Lewis A. Coser in 2000.

Related Materials

Lewis A. Coser faculty papers, BC.1994.159, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Lewis A. and Rose Laub Coser Papers, HCLA 6311, Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University.