The life and works of Jessie Shirley Bernard (1903-1996).

Jessie Shirley Bernard, was a prominent and unusually visible contemporary American sociologist who over her professional lifetime changed from a traditional plus sociology to a feministically informed viewpoint (Bannister 1991). Privately, Bernard struggled with her Judaic heritage, conflicting pressures for family and occupational group and the demands made by Bernards husband. All of the battles that Bernard faced throughout her life, were native in the creation of Bernards sociological theories.

Bernard was born in manganese on June 8, 1903 to Roman Jewish parents who had recently immigrated to the United States. With an entrepreneurial capitalist father and a stay at collection plate mother, Bernard was raised in a suburban, middle-class family (Bernard 1989,326). Upon entering gritty school in 1916, Bernard was taught by suffragist teachers, who subtly transmitted a feminist message during class lectures (Bernard, 1989, 325). As a second generation immigrant during a time when immigration was a major concern to white Americans, Bernard, although a United States citizen, felt divide and confused about her place in society. Occasionally mocked for her Roumanian and Jewish background, Bernard understood for the first time the situation of the cardinal black families in her town. Further, Bernard was exposed to her older sisters radical collectivistic friends and their persuasive arguments and beliefs.



Conscious of the controversial issues surrounding her, Bernard began her lifelong probe of injustice of all kinds, most notably racism and sexism.

When Bernard was plainly 16 years old, in 1920, she enrolled at the University of Minnesota ab initio as an English major (Deegan 1991, 71). Following one recommended Sociology course, Bernard omit in love with the discipline. Bernard declares, [i]t is not surprising to me now that a young woman with a background like mine, would, with a little encouragement, become a sociologist (Bernard 1989, 325).

In 1925, one year after...

If you sine qua non to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.