manosca65 Helen Jeannette Peirce Papers, 1917-1982 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Abby Schlessinger. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Brook Hopkins. 2003-06-04 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 manosca65 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Smith College Archives Helen Jeannette Peirce Papers, 1917-1982 Finding Aid RG 42 Abby Schlessinger 2001 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Peirce, Helen J. (Helen Jeannette). Helen Jeannette Peirce Papers1917-1982 RG 42 1 box (.5 linear ft.) Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

Alumnae, Professor, Spanish. Contains correspondence, photographs, photo album, and publications. English. Biographical Note

Helen J. (Helen Jeannette) Peirce was born on July 15, 1898 in New Bedford Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and graduated as a member of the Class of 1921 with a major in Spanish and Portuguese. After graduation, Peirce spent a year in Spain on an exchange fellowship and later returned to teach Spanish and French at the East Providence High School in Rhode Island during the 1922-23 school year. In 1923, she joined the Smith College faculty as an assistant professor of Spanish, where she remained until her retirement in 1963.

Peirce was a faculty resident of Morrow House for many of her years at Smith and was active in both research and administration in addition to her teaching. She received her Master of Arts degree from Smith in 1928, completing her dissertation on "Aspects of the Personality of the Spanish King in Hispanic-Arabic Literature", and spent the 1940-41 and 1952-53 academic years at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Portugal, respectively, where she continued her studies. When not involved in her own academic pursuits, Peirce held several administrative positions at Smith College. She served as Class Dean for the classes of 1933 and 1939 and ran the Junior Year Abroad program in Spain and Mexico for several years. In addition, Peirce was the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Students during the 1953-54 academic year.

Upon retiring in 1963, Peirce was able to indulge her interest in photography and bird-watching in addition to teaching a class in Spanish at the YWCA and caring for her elderly mother. She died in 1982 at age eighty-four.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Helen Jeanette Peirce Papers cover 1917-1982. The majority of the materials are from 1923-1963, during Peirce's tenure at Smith. Types of materials in this collection include correspondence, photographs, albums, and publications. The photographs chronicle her undergraduate and faculty years as well as experiences abroad. Materials of special interest relate to her trips to Mexico and Spain during her time as a Spanish professor at Smith.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

All of the files are open to the public according to the regulations of the Smith College Archives.

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. In order to publish any material contained in the Helen J. (Helen Jeannette) Peirce Papers, permission must be obtained from the Smith College Archives.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Helen Jeannette Peirce Papers, Box #, Smith College Archives.

History of the Collection

Processed by Abby Schlessinger.

Search Terms Peirce, Helen J. (Helen Jeannette). Smith College--Faculty. 968 General 1921-1982 968 Correspondence 1934-1964 968 Mexico 1944-1945 968 Mexico 1948-1951 968 Mexico, Photographs 1944-1949 968 Photographs 1921-1964 968 Photo Album, Undergraduate Years 1917-1921 968 Photo Album, Faculty Years 1929-1949, n.d. 968 Publications 1944, n.d. 968 Spain 1933-1934