Selma Jeanne Cohen
Encyclopedia
Selma Jeanne Cohen was a dance historian, editor, and teacher who devoted her career to advocating dance as an art worthy of the same scholarly respect traditionally awarded to painting, music, and literature. She edited the six-volume International Encyclopedia of Dance, completed in 1998.
Born in Chicago
, Illinois
, she was a dance critic for the New York Times and the Saturday Review. She also wrote and edited several books and taught at many colleges, including the University of Chicago
. She died of Alzheimer’s disease in Greenwich Village, New York
on December 23, 2005, aged 85.
Cohen was the niece of Benjamin V. Cohen, a key figure in the administrations of United States Presidents
Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Harry S. Truman
.
(SDHS) established the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award
for exemplary student dance scholarship in her honor in 1995.
The Selma Jeanne Cohen Fund for International Scholarship at the Fulbright Association
provides an honorarium, round-trip travel funds, and expenses for a dance scholar to give a major presentation on dance scholarship at the Association's annual conference.
Born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, she was a dance critic for the New York Times and the Saturday Review. She also wrote and edited several books and taught at many colleges, including the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. She died of Alzheimer’s disease in Greenwich Village, New York
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
on December 23, 2005, aged 85.
Cohen was the niece of Benjamin V. Cohen, a key figure in the administrations of United States Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
.
Encomium
- [o]pen to the world, she was able to attune American scholars to seeing beyond national borders
Legacy
The Society of Dance History ScholarsSociety of Dance History Scholars
The Society of Dance History Scholars is a professional organization for dance historians in the United States and worldwide. Founded in 1978, it became a non-profit organization in 1983...
(SDHS) established the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award
Selma Jeanne Cohen Award
The Selma Jeanne Cohen Award is a writing award offered by the Society of Dance History Scholars for the best graduate student paper submission to the annual conference. The award was established in 1995 to honor Selma Jeanne Cohen's contributions to the field of dance history, and to encourage and...
for exemplary student dance scholarship in her honor in 1995.
The Selma Jeanne Cohen Fund for International Scholarship at the Fulbright Association
Fulbright Association
The Fulbright Association is a U.S.-based membership organization of Fulbright Program alumni and supporters committed to fostering international awareness and understanding through:*Advocating increased worldwide support for Fulbright exchanges;...
provides an honorarium, round-trip travel funds, and expenses for a dance scholar to give a major presentation on dance scholarship at the Association's annual conference.
Books
- Dance As a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present (co-editor)
- Doris HumphreyDoris HumphreyDoris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...
: An Artist First (editor) - International Encyclopedia of Dance (editor)
- Next Week, Swan Lake: Reflections on Dance and Dances