Fonds P0114 - Prudence Allen fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Prudence Allen fonds

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  • Textual record
  • Graphic material
  • Object
  • Sound recording

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Fonds

Reference code

P0114

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1941-2022 (Creation)
    Creator
    Allen, Prudence

Physical description area

Physical description

7 m of textual records
ca. 1,000 photographs
24 sound recordings (compact cassettes and optical discs : CD)
12 objects
2 paintings

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1940-)

Biographical history

Christine Hope Allen, known as Sister Mary Prudence Allen, R.S.M., was born July 21, 1940 in Oneida, New York. Her father was Henry Grosvernor Allen (d. 1997) and her mother was Mildred Beatrice Gorman (d. 2007). Her family was descended from the Oneida Community, a utopian religious community of the nineteenth century. Married in 1965, she has two sons. In May 1972, her marriage was ended by physical separation, religious annulment and divorce subsequently followed. In 1983 she became a Roman Catholic nun with the Religious Sisters of Mercy. (Her sister, Elizabeth Bethany Allen joined the same community, and is called Sister Lydia Allen, R.S.M.) In 1967 Sister Prudence received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School in California. She began to teach philosophy at Sir George Williams University in 1969 and became full-time assistant professor in 1972. In 1974, Sir George Williams University merged with Loyola College to form Concordia University. Sister Prudence Allen was promoted to associate professor in 1977. She became full professor in 1993. She retired and was named professor emerita in 1996. She then moved to Denver, Colorado where she was full professor and held the Archbishop Charles J. Chaput OFM, cap Chair of Philosophy at the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. She has been reassigned to Lancaster University Chaplaincy, Lancaster, UK, in November 2013. In 2014, she was appointed to the International Theological Commission by Pope Francis for five years (2014-2019).

At Concordia, Sister Prudence Allen helped develop the interdisciplinary pedagogical basis for women’s studies and helped found the Working Women’s Association for faculty and staff. She co-coordinated the committee that established a women’s college, the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. She was also involved with the interdisciplinary Lonergan University College, serving as its principal from 1992-1995.

Her book The Concept of Woman (Volume I): The Aristotelian Revolution (750 BC- 1250 AD) was published in 1985. A revised edition appeared in 1997. Volume II, The Concept of Woman: The Early Humanist Revolution (1250-1500) was published in 2002 and Volume III, The Concept of Women: The Search for the Communion of Persons (1500-2015) was published in 2016. She is also the author of numerous articles, and has lectured widely.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds mainly provides information on Sister Prudence Allen’s research, teaching activities, and her religious life. Some materials are related, among others, to religious figures such as Hildergard of Bingen and Edith Stein, as well as philosophical perspectives on woman. The fonds also gives genealogical information on the Allen family and the Oneida Community

The fonds includes lectures, speeches, and articles; correspondence, daily journals, and photographs. The fonds also includes three dolls made by Sr. Prudence Allen’s grandmother, Christine Hamilton Allen (1875-1952), a social worker who worked closely with Eleonar Roosevelt during the Suffrage Movement. There are other artifacts such as a Tree of Life embroidered for Sr. Prudence Allen by Gretta Nemiroff.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

The documents were donated to the Concordia University Archives by Sr. Prudence Allen in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2023.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • Arabic
  • English
  • Italian
  • Lithuanian
  • French

Script of material

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    Restrictions on access

    Access to some documents is restricted until 2040.

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    Some box contents listings are available.

    Associated materials

    A selection of digital objects are accessible: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Prudence+Allen%22

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    Further accruals are expected.

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