How a newly minted Radcliffe fellowship program helped Lily Macrakis, at the time a stay-at-home mother with a master’s degree, reignite her bookish passions—and reach her full scholarly potential.
The article details the life of Lily Macrakis, a historian of modern Greece, and how a newly established fellowship program at Radcliffe Institute in 1961 provided her with a "second chance" at intellectual life. As a stay-at-home mother with a master's degree, Macrakis felt her academic ambitions were stifled. The Radcliffe fellowship, designed to support talented women who had paused their careers due to family obligations, allowed her to pursue her research on Eleftherios Venizelos, complete her PhD, and eventually become a professor and department chair. The article highlights the innovative nature of the program, which was groundbreaking in its support of women balancing family and academic pursuits, and emphasizes how crucial the fellowship was to Macrakis’s successful career. It also touches on the societal challenges faced by women seeking intellectual fulfillment in the mid-20th century and the positive impact the program had on other fellows.
The article details the life of Lily Macrakis, a historian of modern Greece, and how a newly established fellowship program at Radcliffe Institute in 1961 provided her with a "second chance" at intellectual life. As a stay-at-home mother with a master's degree, Macrakis felt her academic ambitions were stifled. The Radcliffe fellowship, designed to support talented women who had paused their careers due to family obligations, allowed her to pursue her research on Eleftherios Venizelos, complete her PhD, and eventually become a professor and department chair. The article highlights the innovative nature of the program, which was groundbreaking in its support of women balancing family and academic pursuits, and emphasizes how crucial the fellowship was to Macrakis’s successful career. It also touches on the societal challenges faced by women seeking intellectual fulfillment in the mid-20th century and the positive impact the program had on other fellows.
