By: Samantha Riley, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2020, French and Anthropology, IUPUI
Edited by: Bre Anne Briskey, Bicentennial Graduate Assistant
“We look toward a future when feminist thought has a more profound influence on bioethics, when the voices of the socially marginalized are more fully recognized, and the needs of all social groups are integrated into a system of health-care justice that is responsive to the diverse needs of humans across the globe.”–Anne Donchin[1]
Early Life and Education
Dr. Anne Donchin was born on March 2, 1930, in Chicago, IL. She demonstrated excellence in scholarship early on when she received early admission from the University of Chicago.[2] After she received her bachelor of philosophy from the university in 1953, she attended the University of Wisconsin and earned another bachelor degree in 1954. After this, Donchin moved to Texas with her husband. While her husband taught at Rice University, she worked on her master’s degree, which she completed in 1965.[3] Donchin went on to earn her doctorate from the University of Texas in 1970.[4]
Breaking Down Barriers: Donchin’s Career
Donchin taught in Texas and New York for 18 years before returning to the Midwest. In 1982 she joined the philosophy department at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).[5] A year later she became the program coordinator, and later director, of the women’s studies program, which was officially established in 1979. In this role as program coordinator and director, she helped to shape the program into what it is today.[6]
Donchin incorporated her feminist ideals into her work as a philosopher. While a large gender gap still exists in the field of philosophy, Donchin sought to reduce this through incorporating and emphasizing feminist ideas and critiques. As a bioethics scholar, it distressed Donchin to see that the field frequently excluded and disregarded women’s and members of a minority group’s experiences and perspectives.
Not wanting to accept this, Donchin began to work on creating a new methodology and strategy to incorporate the voices of the disenfranchised. With the help of Helen Bequaert Holmes, the two women pioneered feminist bioethics and founded the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics in 1992.
The nonprofit organization was founded to create a network for feminists in the field, as well as to attempt to provide them with opportunities to showcase their work at conferences and in programs such as its International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics and workshops. Wanting to ensure a stable foundation, Donchin served in various leadership positions for several years.[7]
Contributions to the Academy
In her work, Donchin combined her two passions: philosophy and feminism. She worked tirelessly to promote the success of women in their work, shed light on their accomplishments, and to support women’s equality. She applied and received a Ford Foundation grant, one of the most prestigious grants available to support international participation in the 1998 Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Conference (FAB).
In 1999, Donchin co-edited a book with Linda Purdy, Embodying Bioethics: Recent Feminist Advances. In 2004, she co-edited the book Linking Visions: Feminist Bioethics, Human Rights, and the Developing World.
She was on editorial boards for an encyclopedia, international bioethics collections, and for several notable journals.[8] Donchin’s approach to incorporating feminism influenced and impacted many.
Legacy
Anne Donchin retired from IUPUI in 2001, and went to the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine to serve as an affiliated research scholar in bioethics education. She passed away in August 2014.[9]
In honor of her life-long dedication in supporting women, several organizations have posthumously honored Donchin. The New York Society for Women in Philosophy and the FAB Congress in Edinburgh dedicated programs in her memory.[10] In Tirana, Albania, the Gender Alliance for Development dedicated its collection of feminist books in its new library in Anne Donchin’s memory in 2015.
Bibliography
- “Anne Donchin.” IUPUI Office For Women. Accessed 30 April 2020.
- “Anne Donchin.” ResearchGate. Accessed 05 May 2020.
- “Anne Donchin,” ScholarWorks. Accessed 30 April 2020. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/7230
- “The Awakening: Women and Power in the Academy.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Accessed 30 April 2020.
- Byrne, Edmund. “Anne Donchin Obituary.” The New York Times, 29 August 2014.
- Dodds, Susan, Carolyn Ells, Ann Garry, Helen Bequaert Holmes, Laura Purdy, Mary C. Rawlinson, Jackie Leach Scully, and Rosemarie Tong. “In Tribute to Anne Donchin (1930–2014).” International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics8, no. 1 (2015): 1-17.
- Donchin, Anne.“Remarks on the Occasion of FAB’s Twentieth Anniversary.” IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, 25 June 2012.
- Holladay, Ruth. “Women’s studies alive and well at IUPUI.” The Indianapolis Star, 30 November 1987, pg. 10.
- “History of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (FAB).” The Newsletter of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, September 2020.
- “IUPUI philosophy prof earns faculty fellowship.” Journal and Courier, 15 March 1989, pg. 4.
- Rogers, Wendy. “In Memoriam, Anne Donchin,” The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Blog, 29 August 2014, URL: https://www.ijfab.org/blog/2014/08/in-memoriam-anne-donchin-2/.
Notes
[1] Anne Donchin, “Remarks on the Occasion of FAB’s Twentieth Anniversary,” IJFAB: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, 25 June 2012, URL:
[2] Edmund Byrne, “Anne Donchin Obituary,” The New York Times, 29 August 2014, URL: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=anne-donchin&pid=172288765&fhid=2248.
[3] Wendy Rogers, “In Memoriam, Anne Donchin,” The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Blog, 29 August 2014, URL: https://www.ijfab.org/blog/2014/08/in-memoriam-anne-donchin-2/.
[4] “Anne Donchin,” ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/7230
[5] “Anne Donchin,” ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/7230
[6] Wendy Rogers, “In Memoriam, Anne Donchin,” The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Blog, 29 August 2014, URL: https://www.ijfab.org/blog/2014/08/in-memoriam-anne-donchin-2/.
[7] “History of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (FAB)” The Newsletter of the International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, September 2020.
[8] Wendy Rogers, “In Memoriam, Anne Donchin,” The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics Blog, 29 August 2014, URL: https://www.ijfab.org/blog/2014/08/in-memoriam-anne-donchin-2/.
[9] “Anne Donchin.” IUPUI Office For Women. Accessed 30 April 2020.
[10] “Anne Donchin,” ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/7230