Overview
Biographical material, correspondence, speeches, etc., of Marie Witkin Kargman, sociologist and lawyer.
Dates
- Creation: 1947-1993
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research, with the exception of letters to Marie Witkin Kargman containing sensitive information, which are closed until the likely death of the writer.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Marie Witkin Kargman is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
1.83 linear feet ((1 carton, 2 file boxes) plus 1 supersize folder)These papers consist of biographical documents; professional correspondence with organizations, individuals, and journals; legal correspondence arranged by subject; letters from clients and readers; speeches and papers delivered by Marie Witkin Kargman; and her writings, notes, and drafts. In 1978 Kargman submitted an essay (see #72) on economic justice for homemakers in a competition sponsored by the Bernays Foundation; for further details, see the records of the Babson-Bernays Competition at the Schlesinger Library.
BIOGRAPHY
The daughter of Joseph and Clara (Zucker) Witkin, Marie (Witkin) Kargman was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 28, 1914. She graduated from Crane Junior College in Chicago (Adj. of Arts, 1932), DePaul University (J.D., 1936), and Radcliffe College (M.A., 1951). In 1935, she married Max R. Kargman; they had three children.
After serving as public defender in Boys' Court (1936) and practicing privately (1936-1945), Kargman came to view law as, "in a very real sense, applied sociology." In the early 1950s she became a marriage and divorce counselor, and she has subsequently served as a consultant in family law, a court investigator, and a guardian ad litem, representing children in divorce proceedings. Kargman lectured in sociology at the nursing schools of Children's Hospital (1961-1962) and New England Deaconess (1963), both in Boston, and at Boston University (1965-1968).
Kargman originated and chaired a 1965 conference at Harvard Law School entitled "Are Marital Rights in Balance?" She has been active in the American Bar Association's Family Law Section, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Boston Bar Association, the International Federation of Women Lawyers, and the National Association of Women Lawyers. In November 1967 she was appointed chair of the Governor's Advisory Council on Home and Family in Massachusetts. A frequent guest on radio and television programs, Kargman lectures widely and is the author of How to Manage a Marriage (1985) and numerous articles on marriage and family law.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 80-M76, 80-M176, 93-M25, 94-M34
These papers of Marie (Witkin) Kargman were given to the Schlesinger Library in April and August 1980, February 1993, and March 1994 by Marie Witkin Kargman.
SEPARATION RECORD
The following items have been removed from the collection and deposited in Schlesinger Library's periodicals collection, April 1980:
- International Federation of Women Lawyers newsletters
The following items have been removed from the collection and added to Schlesinger Library's vertical file, January 1997:
- Women's Bureau printed brochures, reports, etc.
CONTAINER LIST
- Carton 1: 2-23, 25-49
- Box 2: 50-62
- Box 3: 63-76
Processing Information
Preliminary inventory: March 1997
By: Anne Engelhart
Genre / Form
Topical
- Custody of children--United States
- Divorce counseling--United States
- Divorce--Law and legislation--United States
- Domestic relations--United States
- Lawyers
- Lawyers--United States
- Marriage law--United States
- Married women--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States
- Sociologists
- Sociologists--United States
- Women lawyers
- Women--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States
- Title
- Kargman, Marie Witkin. Papers of Marie Witkin Kargman, 1947-1993: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00661
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.