Talk:Frances Kamm

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Year of birth unknown

Practially no biographical information seems to be available prior to her receiving tenure in 2003. The earliest publication known is Creation and Abortion (1992). At this time, Kamm was at NYU. Here is a record of her giving a presentation entitled "Constraints and You" in 1983:[1] (apparently reprinted in 1996).

There is also a Frances Kamm holding a B.A. from MIT mentioned in 1970 as a member of the advisory board of "a series of reprints concerning the history of the woman's rights" published by Source Book Press.[2] It isn't clear whether this is the same individual. If she held a B.A. in 1970, she would have been born around 1950. The 1983 mention is compatible with a year of birth in the early 1960s. It would be helpful to identify her dissertation in order to find out where she was educated. --dab (𒁳) 09:11, 10 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I found an early publication from 1972, suggesting a year of birth in the early 1950s at least. Her early work appears to be entirely focussed on the ethics of abortion. --dab (𒁳) 09:24, 10 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

A year of birth of 1948 is suggested by myheritage.com, needs a quotable reference for verification. --dab (𒁳) 09:34, 10 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I finally found her doctoral thesis, this was surprisingly difficult for a tenured professor, it was written at MIT in 1980, so the Frances Kamm holding a B.A. at MIT in 1970 is most likely her. She was apparently born (in NY?) in 1948, studied at MIT, held a B.A. by 1970, and completed her doctorate in 1980. She was at NYU during the 1980s to 1990s and received tenure at Harvard in 2003. --dab (𒁳) 11:10, 10 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

From the dedicatory note in Morality, Morality vol. 2 (1996), her mother was born in 1911 (Mala Schlussel Kamm (1911-1996)). This, combined with receiving her B.A. in 1969 [aged 21] makes a year of birth of 1948 highly plausible. Mala Schlussel was interviewed by the Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1983[3]. --dab (𒁳) 11:59, 10 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]