Ana Conta-Kernbach

{{Short description|Romanian teacher, writer and women's rights activist}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ana Conta-Kernbach

| image = Ana_Conta-Kernbach.png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Ana Conta

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1865|11|05|df=y}}

| birth_place = Târgu Neamț, Romanian United Principalities

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1921|12|13|1865|11|05|df=y}}

| death_place = Iași, Kingdom of Romania

| resting_place = Eternitatea Cemetery, Iași

| resting_place_coordinates =

| nationality = Romanian

| other_names = Ana Conta Kernbach

| education =

| alma_mater = University of Iași
University of Paris

| occupation = teacher, writer, women's rights activist

| years_active = 1883–1921

| employer = {{ill|Mihail Sturdza Normal School|ro|Școala Normală „Mihail Sturdza” din Iași}}

| organization =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| parents =

| mother = Marioara (Scutariu) Conta

| father = Grigore Conta

| relatives = Vasile Conta (brother)

| family =

| awards =

| website =

| module =

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| footnotes =

}}

Ana Conta-Kernbach (5 November 1865 – 13 December 1921) was a Romanian teacher, writer, and women's rights activist. Educated at the {{ill|Humpel Institute|ro|Institutul liceal de domnișoare Humpel}} in Iași, she graduated in 1883 and began teaching there that same year. Continuing her studies at the same time, she enrolled at the University of Iaşi, studying both in the normal school and philosophical faculties. In 1885, she transferred to the Oltea Doamna Lyceum and graduated in 1888. In 1893, she went to Paris to study at the University of Paris and the Collège de France, earning her doctorate in 1895. Returning to Romania, she became the director of the Normal School of Applications and taught both pedagogy and psychology at the {{ill|Mihail Sturdza Normal School|ro|Școala Normală „Mihail Sturdza” din Iași}} for more than two decades.

In addition to her teaching Conta-Kernbach published literary works beginning 1891 and in her later life as an active suffragist published articles in favor of women's rights and equality. She was one of the founders in 1918, of the Association for the Civil and Political Emancipation of Romanian Women in Iași. The first woman admitted to the General Council of Instruction, she also served from 1913 as the inspector for all girls' schools throughout the country until her death in 1921. Conta-Kernbach was honored twice by the government of Romania with the Educational Work Reward Medal, first class, for both primary and secondary education. She is regarded as one of the pioneering teachers who helped develop the educational system and pedagogic theory in Romania.

Early life

Ana Conta was born on 5 November 1865 in Târgu Neamț in the Romanian United Principalities to Marioara (née Scutariu) and Grigore Conta.{{sfn|Marcu|2012}} She was the next to last sibling in the family of ten children,{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} which included her older brother Vasile Conta, who would become a philosopher and politician.{{sfn|Marcu|2012}} Her family was originally from the commune of Bodeștii-Precistei, where several generations had served in the priesthood of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Her father was hired in 1864 to serve at the Bărboi Monastery in Iași, where the family moved soon after her birth. Her mother died when Conta was young, and her brother Vasile became an important influence{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} on her sense of responsibility to address societal issues.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}} He also encouraged her musical ability and she became an accomplished pianist.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=213}}

In 1878, Conta entered the {{ill|Humpel Institute|ro|Institutul liceal de domnișoare Humpel}}. She completed the seven-year curricula within five years and graduated in 1883. Continuing her education, that year, she entered the University of Iași{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} studying both in the normal school and philosophical faculties.{{sfn|Marcu|2012}} Simultaneously with her university studies, she taught history, logic, and psychology at the Humpel Institute,{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} until 1885, when she began teaching at the Liceul "Oltea Doamna" (Oltea Doamna Lyceum), where she remained for almost a decade.{{sfn|Colegiul Național "Mihai Eminescu"|2011}} Conta obtained her degree, magna cum laude in 1888{{sfn|Marcu|2012}}{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} and in 1891, married poet Gheorghe Kernbach, who encouraged her to begin writing and publishing both poems and prose.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}} Her debut as a writer occurred in Convorbiri Literare (Literary Conversations) in 1891 and other works were soon published in the journals {{ill|Junimea literară|ro}} (Literary Jubilee) and Arhiva (Archive).{{sfn|Marcu|2012}} In 1893, Conta-Kernbach went to Paris, without her husband to continue her education. Taking courses in art history, pedagogy, and philosophy, she studied at the University of Paris and the Collège de France.{{sfn|Marcu|2012}}{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}}

Career

That year, at the request of the Ministry of Education, Conta-Kernbach produced two reports evaluating vocational education available to girls in France. The following year, she provided an assessment on the same topic for girls from Saint Petersburg.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|pp=209–210}} In 1895, she completed her doctorate, again graduating magna cum laude, and returned to Iași, where she began teaching pedagogy and psychology at the {{ill|Mihail Sturdza Normal School|ro|Școala Normală „Mihail Sturdza” din Iași}}{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}{{sfn|Bălan|2019}} and would remain there for more than 20 years.{{sfn|Iutiș|2017}} She also was named by the Ministry of Education as the director of the Școlii Normale de Aplicație (Normal School of Applications) and worked to modernize the professionalism of teachers with pedagogic training at both schools.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}} Her approach to pedagogy was to use both association and experimental psychology put forth by masters like John Amos Comenius, Friedrich Fröbel, John Locke, and others and apply their ideas to education from a Romanian context.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=211}}

Conta-Kernbach was one of the first Romanian delegates sent by the government to international scientific meetings. She participated in the International Congress of Women's Institutions, held in Paris in 1899, the International Congress of Pedagogy, hosted in Brussels in 1911,{{sfn|Bălan|2019}} as well as other events hosted in Geneva and Nuremberg. They also sent her abroad to research the organization of schools in France and Germany and she became the first woman admitted to the General Council of Instruction.{{sfn|Marcu|2012}} The Council of Instruction is the body which determines requirements for schooling and from 1913 until her death, she served as the inspector for all girls' schools throughout the country.{{sfn|Colegiul Național "Mihai Eminescu"|2011}}{{sfn|Dimitriu|2011|p=190}} She was awarded the medal Răsplata Muncii pentru Învățământ (Educational Work Reward Medal) first class, for primary education and later the same award for secondary education.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}

During World War I, Conta-Kernbach became involved in the feminist movement and began publishing articles about wage equity and protecting women's rights to be professionals.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}{{sfn|Iutiș|2017}} She proposed that women be allowed to become citizens in their own right,{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}} and supported women's suffrage, co-founding the Asociția pentru emanciparea civilă și politică a femeilor române (Association for the Civil and Political Emancipation of Romanian Women) in Iași in 1918,{{sfn|Bălan|2019}} along with Calypso Botez, Maria Baiulescu, Elena Meissner, Ella Negruzzi, Izabela Sadoveanu, Ortansa Satmary, and {{ill|Olga Sturdza|ro}}. The goals of the Association were to work for legal, socio-economic, and political rights of women.{{sfn|Dimitriu|2011|p=105}} That year, universal suffrage for men over the age of 21 was passed by the legislature and women were promised that at a future date their right to vote would be considered.{{sfn|Comenius|2003}}{{sfn|Cheșchebec|2012|p=358}} In 1920, Conta-Kernbach petitioned the legislature to grant political rights for women{{sfn|Turliuc|Turliuc|2009|p=266}} who had demonstrated their public service, participated in the war, or who were wives and mothers of soldiers who fought in the conflict.{{sfn|Dimitriu|2011|p=189}}

Death and legacy

File:Ana Conta-Kernbach.jpg]]

Conta-Kernbach died from heart disease on 13 December 1921 in Iași and was buried in the city's Eternitatea Cemetery.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}{{sfn|Bălan|2019}}{{sfn|Iutiș|2017}} In 1925, when Adela Xenopol established Revista scriitoarei (Woman Writer's Magazine), Conta-Kernbach was one of the featured feminists, whose writings were profiled in the influential journal.{{sfn|Mihăilescu|2006|p=314}} She is remembered as one of the pioneers who helped systematize Romanian pedagogy practices and education.{{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=211}}

Selected works

=Journalism=

Munca și plata ei. Reglementarea petrecerilor (Work and Pay Them: Regulating Parties, 1919){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}
În chestiunea feministă (The Feminist Question, 1920){{sfn|Dimitriu|2011|p=189}}
Pentru ridicarea Iașului (To Raise Iași, 1920){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}
Cu toții la muncă (We All Work, 1921){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=210}}

=Literature=

Clipe (Moments, 1897){{sfn|Bălan|2019}}
Fulgi (Flakes, 1905){{sfn|Bălan|2019}}
Biografia lui Vasile Conta (Biography of Vasile Conta, 1916){{sfn|Bălan|2019}}
Boabe de mărgean (Beads of Coral, 1922){{sfn|Bălan|2019}}
Pulbere (Powder 1925){{sfn|Bălan|2019}}

=Scientific=

Școlile profesionale din Franța (Professional Schools in France, 1893){{sfn|Iutiș|2017}}
Dezideratele Congresului din Petersburg privitoare la organizarea învățămîntului profesional de fete, (Petersburg Congress Goals Concerning the Organization of Girls' Professional Education, 1894){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=209}}
Les programmes actuels et la nouvelle méthode d’enseignement, au point de vue de l’hygiene intellectuelle (The Current Programs and the New Method of Teaching, from the Intellectual Hygiene Point of View, 1904){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=212}}
Școlare (School, 1904){{sfn|Marcu|2012}}
Elemente de metodică (Elements of Methodology, 1905){{sfn|Marcu|2012}}
Elemente de pedagogie (Elements of Pedagogy, 1907){{sfn|Marcu|2012}}
L’éducation manuelle (The Education Manual, 1913){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=212}}
Noțiuni de pedagogie și metodică (Notions of Pedagogy and Methodology, 1914){{sfn|Marcu|2012}}
Despre muzică (About Music, 1920){{sfn|Iutiș|2017}}
Elemente de cultură generală: Noțiuni de Pedagogie, Didactică și Metodică (General Culture Elements: Notions of Pedagogy, Didactics and Methodology, 1921){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=213}}
Logică și psihologie: Schița unui manual de școală. Anexă la Elemente de cultură generală: Noțiuni de Pedagogie, Didactică și Metodică (Logic and psychology: Sketch of a school textbook. Annex to General Culture Elements: Notions of Pedagogy, Didactics and Methodology, 1921){{sfn|Noveanu|2013|p=213}}

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite news |last1=Bălan |first1=Emanuel |title=Personalități ale Ținutului Neamț (XXXIV): Ana Conta-Kernbach, figură a luptei pentru emanciparea femeii |url=https://www.neamt24.ro/personalitati-ale-tinutului-neamt-xxxiv-ana-conta-kernbach-figura-a-luptei-pentru-emanciparea-femeii/ |access-date=20 September 2019 |newspaper=Neamț24 |date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920161445/https://www.neamt24.ro/personalitati-ale-tinutului-neamt-xxxiv-ana-conta-kernbach-figura-a-luptei-pentru-emanciparea-femeii/ |archive-date=20 September 2019 |location=Târgu Neamț, Romania |language=Romanian |trans-title=Neamt County Personalities (XXXIV): Ana Conta-Kernbach, Figure of the Fight for the Emancipation of Women}}
{{cite book |last1=Cheșchebec |first1=Roxana |editor1-last=Rodríguez Ruiz |editor1-first=Blanca |editor2-last=Rubio-Marín |editor2-first=Ruth |title=The Struggle for Female Suffrage in Europe: Voting to become citizens |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KIMwdbG0EcC&pg=PA357 |date=2012 |publisher=Brill Publishers |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |isbn=978-9-004-22991-4 |pages=357–372 |chapter=The Achievement of Female Suffrage in Romania}}
{{cite thesis |last1=Dimitriu |first1=Andreea |s2cid=150425364 |title=Le féminisme roumain et ses affinitésavec le féminisme français (1918-1940) |type=PhD |date=29 September 2011 |publisher=Alexandru Ioan Cuza University |location=Iași, Romania |language=French |trans-title=Romanian Feminism and Its Affinities with French Feminism (1918–1940)}}
{{cite news |last1=Iutiș |first1=Gelu |title=Un pedagog de renume la Iași |url=https://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/un-pedagog-de-renume-la-iasi--155128.html |access-date=21 September 2019 |newspaper=Ziarul de Iași |date=20 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504214038/http://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/un-pedagog-de-renume-la-iasi--155128.html |archive-date=4 May 2017 |location=Iași, Romania |language=Romanian |trans-title=A renowned teacher in Iași}}
{{cite web |last1=Marcu |first1=George |title=Enciclopedia personalităţilor feminine din România: Ana Conta-Kernbach |url=http://enciclopediaromaniei.ro/wiki/Ana_Conta-Kernbach |website=Enciclopedia României |publisher=Editura Meronia |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302061928/http://enciclopediaromaniei.ro/wiki/Ana_Conta-Kernbach |archive-date=2 March 2019 |location=Bucurest, Romania |language=Romanian |trans-title=Encyclopedia of Female Personalities in Romania: Ana Conta-Kernbach |date=2012}}
{{cite book |last1=Mihăilescu |first1=Ștefania |author-link=Ștefania Mihăilescu |editor-last1=de Haan |editor-first1=Francisca |editor-link1=Francisca de Haan |editor-last2=Daskalova |editor-first2=Krasimira |editor-last3=Loutfi |editor-first3=Anna |title=Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe: 19th and 20th Centuries |chapter=Xenopol, Adela (1861–1939) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_u3f7/page/613 |year=2006 |publisher=Central European University Press |location=Budapest, Hungary |isbn=978-963-7326-39-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_u3f7/page/613 613–615] |chapter-url-access=registration |via=Project MUSE }}
{{cite journal |last1=Noveanu |first1=Eugen |title=Ana Conta-Kernbach o sută cincizeci de ani de la naștere |journal=Revista de Pedagogie |date=2013 |volume=LXI |issue=4 |pages=209–213 |url=http://revped.ise.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2013.-4.-Full-issue.pdf |access-date=20 September 2019 |trans-title=Ana Conta-Kernbach One Hundred and Fifty Years after Her Birth |publisher=Institutul de Științe ale Educației |location=Bucharest, Romania |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203223712/http://revped.ise.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2013.-4.-Full-issue.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2019 |language=Romanian |issn=0034-8678}}
{{cite book |last1=Turliuc |first1=Maria Nicoleta |last2=Turliuc |first2=Catalin |editor1-last=Sulkunen |editor1-first=Irma |editor2-last=Nevala-Nurmi |editor2-first=Seija-Leena |editor3-last=Markkola |editor3-first=Pirjo |title=Suffrage, Gender and Citizenship: International perspectives on parliamentary reforms |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars |location=Newcastle upon Tyne, UK |isbn=978-1-4438-0162-1 |pages=259–277 |chapter=The Struggle for Women’s Political Rights in Modern Romania: The Crystallisation of Feminist Movement and the Constitutional Debates|ssrn=2249849 }}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Comenius|2003}} |author= |title=A History of the Right to Vote in Romania |url=http://www.stevenson.ac.uk/comenius/articles/univsuff/ro_db/suff_1b.htm |website=ww.stevenson.ac.uk |publisher=Stevenson College |access-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113150114/http://www.stevenson.ac.uk/comenius/articles/univsuff/ro_db/suff_1b.htm |archive-date=13 November 2004 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |date=2003}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Colegiul Național "Mihai Eminescu"|2011}} |author= |title=Istoric: Profesori — Ana Conta Kernbach |url=http://lme.is.edu.ro/index.php?lb=0&cod=0&id=202 |publisher=Colegiul Național "Mihai Eminescu" |access-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011114947/http://lme.is.edu.ro/index.php?lb=0&cod=0&id=202 |archive-date=11 October 2018 |location=Iași, Romania |language=Romanian |trans-title=History: Professors — Ana Conta Kernbach |date=21 January 2019}}