Mitchell, Helen Buss 1941–

PERSONAL:

Born July 17, 1941, in New York, NY; daughter of Joseph William (a purchasing agent) and Helen Ruth (an office manager) Buss; married Joseph Rocco Mitchell (a historian and writer), June 20, 1964; children: Jason Christopher. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Hood College, B.A., 1963; Loyola College, M.Ed., 1975, M.M.S., 1979; University of Maryland at College Park, Ph.D., 1990. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, yoga, t'ai chi, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Ellicott City, MD. Office—Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia, MD 21044. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Freelance journalist, 1972-79; Howard Community College, Columbia, MD, associate dean for continuing education, 1979-93, professor of philosophy and director of women's studies, 1993—, and coach of Ethics Bowl team. Mid-Maryland Private Industry Council, member, 1985-93.

MEMBER:

American Philosophical Association, National Women's Studies Association, Howard County Historical Society (member of board of directors, 1989-92).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Excellence in Education Awards, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, 1998 and 1999; Distance Educator of the Year Award, Public Broadcasting Service, 1999.

WRITINGS:

Roots of Wisdom (also published as Roots of World Wisdom and Readings from the Roots of Wisdom), Wadsworth Publishing (Belmont, CA), 1996, 5th edition, 2008.

(With Joseph R. Mitchell) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in World Civilizations, Dushkin (Guilford, CT), 1998, 3rd edition, 2007.

(With Joseph R. Mitchell) The Holocaust: Readings and Interpretations, McGraw-Hill/Dushkin (Guilford, CT), 2001.

Author of the television curriculum materials, including For the Love of Wisdom, produced by Howard Community College, distributed by Dallas Telelearning, 1997. Contributor to periodicals, including Baltimore News American.

Roots of Wisdom has been translated into Chinese and Spanish.

SIDELIGHTS:

Helen Buss Mitchell told CA: "As a philosophy professor in 1995, I was frustrated that existing texts focused exclusively on the Western tradition. In addition, I would cringe when students would ask: Have there ever been any women philosophers? So, when sales representatives for the publisher of the text I was using asked me what a text would be like that really met my needs, I surprised myself by replying that it would have Asian and African philosophies and women philosophers in every chapter, and it would discuss logic in the context of chapter-specific arguments. Roots of Wisdom was my attempt to offer a text in world philosophy to a diverse student population.

"With each subsequent edition, I've added other threads: peoples of the Americas, the indigenous voices that were ancient when Europeans arrived, and Islamic thought, more recently. I also try to tap into popular culture for examples that students can connect with as they read thinkers who can seem like historical artifacts. Kant's mental categories, for example, seem a lot like the operating system and software on my computer—they process and sort information as it arrives, shaping it invisibly before I ‘see’ it.

"In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, I believe it is vital for us to understand the worldviews of cultures distant from our own. Philosophy offers a window on how other human beings look at the big questions of life: What's real? Who or what are we and what are we doing here? Is there an Ultimate Reality? How do we know? What is truth? Which do we value more: the individual or the state, the individual or the community? How can we do business or negotiate peace if we do not understand how others see the world?

"Several years ago I also created, scripted, and hosted a ‘telecourse,’ For the Love of Wisdom. There we find ‘voices’ of people whose lives and work are rooted in philosophical questions—an acupuncturist, a t'ai chi teacher, an African dancer, a musician, an American Zen Buddhist, an artist, a Jungian psychologist, and a historian. There are also nationally known novelists and poets reading from their own works and commenting on the subjects that fascinate them. Philosophical questions occupy artists as well as philosophers.

"I am delighted when my students excitedly tell me that I have to see a movie that raises philosophical questions or listen to a song that does the same thing. I am continually inspired by events and our cultural conversations to think anew about what people have always pondered—the deepest meaning of our individual and social lives."