It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our friend and
colleague Professor Margaret Whitford who died on18 July, aged 64, from
ovarian cancer, after a long illness which she faced with great honesty and
courage.



Margaret Whitford was a key founder member of the UK *Society for Women in
Philosophy*. Her energy and vision was pivotal to maintaining the group as
it grew. For many years she co-edited the *Women in Philosophy
Newsletter*which later became the
*Women’s Philosophy Review*. Her editorship lasted from Issue 2 (1990) until
1997 when she became Books Review Editor, a position that she held until
2001.



Margaret Whitford’s early work *Merleau-Ponty's Critique of Sartre's
Philosophy* remains a standard text. However, she is best known for bringing
to prominence in the English- speaking world the work of French philosopher
Luce Irigaray. She edited *The Irigaray
Reader<http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330544.The_Irigaray_Reader>
* (1991) and, together with Carolyn Burke and Naomi
Schor<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13035.Naomi_Schor>,
she co-edited *Engaging with
Irigaray<http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22958.Engaging_with_Irigaray>
*(1994*)*. Her important monograph *Luce Irigaray: Philosophy in the
Feminine* came out in 1991, and provided an entry point for readers into
Irigaray’s work, whilst also rescuing that work from charges of essentialism
and reductionism.



Margaret Whitford with Morwenna Griffiths co-edited the first book of
papers to come out of UK feminist philosophy, *Feminist Perspectives
in Philosophy **(1988). **Later with Kathleen Lennon, she co-edited
the first British collection on feminism epistemology, Knowing the
Difference.* Her work intertwined French Philosophy, feminism and
psychoanalysis in a way that provided an opening for much of the work
in feminist philosophy and feminist theory that followed. She always
displayed a willingness to engage with, rather than close off from,
different factions within academia. She qualified as a psychoanalytic
psychotherapist at the Lincoln Clinic and Centre for Psychotherapy,
London and, on retirement from her post as Professor of French at
Queen Mary, University of London, took on a number of private patients
as well as continuing with her translation work. She continued to be
vigorously interested in life generally and ideas in particular until
the very last days of her life.



Margaret was unstinting in her help and encouragement to younger colleagues.
She was loyal and generous to her friends, entertaining them with rigorous
discussions, her anarchic sense of humour, and sharing with them outings to
art exhibitions, as well as her passion for and knowledge of contemporary
art. One always left her company with fresh insights.



She will be very badly missed.



*Alison Assiter, Christine Battersby, Morwenna Griffiths, Kathleen Lennon,
Anne Seller*



-- 
_________________________________________________
Professor Jennifer Saul
Department of Philosophy
University of Sheffield
45 Victoria Street, Sheffield S3 7QB

Ph: 0114 222 0578
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
<http://www.shef.ac.uk/philosophy/staff/profiles/saul.html>