Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Osher Book Club
Speaker
Eileen Coblens
We will be reading In the Field, a novel by Rachel
Pastan published in 2018. The novel was inspired
by the life and career of Nobel Prize winner Barbara
McClintock. Born in 1902, she fought as a woman to
be accepted in the tightly knit male world of genetics
and cytogenetics. Her work revolutionized the field
of genetics but was not widely acknowledged until
1983, when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine. This work by a little-known
author is a fascinating, beautifully written and well-
researched fictional account of the struggle a brilliant
woman went through before she was granted the
recognition she deserved.
Pastan published in 2018. The novel was inspired
by the life and career of Nobel Prize winner Barbara
McClintock. Born in 1902, she fought as a woman to
be accepted in the tightly knit male world of genetics
and cytogenetics. Her work revolutionized the field
of genetics but was not widely acknowledged until
1983, when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine. This work by a little-known
author is a fascinating, beautifully written and well-
researched fictional account of the struggle a brilliant
woman went through before she was granted the
recognition she deserved.
Speaker Bio
Facilitator: Eileen Coblens has lived in San Diego
for over nine years after moving from New York.
A former middle-school English teacher who,
on retirement, spent several years as an adjunct
professor at Stony Brook and Hofstra universities,
Eileen holds a B.A. and M.A. from Adelphi
University and a Ph.D. in English and American
literature from Stony Brook University.
for over nine years after moving from New York.
A former middle-school English teacher who,
on retirement, spent several years as an adjunct
professor at Stony Brook and Hofstra universities,
Eileen holds a B.A. and M.A. from Adelphi
University and a Ph.D. in English and American
literature from Stony Brook University.
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