Cynthia Sutherland was born in 1934 and spent her early life in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. at Bryn Mawr College in 1956, and an M.A. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1959. Under the tutelage of Arthur Scouten, Sutherland earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967, where her main academic focus was on dramas from the Elizabethan period through the eighteenth century. Sutherland was a lecturer at Claremont Men's College in California during the 1966-67 academic year, and an Assistant Professor at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pa. during the 1967-68 academic year. She continued her career as a professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh from 1968-1996, earning tenure in 1973. Sutherland died prematurely at the age of 63 in January 1998 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. During her tenure in Pittsburgh, Sutherland's research and teaching interests broadened to include contemporary drama, myth studies, folklore, children's literature, fantasy and science fiction literature, psychoanalysis and identity, representations of women in literature, and the influence of women authors on drama and literature. In 1971, she co-founded the scholarly journal, Eighteenth-Century Life, and contributed articles and reviews to many scholarly publications throughout her career. Her work often exhibited feminist leanings, and she helped to establish the Women's Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh in 1972. Early in her career, she was an active participant in University governance, and in professional organizations and conference committees. She married her first husband, William Matlack, in 1958, and used her married name in professional situations. Following a divorce, she began using Sutherland as her professional name, and, after marriage to second husband J. Lee O'Nan, used her new married name socially.
From the description of Cynthia Sutherland papers, 1963-1997 (bulk, 1983-1995). (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 652971475
