Alison King Parra Bastien papers
Scope and Contents
The Alison King Parra Bastien Papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, notebooks documenting Bastien's midwifery practice, and notebooks and catalogs pertaining to her practice of herbology. They also include materials pertaining to MANA conferences in Mexico, case notes, presentations, professional papers, organizational records, and articles. Included are photocopies of log books with her learning notes, which she kept while studying with doctors and midwives in Mexico and participating in and observing home births, circa 1984-89.
Dates of Materials
- 1950 - 2010
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. It was previously closed until January 2023 pending removal of third-party medical records.
Conditions Governing Use
To the extent that she owns copyright, Alison King Parra Bastien has assigned the copyright in her works to Smith College; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by Alison King Parra Bastien, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.
Biographical Note
Alison King Parra Bastien (nee King) was born in 1959; earned her certification in midwifery through self-study; and received a degree in anthropology from Humbolt State University in 1982. She has lived in Mexico for 26 years, where she has studied with midwives and doctors. In 1986, she became a primary midwife. A member of the Midwives' Alliance of North America (MANA), she formed region 10 and became the regional representative in 1987. In 1996, she received her CPM (Certified Professional Midwife) from the National Association of Registered Midwives. Bastien continued to work as a homebirth midwife until 1997.
Extent
1.355 linear feet (6 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Spanish; Castilian
Abstract
Alison King Parra Bastien is a midwife and anthropologist who has studied with midwives and doctors in Mexico and been a regional representative for the Midwives' Alliance of North America. Her papers consist of correspondence, professional papers, notebooks documenting her midwifery practice, and notebooks and catalogs pertaining to her practice of herbology.
Arrangement
This collection has been added to over time in multiple "accessions." An accession is a group of materials received from the same source at approximately the same time.
Other Finding Aids
One or more content listings to individual accessions in this collection are available for download. Links can be found in the description of the individual accessions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Alison King Parra Bastien, 1999-2015.
Appraisal
In January 2023, about four linear inches of third-party medical records were returned to the donor.
Processing Information
Between September 2022 and February 2023, Smith College Special Collections renumbered many boxes to eliminate duplicate numbers within collections in order to improve researcher experience. A full crosswalk of old to new numbers is available.
Source
- Title
- Finding aid to the Alison King Parra Bastien papers
- Status
- Minimum Finding Aid (Completed)
- Author
- Sylvia Hickman
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2017-07-26T17:48:24-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
- 2021-06-29: Content description added from accession inventories
- 2023-01-27: Updated to account for deaccessioning of patient records
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
