Activist Life Oral History Project oral histories
Scope and Contents
An Activist Life Oral History Project is a collection of life histories of women who have dedicated their lives to social and political activism. The project documents both the diversity and the persistence of women's activism, as organizers and as cultural workers, in a variety of social movements such as women's health, economic justice, LGBT liberation, peace, education, and environmental sustainability. Narrators include educators and academics, musicians, writers, and artists, as well as community and religious leaders. They come from a variety of class, ethnic, racial, social, and geographic backgrounds. Interviews cover childhood and growing up experiences; education and employment; activism and politics; family, identity, relationships and community.
Dates of Materials
- Creation: 2008 - 2009
Creator
- Anderson, Kelly (Teacher, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Some of the oral histories in this collection have restrictions on access. Please see the notes attached to an individual interview for information about restrictions that apply to it.
Conditions Governing Use
The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to the interviews, except for the interviews with the following women: Merle Feld, Barbara Hammer, and Lesléa Newman. These women have retained copyright to their interviews. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Requests for permission to publish quotations should be addressed to the Sophia Smith Collection and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Biographical / Historical
Interviews were conducted by Smith College students in Kelly Anderson's Smith College course "Women's Activism and Oral History" in the Fall of 2008. Students were trained in both the history of women's activism and oral history techniques and protocols.
Extent
0.875 linear feet (2 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
A collection of life histories of women who have dedicated their lives to social and political activism. Fifteen interviews, conducted by Smith College students, document both the diversity and the persistence of women's activism, as organizers and as cultural workers, in a variety of social movements such as women's health, economic justice, LGBT liberation, peace, education, and environmental sustainability.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
As a preservation measure, researchers must use digital copies of audiovisual materials in this collection. Please consult with Special Collections staff to request access to this digital content.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Activist Life Oral History Project were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection by Kelly Anderson in April 2008.
Processing Information
Processed by Burd Schlessinger, June 2009
Subject
- Ahrens, Lois (Person)
- Ballas, Joan (Person)
- Cheatham, Annie (Person)
- Cuerda, Maria (Person)
- Feld, Merle (Person)
- Hammer, Barbara, 1939-2019 (Person)
- Hyde, Sue (Person)
- Pincus, Jane (Person)
- Pogrebin, Letty Cottin (Person)
- Pollet, Tiik (Person)
- Berkman, Joyce (Person)
- Crowe, Frances, 1919- (Person)
- Dodyk, Delight Wing (Person)
- Newman, Lesléa (1955 November 05) (Person)
- Shelton, Christine M. (Person)
Source
- Anderson, Kelly (Donor, Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Finding aid to the Activist Life Oral History Project oral histories
- Status
- Legacy Finding Aid (Updated)
- Author
- Scott Biddle
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 07/26/2017: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
- 2017-07-26T17:48:21-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
- 2018-10-12: References and links to online content removed (playlists were taken down from media server)
- 2020-06-12: Added interviews, updated notes
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
