WOMEN at the CENTER Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Issue 25, Spring 2014 Writing Women at Duke into Wikipedia On March 20, the women whose papers are Bingham Center sponsored housed at Duke. The event the first Women at Duke led to the creation of new Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in articles on women such as partnership with the Wom- chemist Rose May Davis, the en’s Center and the Univer- first woman to earn a Ph.D. sity Archives. at Duke; anthropologist Ern- Bingham Center staff estine Friedl; and feminist provided instruction on artist Irene Peslikis. editing Wikipedia and A number of other helped participants set up articles are currently in pro- accounts and choose topics. gress, covering topics rang- Bridget Booher, author of ing from alumna Sara M. the recently published Katie Jones, Duke ‘14, and Stefanie Evans, a prominent histori- book Women at Duke Illus- Conrad, communications officer at an specializing in American trated, spoke about her the Duke School of Nursing, create social and women's history experiences conducting new entries in Wikipedia of the 20th century, to the research on Duke women. Who Needs Feminism? global After the training session, participants social media campaign which began as part of a broke out individually or in pairs to start creat- class at Duke in 2012. ing articles on alumnae, former professors, or (Continued on page 3) Inside this issue: Profiles in Research: Lauren Gutterman Writing Women at 1, 3 With support from a 2013 Mary Lily Re- this tale, providing rare insight into how one Duke into Wikipedia search Grant, I visited the Bingham Center to woman attempted to balance a lesbian affair Profiles in Research: 1 do research for my book manuscript about the with marriage in the mid-1970s. After sleeping Lauren Gutterman personal experiences and public representation with a female friend, Pratt confessed to her of wives who desired women between 1945 husband. At first, she insisted that she still and 1985. I examined the Atlanta Lesbian loved him but wanted to continue her affair as Micham Honored 2 Feminist Alliance’s archives, as well as the pa- well. While her husband initially accepted this with Career Achieve- pers of prominent feminist thinkers Robin arrangement, Pratt’s feelings for her lover ment Award Morgan, Kate Millett, and Minnie Bruce Pratt. deepened and her husband’s jealousy grew. Still, Pratt agonized in her journal over the path Behind the Scenes 2 Unprecedented numbers of married wom- en began to recognize their same-sex desires— that she should take and what the repercus- with Samantha Crisp often through their participation in the femi- sions would be for her two young sons. 2014-15 Mary Lily 3 nist movement—and leave their marriages for Though Pratt did ultimately divorce her hus- Grant Recipients lesbian lives in the 1970s. The details of this band, the emotional and intellectual struggles transition, however, are typically glossed over documented in her journals undermine any Instruction & 3 in oral histories and memoirs that conform to notion that the transition from wife to out les- Outreach strict script of oppressive marriages and liber- bian was simple or inevitable. Duke Libraries to 4 ating lesbian love. Contributed by Lauren Gutterman, Assistant Profes- Host Zine Librarians Minnie Bruce Pratt’s journals complicate sor, Women’s Studies, University of Michigan. (un)Conference library.duke.edu/rubenstein/bingham Recently Published Micham Honored with Career Achievement Award Collection Guides Laura Micham, Merle Hoffman bringing a project to life.” Director of the Sallie Bingham Jeanette Stokes, Executive Direc- Center for Women’s History and tor of the Resource Center for Pauline Bart Papers Culture, has been selected as the Women and Ministry in the South, See “Behind the Scenes 2014 winner of the Association of whose records are held in the Bing- with Samantha Crisp” College and Research Libraries ham Center, adds, “Laura’s work (ACRL) Women and Gender Stud- has made the Sallie Bingham Cen- Mandy Carter Papers ies Section (WGSS) Career ter a vibrant presence on the cam- Carter is a self-described Achievement Award. The award pus of Duke University, in the "southern out black les- honors significant long-standing community of Durham, North bian social justice activ- contributions to women’s studies Carolina, and in the wider academic ist" based in Durham in the field of librarianship over the community nationally and interna- since 1982. Her collec- course of a career. tionally. It makes creative use of its tion documents her Victoria Hesford, Assistant Professor of collection while cooperating with campus and work as a grassroots Women’s and Gender Studies at Stony Brook community groups to provide outstanding edu- organizer and social jus- University and past Mary Lily Research Grant cational programs.” tice activist. recipient, writes, “To say that Laura is an ar- Naomi Nelson, Director of the Rubenstein chival dynamo whose energy and enterprise Library, writes, “Under Laura’s leadership, the Leah Fritz Papers constantly brings new people, new collections, Bingham Center has grown in important and See “Behind the Scenes and new ideas to the Bingham Center would dynamic ways and, at the same time, she has with Samantha Crisp” be an understatement! She has ideas, she works made significant contributions to the larger collaboratively, and she is not easily put off by profession.” Kay Leigh Hagan the inevitable complexities and difficulties of Papers Hagan is a writer, teach- er, and feminist whose Behind the Scenes with Samantha Crisp work often focused on women’s internalized For the past several months, I have been I’ve also recently finished processing the oppression. hard at work on two big processing projects. Leah Fritz Papers. Fritz is a feminist poet, ac- The first is the Pauline Bart papers. Bart is a tive in both the US and England for the past Lisa Jaronski Zine former psychologist and sociologist active in fifty years. After sorting through her papers, I Collection Chicago. Bart focused her research on many discovered that, prior to dedicating her career Over 300 zines by wom- different women’s issues, including menopau- solely to poetry, Fritz wrote prolifically on im- en from the 1990s- portant political issues, including pornography, 2000s, many of which sal depression, pornography, and feminism, were acquired through saying that whatever women wanted her to school desegregation and K-12 educational “Lazy Jane’s Zine study, she studied. Her most voluminous re- reform, socialism, feminist theology, feminist Trades.” search was on sexual assault. In 1985, she co- publishing, Jewish identity, sexuality and sexual authored a book entitled Stopping Rape: Success- ethics, and feminist consciousness-raising. She ful Survival Strategies, for which she interviewed also corresponded with, interviewed, and re- All Bingham Center 94 anonymous survivors of rape or attempted viewed dozens of women authors and feminist collection guides may be rape in the Chicago area. She also performed activists. I’ve highlighted all of these materials found here: extensive research on the Jane Collective, an in the collection’s finding aid so they will be library.duke.edu/ rubenstein/findingaids/ underground abortion service operated by a accessible to researchers in each of these sub- group of women in Chicago from 1969 to ject areas. 1973. Bart interviewed 40 members of the Jane Collective in the late 1970s and transcripts of Contributed by Samantha Crisp, Bingham Center these interviews are preserved in the collection. Technical Services Intern 2 WOMEN at the CENTER Announcing Our 2014-15 Mary Lily Grant Recipients Recently Updated Collection Guides Dr. Georgina Colby, linguistics and cultural studies, University of Westminster, for a book on Kathy Acker combining philosophical Nava Atlas Papers analysis with literary and critical theory, to New addition to a col- explore connections between feminist theory, lection documenting At- Acker’s use of philosophy, and her experi- las’ career as both a mental writing practices. book artist and vegan Dr. Donna Drucker, civil and environmental cookbook author. engineering, Technische Universität Darm- stadt, for a journal article on sexual behavior Ipas Records and the science of contraceptive testing in the Newly added material Dr. Georgina Colby spent time in April includes records related mid-20th century United States. researching manuscript notebooks and to offices in Asia, Africa, Sara Mameni, Ph.D. candidate, visual arts, artwork from the Kathy Acker Papers and Latin America. University of California, San Diego, for disser- tation research on Iran-US relations in the Dr. Jason Scott, Dr. Annalisa Castaldo, Clarissa Sligh Papers 1960s and 1970s—leading up to Iran’s Islamic and Jennifer Lynn Pollitt, for an edited col- A significant addition to Revolution of 1979—through the lens of lection of essays looking at how kink identi- queer theory, feminist theory, and postcoloni- ties, behaviors, and lifestyles are represented this collection includes al studies. in popular and cultural studies. photographic prints, art- ists’ books, and political Ivy McIntyre, Ph.D. candidate, history, St. Mairead Sullivan, Ph.D. candidate, women’s, posters. Louis University, for dissertation research on gender, and sexuality studies, Emory Universi- South Carolina families in times of personal ty, for dissertation research on questions of crisis in the early Republic. breastedness in feminist and queer theory. All Bingham Center Andrew Pope, Ph.D. candidate, history, Har- Hope Tucker, independent scholar, for an collection guides may be vard University, for dissertation research on artist’s video on the fragility of reproductive found here: radical social movements and the New South rights in the American South, as seen through library.duke.edu/ in Georgia from 1968-1996. the work of those who labored for these rubenstein/findingaids/ rights in the second half of the 20th century.