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Collection Overview
Title: bell hooks Papers
Predominant Dates:1988-2014
Primary Creator: hooks, bell -- 1952-
Extent: 14.0 MS boxes
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in four series:
Series 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Writings
Series 3: Academic Work
Series 4: Video Recordings
Date Acquired: 12/18/2015
Abstract
Gloria Jean Watkins (aka bell hooks) was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1952. She received degrees in English Literature from Stanford University (B.A.), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.A.) and her PhD from the University of California-Santa Cruz. She chose the lower case pen name bell hooks, based on the names of her mother and grandmother, to emphasize the importance of her writing as opposed to who she is.
A noted intellectual, feminist theorist, cultural critic, author and artist, hooks has written over 40 books. She taught at UC-Santa Cruz, Yale University, Oberlin College and City College of New York. Dr. hooks moved to Berea, Kentucky in 2004 where she serves as the Distinguished Professor in Residence of Appalachian Studies at Berea College. In 2014, she established the bell hooks Institute in Berea.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
These are business and personal correspondence, published and unpublished writings of and academic records of bell hooks, (nee Gloria Watkins), an American author, feminist and social activist. Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, she established the bell hooks Institute at Berea College in 2014. This collection contains both paper records and video recordings.
Biographical Note
hooks, bell; Gloria Jean Watkins; intellectual, feminist, educator, cultural critic, social activist, poet; born 24 September 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States; BA in English, Stanford University (1968); MA in English, University of Wisconsin (1976); PhD in literature, University of California, Santa Cruz (1983); assumed her great-grandmother's name hooks as homage to female legacies and rendered it in lowercase to accentuate the substance of her work, rather than her identity; adopted the name bell hooks in 1978 with the release of her first book of poems, And There We Wept; she has used the alias ever since; wrote more than thirty books and numerous essays on the arts and pop culture; joined the faculty of Oberlin College (1988) and City College of New York -- Women's Studies and English departments (1995); joined the faculty of Kentucky's Berea College as the Distinguished Professor in Residence (2004)
Administrative Information
Repository:
Berea College Special Collections and Archives Catalog
Access Restrictions:
Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.
Use Restrictions:
The donor will allow paper copies to be made for research use only (at the discretion of the archivist). The donor allows researchers to reproduce the text for research use only. The researcher must abide by all fair use guidelines. All other requests for permission to publish or quote shall require the written permission of the Donor or her designee.
Physical Access Note:
Family correspondence in Series 1 and personal journals in Series 2 are restricted until the death of the Donor, but may be accessed for research with written permission from the Donor.
Acquisition Source:
bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins)
Acquisition Method:
Acquisition Agreement
Appraisal Information:
None
Preferred Citation:
[Object identification], bell hooks Papers, Berea College Special Collections & Archives, Berea, KY.
Processing Information:
Processed by Rachel Vagts and Aminata Dia, 2016.
Other Note:
BCA 0257
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: Writings],
[Series 3: Academic Work],
[
Series 4: Video Recordings],
[
All]
- Series 3: Academic Work

- Box 9

- Folder 1: Book Contracts, C.V., and Ph.D.: Book Contracts

- Folder 2: Book Contracts, C.V., and Ph.D.: Book Covers for books by bell hooks

- Folder 3: Book Contracts, C.V., and Ph.D.: Curriculum Vitae

- Folder 4: Book Contracts, C.V., and Ph.D.: Ph. D. Diploma and Master's Degree

- Folder 5: Academic Teaching and Travel: Academic Flyers and Pamphlets featuring bell hooks

- Folder 6: Academic Teaching and Travel: Costa Brava (Postcards/Travel)

- Folder 7: Academic Teaching and Travel: CalArts (Workshops and Teaching)

- Folder 8: Academic Teaching and Travel: Italy (Teachings and Discussions)

- Folder 9: Academic Teaching and Travel: Oslo (Teaching and Conversations) (1988)

- Folder 10: Academic Teaching and Travel: Project Row House

- Folder 11: Academic Teaching and Travel: Utrecht (Teaching and Visits) (1992)

- Folder 12: Academic Teaching and Travel: Wellesley and Yale (Conversations) (1988)

- Folder 13: Academic Teaching and Travel: Sexuality course Reader for The Politics of Sexuality for Women's Studies

Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Correspondence],
[
Series 2: Writings],
[Series 3: Academic Work],
[
Series 4: Video Recordings],
[
All]