Guide to the Kelly Oliver papers, 1963–2023

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2024

Collection Overview

Title:	Kelly Oliver papers
Date range:	1963–2023
Creator:	Oliver, Kelly
Extent:	4 linear feet (3 record center cartons, 1 file box, and 2 half-file boxes)
Abstract:	This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Kelly Oliver, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and scholar of subjects including feminist theory, political philosophy, ethics, campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and animals. She is also a founder of the feminist philosophy journal philoSOPHIA. Materials include personal and professional photographs, professional correspondence, conference materials, syllabi, lecture notes, publishing agreements, and copies of writings by Oliver. This collection dates from 1963 – 2023.
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	MS.2024.012

Scope & content

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Kelly Oliver, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and scholar of subjects including feminist theory, political philosophy, ethics, campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and animals. She is also a founder of the feminist philosophy journal philoSOPHIA. Materials include personal and professional photographs, professional correspondence, conference materials, syllabi, and lecture notes, and publishing agreements, correspondence, and copies of writings by Oliver. This collection dates from 1963 – 2023. This collection dates from 1963 – 2023 and is arranged into 8 series.

Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1963 – 2022, includes Oliver's CV, a statement on teaching, family and childhood photographs, photographs from professional events, as well as photographic slides. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, CORRESPONDENCE, 1992 – 2023, contains professional correspondence on various topics including courses, academic memos, and thank you notes from students and scholars. Other correspondents include Jacques Derrida and Julia Kristeva. This series is arranged alphabetically by provenance and then by the correspondent's last name.

Series 3, CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP MATERIALS, 1990 – 2017, includes programs and schedules from various conferences such as "Changing the Face of Philosophy: Celebrating Charles Scott as Mentor, Teacher, and Scholar" and "The Latina Dialogues: A Conference on Latina Feminism and Other Feminisms." Of particular note is the philoSOPHIA Annual Conference file that includes founding documents of the journal. This series is arranged alphabetically by conference title.

Series 4, TEACHING MATERIALS, 1973 – 2004, primarily contains syllabi and lecture notes related to courses and topics taught by Oliver. Courses include "Feminist Theory in Context: Social, Cultural, and Legal Theory" and "Race, Gender, and Place in Film Noir." Topics address the work of Jacques Derrida, Franz Kafka, Julia Kristeva, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. This series is arranged alphabetically by course title or topic.

Series 5, WRITINGS AND RELATED MATERIALS, includes offprints, printouts, typed drafts, and correspondence related to articles, books, chapters, and talks by Oliver. Titles include "Bodies Against the Law: Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror," "Death as a Penalty and the Fantasy of Instant Death," Carceral Humanitarianism: Refugees Today, The Colonization of Psychic Space: A Psychoanalytic Social Theory of Oppression, "Women: The Secret Weapon of Modern Warfare?," and "Compounding the Violence of Sexual Assault." This series is arranged alphabetically by writing format and then by title.

Series 6, PRINT MATERIALS, contains a bound newsletter series from the American Philosophical Association and postcards for a talk by Oliver. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 7, ELECTRONIC RECORDS, 2003, n.d., contains 6 untitled 3.5" floppy disks and 1 CD labeled "Hypatia 25th Keynote" with related correspondence. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type and then by title written on the carrier when available.

Series 8, RESTRICTED, 2012 – 2018, contains letters of recommendation written by Oliver for various students and scholars. This series is closed for 50 years until January 1, 2074, after which date this series will open without restriction.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Derrida, Jacques
• Kristeva, Julia, 1941 -

Subject Organizations

• Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
• Feminist Theory Archive.

Subject Topics

• Animals & society
• Animals (Philosophy)
• Feminism--France.
• Feminist theory
• Mass media and women
• Philosophical anthropology
• Psychoanalysis and feminism
• Rape in universities and colleges
• Social ethics
• Women and the military

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 8 series.

• Series 1. Personal and Biographical
• Series 2. Correspondence
• Series 3. Conference and Workshop Materials
• Series 4. Teaching Materials
• Series 5. Writings and Related Materials
• Series 6. Print Materials
• Series 7. Electronic Records
• Series 8. Restricted

Biographical/Historical Note

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University in 1979 and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1987. She is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University where her scholarly work focused on feminist theory, political philosophy, ethics, campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and animals. Oliver notes that her scholarly and personal interest in animals and nature derives from her upbringing in the rural Northwest.

Oliver is the author of fifteen scholarly books, including, Response Ethics (Roman & Littlefield 2018), Carceral Humanitarianism: The Logic of Refugee Detention (University of Minnesota 2017); Hunting Girls: Sexual Violence from The Hunger Games to Campus Rape (Columbia 2016); Earth and World: Philosophy After the Apollo Missions (Columbia 2015); Technologies of Life and Death: From Cloning to Capital Punishment (Fordham 2013); Knock me up, Knock me down: Images of Pregnancy in Hollywood Film (Columbia 2012); Animal Lessons: How They Teach us to be Human (Columbia 2009); Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex and the Media (2007); The Colonization of Psychic Space: A Psychoanalytic Theory of Oppression (Minnesota 2004); Noir Anxiety: Race, Sex, and Maternity in Film Noir (Minnesota 2002); and perhaps her best known work, Witnessing: Beyond Recognition (Minnesota 2001). Her work has been translated into eight languages. Most recently, she has published three novels in The Jessica James, Cowgirl Philosopher, Mystery Series.

She has published in The New York Times, and has been interviewed on ABC television news, various radio programs, and Canadian Broadcasting Network.

Derived from https://kellyoliverbooks.com/kelly/ and https://as.vanderbilt.edu/philosophy/bio/kelly-oliver in April 2024.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except for Series 8, RESTRICTED, which is closed for 50 years until January 1, 2074, after which date this series will open without restriction. The collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. Advance notice is required to view any audiovisual media or born-digital records that may exist in this collection. Audiovisual media and born-digital records in this collection may not have been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical audiovisual or born-digital media is restricted.
Use of the materials:	All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Kelly Oliver papers, MS-2024-012, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Gift of Kelly Oliver beginning in 2023.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Amanda Knox, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for the Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-05-20.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Curatorial work provided by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women on behalf of the Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory

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