Kelly Oliver papers (MS.2024.012)

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.