Guide to the Joan E. DeJean papers, 1974-2022


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: Joan E. DeJean papers
Date range: 1974-2022
Creator: DeJean, Joan E.
Extent: 0.5 Linear Feet
(1-half file box)
Abstract: This collection consists of the professional papers of Joan DeJean, Trustee Professor Emerita of Romance Languages at University of Pennsylvania. She was a scholar of French literature focused on the history of women's writing, sexuality, the development of the novel, and material culture in 17th- and 18th-century France. The collection includes correspondence, typed and handwritten drafts of talks, and audio cassettes featuring an interview with Germaine Brée (1907–2001) and recorded Modern Language Association conferences. The collection dates from 1974 to 2022.
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: MS.2024.001

Scope & content

This collection consists of the professional papers of Joan DeJean, Trustee Professor Emerita of Romance Languages at University of Pennsylvania. She was a scholar of French literature focused on the history of women's writing, sexuality, the development of the novel, and material culture in 17th- and 18th-century France. The collection dates from 1974 to 2022 and is arranged into one series. Materials in this collection include audio cassettes of an interview with Germaine Brée (1907–2001), a French literary scholar who volunteered to fight for the Free French when World War II broke out, and audio cassettes of Modern Language Association conferences. Correspondence relates to both the Brée interview and the conferences. Typed and handwritten drafts of talks include "Editing Women Writers: Does it Matter?" and "French Studies and the French Nation." This collection is arranged alphabetically by record type. Original folder titles are written in quotations. The processor created all other folder titles.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into one series.

Biographical / Historical

Joan DeJean was a pioneer in the feminist literary critical movement, especially as it relates to the reading of French texts. DeJean was Trustee Professor Emerita of Romance Languages at the University of Pennsylvania. She was born on October 4, 1948, in southwest Louisiana and grew up in a French-speaking family. She received her BA in 1969 from Tulane University's Newcomb College and her PhD from Yale University in 1974, where she studied with Sterling Professor of French, and later Yale Provost, Georges May. DeJean was recognized with numerous honors and awards for her work on women's writing, the history of sexuality, the development of the novel, and material culture in 17th- and 18th-century France. As both an author and an editor, she campaigned for better recognition of female French novelists. DeJean was awarded the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania, the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, the Morse fellowship at Yale University, a Guggenheim fellowship, and in 2003 she won the Modern Language Association Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Studies for her book The Reinvention of Obscenity: Sex, Lies, and Tabloids in Early Modern France. In 2020, DeJean was elected a fellow of the prestigious British Academy for the humanities and social sciences. She was also an aficionado of opera and a devoted supporter of the arts. She died on December 2, 2023, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access for analog materials, except that 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, available on the John Hay Library website or by request, 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: [Folder Title], Joan E. DeJean papers, Ms.2024.001, 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 Joan DeJean in 2018.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: This collection was processed by Erin Perfect 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 2024-02-02.
Descriptive rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sponsor: Curatorial work provided by Mary Murphy, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory

Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 1 Audio cassette: "MLA Soap Seminar" (1/2)
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 2 Audio cassette: "MLA Soap Seminar" (2/2)
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 3 Audio cassette: interview Germaine Brée; includes brief typed description
 February 22, 1989
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 4 Audio cassette: untitled re: Germaine Brée; includes related correspondence
 December 11, 2022, n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 5 Correspondence and typed drafts re: Modern Language Association conferences
 1974-1977
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 6 Correspondence re: Germaine Brée interview
 September 3, 1984, January-February 1989
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 7 Readings: various titles, annotated photocopies
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 8 Talk: "Commentary as Testimony to Jewish Studies and Gay Studies in the Fin de Siecle": annotated typed draft
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 9 Talk: "Des Mots et des Choses: Whose Reality is it Anyway?": annotated typed draft
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 10 Talk: "Editing Women Writers: Does it Matter?": annotated typed draft
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 11 Talk: "French Studies and the French Nation": annotated typed draft
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 12 Talk: untitled: annotated handwritten draft
 n.d.
Box [31236104064368] 1, Folder 13 Talk: "What is an Author Anyway?": annotated typed draft
 n.d.