Guide to the Jennifer Terry papers, 1978–2024

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:	Jennifer Terry papers
Date range:	1978–2024
Creator:	Terry, Jennifer, 1958-
Extent:	17 linear feet
Abstract:	This collection contains the professional papers of Jennifer Terry, Professor Emerita at University of California, Irvine. Her scholarship concentrates on feminist cultural studies; science and technology studies; comparative and historical formations of gender, race, and sexuality; state-sponsored violence and biomedicine; and American studies in transnational perspective. She received her PhD in History of Consciousness from University of California, Santa Cruz. Materials document Terry’s academic career, early research, and writings. Materials include correspondence, syllabi, handwritten notes, research materials, draft writings, and conference presentations. The collection dates from 1978 to 2024.
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	MS.2024.015

Scope & content

This collection contains the professional papers of Jennifer Terry, Professor Emerita at University of California, Irvine. Her scholarship concentrates on feminist cultural studies; science and technology studies; comparative and historical formations of gender, race, and sexuality; state-sponsored violence and biomedicine; and American studies in transnational perspective. She received her PhD in History of Consciousness from University of California, Santa Cruz. Materials document Terry's academic career, early research, and writings. Materials include correspondence, syllabi, handwritten notes, research materials, draft writings, and conference presentations. The collection spans from 1978 to 2024 and is arranged into 11 series.

Series 1, CORRESPONDENCE, 1988-2018, contains general correspondence regarding Terry's academic career. Correspondence also appears throughout the collection as it directly relates to specific series. This series is arranged chronologically.

Series 2, ACTIVISM, 1982-2002, contains meeting notes, handwritten notes, annotated printouts, and correspondence regarding various organizations relevant to Terry's personal and professional interests. Many of these organizations Terry participated in or supported. Of particular interest are the meeting notes from the San Francisco Bay Area Women's AIDS Network. This series is arranged alphabetically by the folder titles, original folder titles are written in quotations. The processor created all other folder titles.

Series 3, EDUCATION FILES, 1978-1988, documents Terry's undergraduate and graduate education at University of California, Santa Cruz and contains handwritten notes, syllabi, and qualifying essays. This series is arranged alphabetically by original folder titles written in quotations. The processor created two additional folder titles listed without quotations.

Series 4, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, 1979-2023, contains correspondence, grant and research proposals and Terry's tenure dossier for Ohio State University. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 5, CONFERENCES, 1980-2021, documents Terry's participation in professional conferences. Files contain related correspondence, handwritten notes, typed drafts, and informational pamphlets. This series is arranged alphabetically by conference title.

Series 6, SEMINARS, 1990-2007, contains typed drafts, handwritten notes, annotated readings, and related correspondence regarding seminars and workshops that Terry facilitated or within which she participated. Of particular interest are the "Sexualities and Citizenship Seminar" at Ohio State University (#5.41-6.2) and "Science Knowledge and 'Difference' Seminar" at the Pembroke Center at Brown University (#5.30-5.39). This series is arranged alphabetically by title, original folder titles are written in quotations. The processor created all other folder titles.

Series 7, SPECIAL PROJECTS, 2007-2020, documents Terry's involvement in in-depth professional projects such as "Everyday Militarisms: Toxic Legacies Walkshop" a multi-site collaboration of academics, artists, and activists exploring the histories of militarism and toxicity. Files contain research, related correspondence, and annotated readings. This series is arranged alphabetically by title, original folder titles are written in quotations. The processor created all other folder titles.

Series 8, TEACHING, 1989-2024, contains lecture notes and outlines, syllabi, and examples of student work for classes taught by Terry. Some of the course titles include "Medicine and the Humanities," "Values, Science, and Technology," and "Politics of Health Sexuality, Medicine, and Power." This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.

Series 9, WRITINGS AND RELATED, 1985-2019, documents Terry's written scholarship and editorial work and is arranged into two subseries.

Subseries 1, PUBLISHED BOOKS, 1985-2007, contains contracts, drafts, and related research for books published by Terry. This series is arranged alphabetically by title and then by type. Original folder titles are written in quotations, the processor created all other folder titles.

Subseries 2, OTHER PUBLISHED WRITINGS AND RELATED WORK, 1990-2019, includes articles, book chapters, talks, Terry's dissertation with related notes from Donna Haraway, and editorial work for other published scholars. Files contain manuscripts, contracts, and annotated drafts. This series is arranged alphabetically by type and then title.

Series 10, RESEARCH, 1978-2002, contains handwritten notes, annotated readings, and clippings. The majority of this series pertains to Terry's early research. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic, original folder titles are written in quotations. The processor created all other folder titles.

Series 11, VIDEO TAPES AND T-SHIRTS, 1987-2005, contains VHS (Video Home System) tapes and t-shirts. This series is arranged alphabetically by title.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

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

Subject Topics

• Feminist cultural studies, the media, and political culture
• Gender and politics
• Gender and Sexuality.
• Gender and society
• Militarism.
• Sexuality Studies.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 11 series.

Biographical/Historical Note

Jennifer Terry is Professor Emeritus of Women's Studies/Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of California at Irvine. Her scholarship concentrates on feminist cultural studies; science and technology studies; comparative and historical formations of gender, race, and sexuality; critical approaches to modernity; state-sponsored violence and biomedicine; and American studies in transnational perspective. She taught at Ohio State University from 1993-2001, University of California Berkeley from 2001-2002, Columbia University during 2014, and University of California at Irvine from 2003-2024. She received her PhD in History of Consciousness from University of California, Santa Cruz. Terry was a postdoctoral Fellow at the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University from 1991-1992.

Terry's books include An American Obsession: Science, Medicine, and Homosexuality in Modern Society (University of Chicago Press, 1999), Deviant Bodies: Critical Perspectives on Difference in Science and Popular Culture (Indiana University Press, 1995), Processed Lives: Gender and Technology in Everyday Life (Routledge, 1997), and Attachments to War: Biomedical Logics and Violence in Twenty-First-Century America (Duke 2017). She has written articles and chapters on reproductive politics, the history of sexual science in the United States, contemporary scientific approaches to the sex lives of animals, love of objects, signature injuries of war, and the relationship between war-making practices and entertainment. In 2008, Terry completed a three-year National Science Foundation collaborative project on Privacy, Identity, and Technology. She is widely recognized for her writing and academic contributions in the fields of cultural studies of medicine, science and technology studies, and formations of sexuality.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, 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, 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:	Jennifer Terry papers, MS.2024.015, 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 Jennifer Terry in 2024.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared 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 2024-09-19.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Curatorial work provided by Mary O. Murphy, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory

---