Guide to the Zillah Eisenstein papers, 1966-2011

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 2019

Collection Overview

Title:	Zillah Eisenstein papers
Date range:	1966-2011
Creator:	Eisenstein, Zillah R.
Extent:	17.5 Linear Feet (17 record center cartons, 2 file boxes)
Abstract:	This collection consists of the papers of Zillah Eisenstein, scholar of feminist theory and Professor of Politics at Ithaca College from approximately 1966 to 2011. The collection documents Eisenstein’s personal life, academic career, and broad research interests. Topics include Eisenstein's experience with breast cancer and her academic interests in global feminism, socialist feminism, neoliberal and capitalist critic, anti-racism, gender equality, cyberfeminism, the George W. Bush administration and the War on Terror. The collection is largely composed of materials related to courses taught by Eisenstein at Ithaca College, including syllabi, assignments, notes and subject files. The collection also contains biographical materials, correspondence, talks, writings, subject files and print materials.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2011.022

Scope & content

This collection consists of the papers of Zillah Eisenstein, scholar of feminist theory and Professor of Politics at Ithaca College from approximately 1966 to 2011. The collection documents Eisenstein's personal life, academic career, and broad research interests. Topics include Eisenstein's experience with breast cancer and her academic interests in global feminism, socialist feminism, neoliberal and capitalist critic, anti-racism, gender equality, cyberfeminism, the George W. Bush administration and the War on Terror. The collection is largely composed of materials related to courses taught by Eisenstein at Ithaca College, including syllabi, assignments, notes and subject files. The collection also contains biographical materials, correspondence, talks, writings, subject files and print materials.

Eisenstein said of her collection, "I teach with all, and from dispersed sites and kinds of info… so I am sure that the materials might seem disjointed in a sense, but they are not. (Actually I teach to create a kind of disjointedness, and from this uncomfortable place is where thinking happens…)."

The collection arrived to the Pembroke Center Archives in batches and as such, has been processed over time. It was orignially processed by Elizabeth Mather in approxiately 2011 and then by Crystal Johnson in 2017. It was intellectually rearranged/streamlined by Mary Murphy, Pembroke Center Archivist, in 2019.

Series I, Biographical and Career Development, 1977-2009, contains articles about Eisenstein, awards and honors, correspondence, interviews, other personal material, resumes, grant and fellowship applications and sabbatical materials. Folders are arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series II, Activism, 1989-2006, contains project files documenting Eisenstein's social justice work including her involvement with middle schools. Files are arranged chronologically, then alphabeitcally by subject.

Series III, Course Materials and Related, 1966-2011, contains syllabi, course readings, assignments, notes and subject files arranged alphabetically by course title into 27 sub series. Note that subject files located within the Feminist Theories subseries are arranged into three categories: "western white feminism," "third world feminism," and "Eastern European feminism." These categories are detailed in the syllabus for the course and have been mirrored in the arrangement by the processor. In the Socialist Feminism subseries, subject files are arranged alphabetically but end abruptly with "feudalism."

Series IV, Conferences and Related, 1972-2005, contains drafts of conference papers, presentations, and related conference materials. Items are arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by host organization/conference location.

Series V, Writings and Related, 1974-2009, contains articles, book proposals, manuscript drafts, papers and a poem written by Eisenstein. Also included are book reviews, publishing and publicity materials related to works by Eisenstein.

Series VI, Subject Files, 1972-2005, contains general research files maintained by Eisenstein that do not correspond with a specific course or publication. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject into 2 subseries: people and topics. Note that throughout the subject files, users will find original writings and "thoughts" by Eisenstein as well as clippings, notes, research articles, and some correspondence. This series contains rich material on topics ranging from Eisenstein's struggles with Breast cancer to the singer, Beyonce, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the 2016 United States Presidential election. Subject files located in other series of the collection contain similar materials.

Series VII, Print Materials, 1966-2003, contains newsletters, journals and pamphlets collected by Eisenstein. "Families" by Linda Gordon is referenced repeatedly throughout the collection.

Series, VII, Photographs, 1984-2008, contains a small batch of personal photographs documenting Eisenstein's wedding and treatment for breast cancer. Series 8 is arranged alphabetically by subject

Series IX, Oversize material, n.d., consists of one oversize folder of posters and a booklet of portraits of Eisenstien.

Series X, Electronic records on removable carriers, 2006, consists of one folder of CD-Rs containing presentation slides and scanned clippings.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

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

Subject Topics

• Feminism
• Iraq War, 2003-2011
• Cyberspace
• AIDS (Disease)
• Women and communism
• Socialist feminism
• Feminism -- Developing countries
• Gender and globalization
• Women and war
• Feminism -- Latin America
• Lesbian feminism
• African American women
• Transgender people
• Patriarchy
• Racism
• War on Terrorism, 2001-2009
• Women -- Developing countries -- Economic conditions
• Women -- Developing countries -- Social conditions
• Women -- Economic conditions
• Women, Black
• Breast -- Cancer
• Women, Arab
• Feminist theory
• Women in Islam
• Muslim women -- Social conditions
• Prisons -- United States
• Internet pornography
• Sweatshops
• Women -- Employment

Geographical Names

• United States -- Race relations

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 10 series.

• Series 1: Biographical and Career Development - arranged alphabetically by record type
• Series 2: Activism - arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by subject
• Series 3: Course Materials and Related - arranged alphabetically by course title into 27 subseries
• Series 4: Conferences and Related- arranged chronologically
• Series 5: Writings and Related - arranged alphabetically by record type
• Series 6: Subject files - arranged alphabetically by subject into 2 subseries
• Series 7: Print Material - arranged alphabetically by title
• Series 8: Photographs - arranged alphabetically by subject
• Series 9: Oversize material - arranged alphabetically by record type
• Series 10: Electronic records on removable carriers - arranged alphabetically by carrier type

Biographical / Historical

Zillah Eisenstein is Professor of Politics at Ithaca College in New York, where she specializes in the politics of class, sex and race, political theory, feminist theory and gender construction. Throughout her career her books have tracked the rise of neoliberalism both within the U.S. and across the globe. She has documented the demise of liberal democracy and scrutinized the growth of imperial and militarist globalization. She has also critically written about the attack on affirmative action in the US, the patriarchal structuring of race, the new nationalisms, and corporatist multiculturalism.

Eisenstein has written about her work building coalitions across women's differences: the black/white divide in the U.S.; the struggles of Serb and Muslim women in the war in Bosnia; the needs of women health workers in Cuba; the commitments of environmentalists in Ghana; the relationship between socialists and feminists in union organizing; the struggles against extremist fundamentalisms in Egypt and Afghanistan; the needs of women workers in India.

Books by Zillah Eisenstein include: The Audacity of Races and Genders, A Personal and Global Story of the Obama Campaign (New York: Palgrave, 2009); Sexual Decoys: Gender, Race and War in Imperial Democracy (New York: Palgrave, 2007); Against Empire: Feminisms, Race and the West (New York: Palgrave, 2004); Hatreds: Racialized and Sexualized Conflicts in the 21st Century (New York: Routledge, 1996); Global Obscenities: Patriarchy, Capitalism and the Lure of Cyberfantasy (New York, NYU Press, 1998); Manmade Breast Cancers (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001); The Female Body and the Law (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988); The Radical Future of Liberal Feminism (New York: Longman, 1981); and Capitalist Patriarchy and the Case for Socialist Feminism (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979).

Biographical information provided by the author courtesy of her publishers; http://faculty.ithaca.edu/eisenste/

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.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Zillah Eisenstein papers, Ms.2011.022, Brown University Library.
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 Zillah Eisenstein in 2011.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Elizabeth Mather (first accession). Second accession finding aid prepared by Crystal Johnson and Halley McArn. Reprocessing by Mary Murphy in 2019 on behalf of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Brown University Library.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2019-10-04.
Descriptive rules:	Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sponsor:	Curatorial work and processing provided by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women on behalf of the Feminist Theory Archive, Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory

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