Guide to the Tani Barlow papers, 1941-2017

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 2020

Collection Overview

Title:	Tani Barlow papers
Date range:	1941-2017
Creator:	Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
Extent:	38.25 Linear Feet (34 record center cartons, 4 file boxes, 1 shoe box, and 1 3-size oversize box)
Abstract:	Papers of Tani Barlow, the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities at Rice University. Collection consists of personal papers, including correspondence and diaries; professional and teaching files, including lectures and syllabi; research; and draft writings, among other material. Topics include East Asian women's history and gender studies, the Women's Movement in China, marriage in China, racism and sexism in mass media, and postcolonialism.
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2015.003

Scope & content

This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Tani Barlow, the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities at Rice University. The collection documents Barlow's personal life and academic career and research interests of feminism, postcoloniality, and women's history in Asia, specifically in China. The collection is composed of biographical materials, correspondence, teaching materials, files related to Barlow's publications, conference papers, research files concerning the women's movement in China, Chinese family structures, and "smut culture" in China, among various other subjects. The collection spans from 1957-2017 and is arranged into 13 series.

Series 1, BIOGRPAHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1957-2017, highlights Tani Barlow's biography and personal life. Materials include address books, calendars, correspondence regarding trips to China and the health and death of her husband Donald Lowe, diaries dating from 1981 to 2015, funerary files for her husband Donald Lowe, and photographs. Other materials that may be of particular interest to researchers include genealogical records connecting the Barlow family to Elkan C. Voorsanger and Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister from 1969 to 1974. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by topic.

Series 2, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, 1974-2013, documents the progress of Tani Barlow's professional career. Materials include application dossiers with resumes, letters of recommendation, syllabi, and other supporting documents; correspondence; undergraduate and graduate work such as notes and research papers; grant proposals; and promotion materials. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 3, ADMINISTRATIVE, 1983-2016, chronicles day-to-day activities conducted by Tani Barlow at several institutions including the Chao Center for Asian Studies, Rice University, San Francisco State University, and the University of Washington. Materials include correspondence, conference planning papers, meeting papers, and employee and student files. This series is arranged alphabetically by institution and then alphabetically by record type.

Series 4, CONFERENCES, 1978-2016, contains materials related to conferences attended by Tani Barlow in various capacities including attendee, presenter, and keynote speaker. Materials include itineraries, programs, correspondence, handwritten notes, and draft presentations and papers by Barlow and others. Papers and talks authored by Barlow are indicated as such. This series is arranged by the year the conference was held, then month (when available), and then by title of the conference.

Series 5, TEACHING, 1978-2015, contains course materials for classes taught by Tani Barlow at several institutions including San Francisco State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Washington, and Rice University. One folder, "Intellectuals and Social Action (POLI 361/ ANTH 328-33/ HIST 290)," contains the syllabus for a class at which Barlow lectured on week two only. Materials include syllabi, lectures, assignment prompts, and course evaluations. This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.

Series 6, WRITINGS AND RELATED, 1977-2015, documents Barlow's various writing projects including book projects, journal articles, translations, edited volumes, reviews of Barlow's publications, and reviews of other articles and books written by Barlow, and lectures. The writing section also contains information about publishing, consisting of correspondence between Barlow and her publishers, as well as paperwork and financial records. Note that Barlow's work for the Positions journal is located separately in its own series, as is her research and work for Modern Girl Around the World. Both of those series contain correspondence regarding the project, grant proposals and paperwork for funding, research, and writing drafts.

Series 7, POSITIONS JOURNAL, 1994-2010, documents Barlow's work as the founder and three-term editor of Positions: Asia Critique. This series documents her editorial work at the journal from 1994 to 2010. Materials include book drafts, correspondence regarding manuscript submissions and reviews, issue drafts, and accepted manuscript drafts. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 8, MODERN GIRL AROUND THE WORLD, 2001-2015, contains files related to the Modern Girl Around the World research collaboration in University of Washington and The Modern Girl and Colonial Modernity in East Asia research group in Ochanomizu University. Barlow, along with scholars around the world, joined the initiative to examine how the Modern Girl emerged as a global phenomenon in the twentieth century and how it relates to globalization, consumerism and gendered modernity. Highlights of the series include research materials on cosmetic advertising, media presentation of Modern Girl in different countries, various workshops and conferences on the topic. The series also include edited volumes of the books published at the end of each research project. The series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by subject.

Series 9, RESEARCH, 1973-2015, contains annotated readings and articles, newspaper and magazine clippings regarding a variety of research topics. The series consists of two subseries: Research by author and Research by subject. The first subseries, Research by author, is arranged alphabetically by author's last name and then by subject. The second subseries, Research by subject, is arranged alphabetically by topic. Highlights of the series include a substantial section on Ding Ling's life and work, and the Women's Movement in China in the 1900s. Researchers may also be interested in topics like "abortion and population", smut culture and Chinese history in the twentieth century.

Series 10, PRINT MATERIAL, 1941-2014, contains a small set of bound publications of particular interest to the Barlow collection. Items include a racist dime novel, "12 chinks" as well as rare journals such as "The Radical Historians" (Vol. 68. 70). Also included is a copy of City of God, with an annotation by Barlow noting that she first read the book at age twenty-three.

Series 11, OVERSIZE MATERIAL, 1992-2014, contains oversized drawings and posters dating from 1992 to 2014 and removed from throughout the collection. Materials include conference and lecture posters as well as hand-drawn notes regarding Claudius "C.B." Claiborne.

Series 12, ELECTRONIC RECORDS ON REMOVABLE CARRIERS, 1982-2013, contains digital files on nearly 400 removable carriers including audiocassettes, 3.5-inch disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, floppy disks and zip disks. The records include Barlow's email correspondence, manuscripts, teaching and administrative materials, and writings. Electronic files are reformatted upon request for researchers interested in viewing files within this series.

Series 13, RESTRICTED MATERIAL, 1975-2012, contains restricted items pulled from throughout the collection. The series is arranged by record type, beginning with a diary from 1997 and then a diary from 1998. These diaries are closed until Barlow's death, after which date these diaries will open without restrictions. Restricted materials also include personnel files, Positions Journal materials that consist of 76 folders of rejected manuscript submissions, financial files, and legal files. This series is closed until January 1, 2037, after which date this subseries will open without restrictions.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Lowe, Donald M.
• Ding, Ling (Ding Ling jin zuo)

Subject Organizations

• Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
• Feminist Theory Archive.
• Modern Girl Around the World Research Group

Subject Topics

• Feminism -- China
• Feminist theory
• East Asia -- History
• China -- History -- 20th century
• Women -- China
• Racism in mass media
• Sexism in mass media
• Postcolonialism -- Asia
• Postcolonial theory
• Marriage -- China

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 13 series.

• Series 1. Biographical and personal- arranged alphabetically by record type, then topic
• Series 2. Career development - arranged alphabetically by record type, then topic
• Series 3. Administrative - arranged alphabetically by institution, then record type
• Series 4. Conferences - arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by conference title
• Series 5. Teaching - arranged alphabetically by course title
• Series 6. Writings and related- arranged alphabetically by record type, then title of work
• Series 7. Positions journal- arranged alphabetically by record type, then topic
• Series 8. Modern Girl Around the World - arranged alphabetically by record type, then topic
• Series 9. Research - arranged alphabetically by author or topic in 2 subseries
• Series 10. Print material- arranged alphabetically by title
• Series 11. Oversize material - arranged alphabetically by record type, then topic
• Series 12. Electronic records on removable carriers- arranged alphabetically by type of carrier, then by original title on carrier
• Series 13. Restricted materials- arranged alphabetically by topic

Tani Barlow (b. February 18, 1950 in Madison, Wisconsin) was born to Claude Abner Barlow (1921-1995) and Alice Voorsanger Barlow (1924-2010), with three siblings, Gayne, Naomi, and Dika. Growing up, the Barlow family "drifted" often, moving several times throughout the West Coast of the United States, finally settling in Palo Alto, California. Following the Holocaust, Barlow recounts the anti-semitism her family faced, as her mother was Jewish. Her parents were deemed a 'mixed race' couple that affected family, as well as social, relationships. As a child, Barlow's great aunt, Anna M. Kross, influenced her greatly. Barlow described Kross as a strong female role model -- "a political radical, a labor lawyer and co-founder of the Lucy Stone League." Barlow lived with Kross for 18 months beginning in 1968.

In 1962, Barlow and her family moved to Tokyo for thirteen months, during which time Barlow learned her first Asian language, Japanese. She describes this as a particularly formative experience, however Barlow's interest in China specifically, stemmed from her great uncle, Claude Barlow, who served as a medical missionary in China in the early 20th century.

At the age of sixteen, Barlow's father withdrew her from high school and she was enrolled in university in Hawaii. Barlow later left and travelled for a few years before returning to school. In 1975, Barlow received her BA from San Francisco State University with a dual degree in History and Chinese Language. She then went on to get her MA (1979) and PhD (1985) from UC Davis in History. Barlow began teaching in 1981 as a lecturer in American Culture for Shanghai Teachers University, then moved to Missouri as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She married Donald Lowe (1929-2009), a fellow academic and Asian Studies scholar and formerly her professor at San Francisco State University, in 1990. Barlow continued teaching at institutions such as San Francisco State University, University of Washington, and finally Rice University.

Barlow has several major publications, including "In the Event of Women" (Duke University Press, 2021), "The Question of Women in Chinese Feminism" (Duke University Press, 2004), and "Inter/National Feminism and China," Ito Ruri and Kobayashi Eri, trans., (Tokyo: Ochanomizu Press, 2003). Additionally, she has edited and coedited nine published books, published twenty papers in edited books, approximately forty articles in academic journals, and edited or co-edited fifty seven journal issues. Barlow is the founding senior editor of positions: asia critique, an international, prizewinning journal that she continues to edit. She has lectured all over the world at various workshops and universities, including Westminster University, the University of Bologna, Universität Heidelberg, Institut National des Langues et Civilisation Orientales, Ochanomizu University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and she was inaugural director of the Chao Centre for Asian Studies at Rice. Currently, Barlow works as a professor at Rice University, where she was inaugural director of the Chao Centre for Asian Studies as well as she is the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except for Series XIV, RESTRICTED MATERIALS. All items in Series XIV are closed until January 1, 2050. 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:	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:	Tani Barlow papers, MS.2015.003, Feminist Theory Archive, 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 Tani Barlow beginning in 2015.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Amanda Knox, Anna Steinberg, Shuyan Wang, and Mary Murphy 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 2020-03-11.
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

Related material:

Tani Barlow's digital records are held at Rice University. For access to the digital files, contact the Woodson Research Center Special Collections and Archives.See also the positions: east asia cultures critique records at the University of Washington.

Inventory

---