Guide to the Jane Flax papers, 1990-2015


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: Jane Flax papers
Date range: 1990-2015
Creator: Flax, Jane
Extent: 1.5 Linear feet
(1 record center box, 1 file box, and 1 card box)
Abstract: This collection consists of the papers of Jane Flax, feminist and political theorist, scholar of psychoanalysis, and formerly Professor of Political Science at Howard University. The collection is comprised of correspondence, course material, research, writing, and other papers dating from 1990-2015.
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: Ms.2019.012

Scope & content

This collection consists of the papers of Jane Flax, feminist and political theorist, scholar of psychoanalysis, and formerly Professor of Political Science at Howard University. The collection is comprised of correspondence, course material, research, writing, and other papers dating from 1990-2015. The Jane Flax papers date from 1990-2015 and are arranged alphabetically by record type into one series.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by record type into one series.

Biographical / Historical

Jane Flax was born on December 31, 1948. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley where she studied Political Theory and was known to be interested in Germanic social thought and the relationships between knowledge and power. During this time, she became involved in the Civil Rights Movement and fought against the conflict in Vietnam.

Between 1969-1974, Flax earned a PhD in Political Theory and Philosophy at Yale University at a time when the Women's Liberation Movement came to the fore. Flax became interested in psychoanalysis and organized discussion groups in the Women's Center on feminism. She also became involved in the feminist magazine, Quest.

After completing her graduate education, Flax moved to Washington DC in 1978, where she wrote her first articles on feminist theory.

In her scholarship, Flax reflects and writes on three important modes of contemporary Western thought: psychoanalysis, feminist theories and postmodern philosophies. She has developed, along with other feminist theorists, feminist psychoanalysis, arguing that psychoanalysis is vital for the feminist project and that it must, like other theoretical traditions, be criticized and transformed by women, to free it from any vestige of sexism.

Flax's books include "Thinking Fragments," "Disputed Subjects," "The American Dream in Black and White," and "Resonances of Slavery in Race/Gender Relations." She has also published more than 50 book chapters and journal articles on a wide range of subjects, including philosophy of science, mother-daughter relations, ethics, critical theory, race/gender, psychoanalysis, feminist theories, postmodernism, subjectivity, justice, American political thought and politics, epistemology, Kant, and Foucault's "care of the self."

Flax most recently served as Scholar in Residence in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University. Previously she taught at Howard University where she was Professor of Political Science. She also taught at Stanford University, University of Maryland (Baltimore County) and University of Massachusetts, Amherst, during different times in her academic career. Flax is also a psychotherapist in private practice in Washington, DC.

[Bio note from American University and Spanish Wikipedia: https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Flax]

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access. 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: Jane Flax papers, Ms.2019.012, 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 Jane Flax in 2015.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: 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 2019-07-01.
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

Box 1, Folder 1 Awards and honors from Howard University
 2001-2009
Box 1, Folder 2 Book reviews of American Dreams in Black and White: The Clarence Thomas Hearings
 1998-2000
Box 1, Folder 3 Conference file re: "Deconstructing Feminist Mental Health Care: A South African Discussion
 2004
Box 1, Folder 4 Correspondece
 1999-2015
Box 1, Folder 5 Course evaluations
 2011-2015
Box 1, Folder 6 Course file re: "Foucault and Ethics"
 2013
Box 1, Folder 7 Course file re: "Philosophies of Action"
 2015
Box 1, Folder 8 Course file re: "Psychoanalysis and/as Philosophy of the Mind"
 2014
Box 1, Folder 9 Curriculum Vitae
 2010
Box 1, Folder 10 Flyers
 2000-2014
Folder Pembroke Center Archives catch-all oversize box 2XXX Posters (oversize)
 circa 1990-2010
Box 1, Folder 11 Publishing agreements and related
 1997-2014
Box 1, Folder 12 Research articles (annotated) for "gender talk"
 n.d.
Box 2 Research notecards (Box 1 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 2 Research notecards (Box 2 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 2 Research notecards (Box 3 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 2 Research notecards (Box 4 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 2 Research notecards (Box 5 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 3 Research notecards (Box 6 of 6)
 n.d.
Box 1, Folder 13 Research notes and related
 ca. 2001
Box 1, Folder 14 Royalty Statements
 2001-2015
Box 1, Folder 15 Writing, "The Subject of Justice"
 n.d.
Box 1, Folder 16 Writing, "Uncoupling Sex and Gender: Sigmund Freud's Contributions
 n.d.