Guide to the Margaret W. Ferguson papers, 1971–2023


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: Margaret W. Ferguson papers
Date range: 1971–2023
Creator: Ferguson, Margaret W.
Extent: 1.5 linear feet (1 record center carton and 1 file box)
Abstract: This collection primarily contains the professional papers of Margaret W. Ferguson, Professor Emerita of the University of California, Davis, and scholar of Early Modern literature, literacy studies, and feminist and queer theory in English, French, and Italian. Materials document Ferguson's academic career at Yale University and her early research and writings. Materials include administrative files, conference audio recordings, and drafts of her contributions to "Tradition and the Talents of Women" by Florence Howe. The collection dates from 1971 to 2023.
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: MS.2024.004

Scope & content

This collection primarily contains the professional papers of Margaret W. Ferguson, Professor Emerita of the University of California, Davis, and scholar of Early Modern literature, literacy studies, and feminist and queer theory in English, French, and Italian. Materials document Ferguson's academic career at Yale University and her early research and writings. Materials include administrative files, conference audio recordings, and drafts of her contributions to Tradition and the Talents of Women by Florence Howe. The collection dates from 1971 to 2023 and is arranged into 1 series alphabetically by record type.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 1 series alphabetically by record type.

Biographical/Historical Note

Margaret W. Ferguson is Professor Emerita of the University of California, Davis, and scholar of Early Modern literature, literacy studies, and feminist and queer theory in English, French, and Italian. Her scholarly contributions are at the center of current developments in the field. Ferguson's 1983 coedited volume, Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe initiated the exploration of gender in Renaissance philosophy, religion, social relations, and works of literature and art.

Ferguson joined the UC Davis English Department in 1997. She received her A.B. in History of Art and English at Cornell University in 1969 and her doctorate from the Yale Department of Comparative Literature in 1974. Ferguson taught at Yale, Columbia, and the University of Colorado at Boulder before moving to UC Davis. She is the daughter of Mary Anne Ferguson, who was a scholar of Women's Studies at The University of Massachusetts Boston, who helped found what is now UMass Boston's women's and gender studies department. She is also the sister of Jean Ferguson Carr with whom she co-wrote a version of the introduction to Tradition and the Talents of Women by Florence Howe. Ferguson served as President of the Modern Language Association in 2014-2015. She has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Davis Humanities Institute in addition to the two short-term fellowships in South Africa and Australia. Ferguson, who retired in June 2017, continues to pursue her scholarly work and help graduate students finish their dissertations. She serves on the Advisory Boards for The Journal of Early Modern Cultural Studies and differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies.

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: Margaret W. Ferguson papers, MS.2024.004, 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 Margaret W. Ferguson in 2021.
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 2024-03-01.
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor: Curatorial work provided by Amy Greer and Mary O. Murphy, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Related material:

Related Materials

See also the Mary Anne Ferguson papers (Ms.2024.005) at Brown University.

Inventory

Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 1 Administrative file: "Labor and Faculty issues around Local 34 Strike;" includes flyers, newspaper clippings and correspondence (1/2)
 circa 1984
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 2 Administrative file: "Labor and Faculty issues around Local 34 Strike;" includes flyers, newspaper clippings and correspondence (2/2)
 circa 1984
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 3 Administrative file: "Materials on faculty women at Yale;" includes typed reports, handwritten notes and correspondence (1/2)
 1973-1974, 1977, 1983-1984
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 4 Administrative file: "Materials on faculty women at Yale;" includes typed reports, handwritten notes and correspondence (2/2)
 1973-1974, 1977, 1983-1984
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 5 Administrative file: "Materials on women's work at Yale;" includes reading, newspaper clippings and correspondence (1/2)
 circa 1970-1980
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 6 Administrative file: "Materials on women's work at Yale;" includes reading, newspaper clippings and correspondence (2/2)
 circa 1970-1980
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 7 Administrative file: "Yale Womens Forum;" includes handwritten and typed notes and correspondence (1/2)
 circa 1970
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 8 Administrative file: "Yale Womens Forum;" includes handwritten and typed notes and correspondence (2/2)
 circa 1970
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 9 Administrative file: "Yale Gender Equity Materials;" includes correspondence, Affirmative Action Reports and Title IX booklet (1/2)
 1972 - 1976
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 10 Administrative file: "Yale Gender Equity Materials;" includes correspondence, Affirmative Action Reports and Title IX booklet (2/2)
 1972 - 1976
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 11 Administrative file: "Yale/New Haven Socialist Fem group;" includes readings and typed and handwritten notes (1/2)
 circa 1970
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 12 Administrative file: "Yale/New Haven Socialist Fem group;" includes readings and typed and handwritten notes (2/2)
 circa 1970
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 13 Administrative file: "Yale union support group"
 November 2, 1985, n.d.
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 14 Clippings: various titles
 n.d.
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 15 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#1 and #2"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 16 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#3 and #4"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 17 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#5 and #6"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 18 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#7 and #8"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 19 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette"#9 and #10"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 20 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#11 and #12"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 21 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#13 and #14"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 22 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette "#15 and #16"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 23 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man: audio cassette"#17"
 March 12-14, 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 24 Conference materials: Renaissance Woman and Man; includes related correspondence
 1981 - 1982
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 25 Correspondence: personal
 1971, 2015
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 26 Correspondence: professional
 September 1971
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 27 Correspondence with Pembroke Center Archive
 November 11, 2008
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 28 Course materials: various courses; includes reading lists and handwritten notes
 1971, n.d.
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 29 CV
 November 2023
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 30 Grant materials: "Wome's Studies at Yale NEH Grant;" includes proposal drafts and correspondence (1/2)
 1983, 1985, n.d.
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 31 Grant materials: "Wome's Studies at Yale NEH Grant;" includes proposal drafts and correspondence (2/2)
 1983, 1985, n.d.
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 32 Posters for talks by Ferguson; includes correspondence, annotated program pamphlets (1/2)
 circa1980-1990
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 33 Posters for talks by Ferguson; includes correspondence, annotated program pamphlets (2/2)
 circa1980-1990
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 34 Print material: New Haven's OWNH, Vol. 1, No. 1
 July 1976
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 35 Print material: Our Bodies Ourselves
 1971
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 36 Print material: Radical America Vol. 15, No. 6
 1981
Box [31236104064517] 1, Folder 37 Print material: Radical America Vol. 17, No. 4
 1983
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 1 Print material: Tradition and the Talents of Women
 1991
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 2 Print material: Womens Words a Feminist Literary Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1,
 Spring 1976
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 3 Project proposal: Yale University's first women coeduction undergraduates; including project description and correspondence
 September-November 2016
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 4 Readings: various titles
 n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 5 Teaching: "Feminist teaching materials;" includes syllabi, readings and correspondence
 1984, 1990, 2000-2003, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 6 Writings by others: An Essay Review of Teaching About Mothering by M.A. Ferguson (mother); inlcudes related correspondence
 1985, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 7 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: correspondence
 April-October 1989, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 8 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women; includes Ferguson's explaination of "Generational Feminist Work" and pamphlet
 circa 2014-2015, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 9 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: introduction draft co-written with Jean Ferguson Carr (sister) (1/2)
 n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 10 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: introduction draft co-written with Jean Ferguson Carr (sister) (2/2)
 n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 11 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: introduction draft co-written with Jean Ferguson Carr (sister); includes related correspondence
 May and July 1989, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 12 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: preface draft; includes related correspondence
 October 27, 1989, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 13 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: preface and introduction drafts; includes related correspondence
 September 1989, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 14 Writings by Ferguson re: Tradition and the Talents of Women: reviews
 1991-1993, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 15 Writings by Ferguson: various titles; includes typed notes, drafts and related correspondence
 1975, 1994, 2009, 2023, n.d.
Box [31236104064525] 2, Folder 16 Writings by Ferguson: various titles: "reviews and info on books by M.F. feminist research"
 2003-2004, 2007, n.d.