Skip to main content

bell hooks papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: BCA 0257

Scope and Contents

The bell hooks papers comprise fourteen boxes of business and personal correspondence, published and unpublished writings, news clippings, photographs, and other records documenting the life, research interests, and career of bell hooks. Dr. hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins, 1952-2021) was a scholar, author, and educator, who worked to expose and dismantle the inter-related social ills of sexism, racism, and classism. Her work also explored the meaning and power of love as a tool in the quest for reconciliation and building a more just society.

Dates

  • Circa 1960-2020
  • Majority of material found within 1980-2015

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.

Conditions Governing Use

The donor will allow paper copies to be made for research use only (at the discretion of the archivist). The donor allows researchers to reproduce the text for research use only. The researcher must abide by all fair use guidelines. All other requests for permission to publish or quote shall require the written permission of the Donor or her designee.

Biographical note

Noted intellectual, feminist theorist, cultural critic, artist, poet, and public speaker Gloria Jean Watkins (aka bell hooks) was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on September 25, 1952, one of the six children of Rosa Bell Oldham Watkins and Veodis Watkins. She graduated from Hopkinsville High School and earned degrees in English Literature from Stanford University (B.A., 1973), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.A., 1976) and the University of California-Santa Cruz (PhD, 1986). Watkins chose the lower case pen name bell hooks, based on her maternal great-grandmother's name, to draw attention to her writings instead of drawing attention to herself. Dr. hooks wrote prolifically. Her bibliography includes scholarly and popular articles, book chapters, and more than forty books, including five children’s books. She taught at UC-Santa Cruz, Yale University, Oberlin College, City College of New York, and Berea College. Dr. hooks moved to Berea, Kentucky in 2004 to serve as Distinguished Professor in Residence of Appalachian Studies. In 2014 she established the bell hooks Institute at Berea College as a platform for furthering her work. In 2018 she was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Dr. hooks died in Berea on December 15, 2021.

Extent

14.00 ms_boxes

6.4 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Spanish; Castilian

Basque

Portuguese

Korean

Italian

Abstract

The bell hooks papers comprise fourteen boxes of business and personal correspondence, published and unpublished writings, news clippings, photographs, and other records documenting the life, research interests, and career of bell hooks. Dr. hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins, 1952-2021) was a scholar, author, and educator, who worked to expose and dismantle many forms of systemic inequality including sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia. Her work also explored the meaning and power of love as a tool in the quest for reconciliation and building a more just society.

Arrangement Note

The collection is arranged in five series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1985-2018

Series 2: Writings and Publishing, 1970-2019

Series 3: Research and Teaching files, 1984-2006

Series 4: Photographs, Recordings, and Electronic Data, circa 1955-2017

Series 5: Professional and Personal Data, 1976-2018

Physical Access Requirements

Family correspondence in Series 1 and personal journals in Series 2 are restricted until the death of the Donor, but may be accessed for research with written permission from the Donor.

Source of Acquisition

bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins)

Method of Acquisition

Acquisition Agreement

Appraisal Information

None

Other Descriptive Information

BCA 0257

Processing Information

Processed by Rachel Vagts and Aminata Dia, 2016. Reprocessed by Timothy S. G. Binkley with the assistance of Alexanndrea Hicks, 2021-2022.

Title
Finding Aid to the bell hooks papers
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Revision Statements

  • 2021-2022: Additions incorporated and finding aid revised by Timothy S. G. Binkley and Alexanndrea Hicks, 2021-2022

Repository Details

Part of the Berea College Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Hutchins Library
100 Campus Drive
Berea Kentucky 40404 US
859.985.3262