Louise Lamphere (born 1940) is a renowned anthropologist and feminist scholar, working at the University of New Mexico. With a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, Lamphere has been active in the field of American Anthropology, specifically Navajo cultures, and women's roles in the workplace and family. In 1968, Brown University hired Lamphere into the Anthropology department, where she served as the only woman and was famously denied tenure in 1974. Following that decision, Lamphere brought a class action suit against Brown University and subsequently won an out-of-court settlement that served as a model for future suits by others. "[T]he University settled the case before trial, entering in September 1977 into an historic consent decree designed 'to achieve on behalf of women full representativeness with respect to faculty employment at Brown.'" Lamphere spent most of her career between Brown University and the University of New Mexico, with several visiting fellowships at various universities and institutions, such as the University of California Berkeley, Princeton University, and the Russell Sage Foundation. During her career, Lamphere won several awards and has written over 120 publications, including books, articles, and article reviews. Today, she is a distinguished professor of Anthropology, Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.
This collection contains the papers of Louise Lamphere from approximately 1960 to 2022, documenting her career through publications, correspondence, research, and personal files. Subjects of the papers include anthropology, sex discrimination, women and work, Navajo culture, and Lamphere's career at various universities. Throughout the collection, folders are arranged alphabetically unless otherwise specified, and make up 11 complete series, one of which is restricted. The collection arrived with original folder titles using acronyms, which have been expanded by the processor. However, when searching for organizations such as the American Anthropological Association, researchers should also keyword search for the related acronym, "AAA."
Series 1, Biographical, contains biographical information about Lamphere, including many of her curriculum vitae's, interviews conducted about her life and career, and letters of recommendation.
Series 2, Career Development, documents the development of Lamphere's academic career. The Series is arranged into four sub-series: Contracts; Grants and fellowships; Job applications; and Administrative Materials. This series contains full applications with written components, and a timeline of her career recorded through contracts with universities and institutes. The folders within each sub-series are arranged alphabetically.
Series 3, Correspondence, contains correspondence between Lamphere and university faculty and administration, feminist scholars, and students. Emails and letters may contain details about book reviews, invitations to lectures and functions, Lamphere's research and publications, as well as personal correspondence. Series 3 is arranged alphabetically by the subject of correspondence, although the series begins with general correspondence without specified subjects. These folders are listed chronologically and then by topic.
Series 4, Professional Associations, is arranged into four sub-series: Advisory and editorial boards; American Anthropological Association material; Other associations; and Committees. Folders contained in each sub-series are listed alphabetically according to the subject discussed in each folder. Series 4 documents Lamphere's work for various committees, advisory and editorial boards, as well as an extensive record of her involvement with the American Anthropological Association. These papers include meeting preparations, speeches given or witnessed by Lamphere, and correspondence concerning the committees and groups. There are also several folders concerning the American Anthropological Association that cover its history, media, policies, and finances.
Series 5, Conference Files, documents the conferences that Lamphere attended, participated in, or followed as an academic. The series is arranged into two sub-series, beginning with "General files" and then "Lectures." The general files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the conference, and then the subject. The Lectures sub-series contains talks that Lamphere gave at various conferences, arranged alphabetically by location. If no location was specified, the folder is organized by the title of the talk.
Series 6, Writings and related material, is arranged into five sub-series: Publishing contracts and related material; Drafts of published chapters and articles; Published reviews by Lamphere; Reviews of Lamphere publications by others; and Reprints. Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject within each subseries. Note that in "Published reviews by Lamphere" subseries, folders are arranged alphabetically by the title of the journal where Lamphere's review appeared or by the author of the orginial article. Series VI documents Lamphere's writing and published scholarship covering the span of her career, as well as collaborative projects with other academics and researchers. The folders thus contain early and late drafts of some of her major works, including Situated Lives: Gender and Culture in Everyday Life; Newcomers in the Workplace: Immigrants and the Restructuring of the U.S. Economy; Sunbelt Working Mothers: Reconciling Family and Factory; Structuring Diversity: Ethnographic Perspectives on the New Immigration; From Working Daughters to Working Mothers: Immigrant Women in a New England Industrial Community; To Run After Them: The Social and Cultural Bases of Cooperation in a Navajo, Community; and Woman, Culture, and Society.
Series 7, Teaching files, contains Lamphere's course files, including research material specific to each course, as well as syllabi and weekly schedules. Classes include American Indian Ethnography; Class, Work, Gender; Cultures of the World; Feminist Theory; and many others. Series VII is arranged alphabetically by the title of the course.
Series 8, Personal Files, contains files about people that are arranged into two sub-series, "Feminist scholars" and "Men." These are original categories that Lamphere used to organize her personal files. Folders within each sub-series are arranged alphabetically by last name. Folders may contain recommendations, papers, and letters between Lamphere and the name on the folder. The sub-series, "Men," contains similar content as the "Feminist Scholars" sub-series, but for male colleagues and academics.
Series 9, Research Materials, is arranged into three subseries: General research files, Research in Brazil, and Working Women research. Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject therin and document Lamphere's research spanning her career. The "General research files" covers research for various projects, including the Daughters of the Desert publication for the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Materials in the "General research files" subseries include articles and conference papers by other scholars, notes, and newletters. The following, smaller series catalogue Lamphere's research in Brazil and London, with complete research notes, interviews, newspaper clippings, and articles.
Series 10, Central Fall Project, contains research and related materials created by Lamphere for her book "From Working Daughters to Working Mothers: Immigrant Women in a New England Industrial Community." This series is noteworthy for its thorough documentation of the Central Falls and surrounding communities in Rhode Island. Materials include interviews with community members and social and industrial history on the area. Lamphere was assisted by several graduate students whose work also appears in this series. Note that original folder titles are written in quotations. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Materials in series 11, Restricted Materials, opened in January 1, 2025. Those materials have been integrated into the rest of the collection.
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.
Louise Lamphere papers, Ms.2016.011, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University.
The collection is arranged in 10 series.
There are no restrictions on access for analog materials, 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 born-digital records. Born-digital materials 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. For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed to hay@brown.edu.
Gift of Louise Lamphere beginning in 2013.
See also the Pembroke Center Oral History Collection (OH.1S.2013.002). View finding aid here: https://www.riamco.org/render?eadid=US-RPB-oh.1s.2013.002 Lamphere contributed an interview to this collection in 2014 that you can view here: https://sites.brown.edu/pembrokeoralhistory/2023/06/14/louise-lamphere-faculty/