Ann duCille is Professor of English, Emerita at Wesleyan University who is a scholar of African-American literature, cultural studies, and Black feminist theory. Born in Brooklyn, NY, duCIlle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bridgewater State College. She went on to earn three additional degrees from Brown University - a Master of Fine Arts in 1973, a Master of Arts in 1988, and PhD in English in 1991.
DuCille began her career at Hamilton College in 1974 where she and two others became the first three Black women faculty on staff (see folder #2.16 for more information about duCille's experience at Hamilton College). In 1990, duCille joined the faculty of Wesleyan University and later also worked at the University of California, San Diego. In 2016, duCille became the Inaugural Distinguished Professor in Residence for the Black Feminist Theory Project at the Pembroke Center, Brown University. DuCille currently serves as an advisor to that project, which is a visiting scholar initiative that invites black feminist theorist to campus each year. She is also a curatorial advisor to the Pembroke Center's Feminist Theory Archive in regard to the papers of black feminist theorists.
DuCille's scholarship pertains to African-American literary and cultural studies and investigates popular culture and brand marketing, specifically the ways by which they influence perceptions of and discriminatory practices against races, genders, and identities. She rigorously interrogates concepts of self, otherness, and the American academy. Her publications include The Coupling Convention: Sex,Text, and Tradition in Black Women's Fiction (1993) and Skin Trade (1996).
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. Requests should be directed to hay@brown.edu.
This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Ann duCille, Professor of English, Emerita at Wesleyan University and Inaugural Distinguished Professor in Residence for the Black Feminist Theory Project at the Pembroke Center, Brown University. DuCille is a scholar of African-American literature, cultural studies, and Black feminist theory. Materials include family photographs, personal and professional correspondence, draft writings, research materials, and annotated books. Materials date from 1945 to 2020, but the bulk of the materials date from 1965 to 2020. This collection is arranged into 9 series.
Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1945 – 2001, includes articles about duCille's work, awards she received, family photographs, and scrapbooks highlighting her parents and her childhood. Of particular note is a jacket duCille wore to Toni Morrison's 70th birthday gala at the New York Public Library in 2001. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Series 2, CORRESPONDENCE, 1990 – 2020, contains personal and professional correspondence. Correspondents include Bill Johnson González, scholar of Latinx literature and film and contemporary queer cultural production, as well as former students. Topics include board and committee work, invitations for talks, and professional appointments. This series is arranged chronologically between personal and professional and then alphabetically by topic.
Series 3, CONFERENCES, 1990 – 2019, includes planning materials, flyers, and programs for various conferences. Conferences include "Black Intellectuals and the Academy: The Work of Claudia Tate," "Black Women Writers and the 'High Art' of Afro-American Letters," and "Quiet as it's Kept: Passing Subjects, Contested Identities." This series is arranged alphabetically by conference title.
Series 4, TEACHING, 2006, n.d., contains two files of materials for courses duCille taught: "Literature of the Human Condition," and "Plotting Marriage in African American Fiction." This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.
Series 5, WRITINGS AND RELATED, 1975 – 2020, includes published articles and book reviews written by duCille as well as article and talk drafts, and original poems. Titles include "Notes on Whiteness at Wesleyan," "Black Lives Matter... To Whom? How Liberal Hollywood has Failed People of Color," and "A Time to Kill Shirley Temple: Reading Race and Paternity in Contemporary Television and Film." Also included is a draft of an unpublished work of fiction titled
Series 6, RESEARCH, 1992 – 2014, includes clippings, magazines, typed and handwritten notes, and photographic slides. Topics include Barbie dolls, the O.J. Simpson trial, and television shows. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by topic.
Series 7, BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT MATERIAL, 1956 – 2019, is arranged into 2 sub-series.
Series 7, sub-series 1, BOOKS, 1956 – 2019, contains published, bound books with annotations by duCille and, in some cases, inscriptions by the author. Authors include Houston A. Baker Jr., Donald Bogle, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Zora Neale Hurston, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Hortense Spillers, Alice Walker, and Cheryl A. Wall. Of particular note is a copy of
Series 7, sub-series 2, OTHER PRINT MATERIAL, 1967 – 2017, includes programs, magazines, and posters. Titles include "Black World: A Johnson Publication: Black Women Image Makers,"
Series 8, ELECTRONIC RECORDS ON REMOVABLE CARRIERS, 2007, n.d., contains CDs and a DVD. The CDs contain photos and draft writings. The DVD contains a lecture titled "Periracism." This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title written on the carrier.
Please note that 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.
Series 9, RESTRICTED, 1994 – 2002, contains one file of student records and personal identifying information that is closed until January 1, 2074, after which date materials will open without restriction.
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.
Ann duCille papers, MS-2016-013, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University.
This collection is arranged into 9 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 Ann duCille in 2015, 2023, and 2025.
This collection was part of the Pembroke Center's Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive until 2024 when collections were recataloged. All collections previously grouped under that title are now searchable under the subject headings "Women and Gender at Brown University" or "Feminist Activism in Rhode Island."