The history of the Women in Rhode Island Oral History collection is not well understood but it likely began in approximately 1982 by leadership at the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University. The collection likely developed as a result of an early Pembroke Center initiative known as the Chrsitine Dunlap Farnham oral history project on the history of women at Brown and in Rhode Island.
Over time, the Farnham oral history project splintered into two parts. The first, called Brown Women Speak, documented the college experiences of women who attended Pembroke College and Brown University and their post graduate lives. The Second part of the project became the Women in Rhode Island Oral History Collection, which captured interviews of notable non-alumnae Rhode Island women and their perspective on issues affecting women.
It is belived that some of the transcripts derived from Pembroke Center programming, where women spoke on panels about subjects such as the Women's Movement. Other files indicate that students conducted interviews, possibly as part of their course work, and then donated the subsequent administrative files and audiotapes to the Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive for inclusion in the collection.
Though the collection has not grown since 2006, new interviews could be added should Brown University students conduct them in the course of their research. Women in Rhode Isalnd is a "created collection" structured by the Brown University Archives to to accomodate interviews from multiple donors about notable individual and topics relating to women in the state of Rhode Island.
There are no restrictions on access, except that researchers may not identify contributors to the anonymous interview with members of the Rhode Island Hmong community. 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.
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.
Women in Rhode Island Oral History Collection, OH.1E.2014.001, Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive, Brown University Library.
The Women in Rhode Island Oral History Collection includes biographical forms, gift and release agreements, indices of topics discussed, transcripts, newspaper clippings, and audio cassettes, relating to the experiences of women in Rhode Island dating from 1984 to 2006.
The Women in Rhode Island Oral History Collection is arranged into 3 series.
Series 1: Interviews by individual, 1984-1988, contains any combination of biographical forms, gift and release agreements, indices of topics discussed, transcripts, and/or newspaper clippings, for Rhode Island women interviewed individually. Files are arranged alphabetically according to the interviewee’s last name.
Series 2: Interviews by topic, 1988-2006, contains any combination of biographical forms, gift and release agreements, indices of topics discussed, transcripts, and/or newspaper clippings, for Rhode Island women interviewed in groups discussing a particular topic. This series includes interviews with Hmong men. Files are arranged alphabetically according to interview topic.
Series 3: Electronic records, is arranged into 2 subseries. Subseries 1, Individuals, 1984-1989, contains audio cassettes for individual interviews. Cassettes are arranged alphabetically according to the interviewee's last name. Subseries 2, Topics, 1983-1999, contains audio cassettes for interviews with Rhode Island women interviewed in groups discussing a particular topic.
The collection is arranged in 3 series.
Gift of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, beginning in 1983.