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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 1117: T-418: CD-63

Papers of Julie Melrose, 1972-2007

Overview

Writings, interviews, and files of Julie Melrose about anti-pornography, feminist writers, and women's issues at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Dates

  • Creation: 1972-2007

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research. As per the agreement between Julie Melrose and the Schlesinger Library, folder #2.8 is closed until 2040, and #3.7 is closed until the death of Ronald Melrose.

An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Julie Melrose is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

1.88 linear feet ((4 + 1/2 file boxes) plus 1 photograph folder, 12 audiotapes, 1 CD, 1 object)

The papers of Julie Melrose include her published and unpublished writings, notes, correspondence, clippings, project files, and memorabilia. The papers document Melrose's experience as a student journalist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as her activism and writing on topics relating to violence against women and anti-pornography. Audiotapes, transcripts, and correspondence from her Feminist Writers Oral History Project are also included. The collection includes a grant (written by Melrose) and correspondence concerning the writing and initial publication of Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon's book, Pornography and Civil Rights (1998). Notes and transcripts from a project by Melrose's friend Gena Corea interviewing women who had Cesarean sections are also included.

Folder titles in quotations were written by Melrose. Other folder titles were created by a Schlesinger archivist when the collection was accessioned. Melrose included notes on many items in the collections. Quotations from these notes are in quotations throughout the inventory. Folders are arranged alphabetically.

BIOGRAPHY

Editor, freelance journalist, feminist, and community organizer, Julie Melrose graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a B.A. in women's studies and medical ethics. She was the first women's editor at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian (the student newspaper) when she became part of a group occupying their offices to press for greater coverage of women's issues. Her free-lance career included investigative pieces, women's health columns, editorials, arts features, and general interest reporting, and her work appeared in Ms., Workplace Democracy, Hampshire Life, Boston Phoenix, Sojourner, Valley Advocate, and Amherst Record, among many others. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Melrose worked as a transcriber and/or oral historian at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and at Columbia University. She implemented the Feminist Writers Oral History Project and interviewed Kathleen Barry, Phyllis Chesler, Andrea Dworkin, Audre Lorde, Robin Morgan, Marge Piercy, Janice Raymond, Gloria Steinem, and Michele Wallace. She was a co-founder of the Women's Forum on Media Violence (1982-1983), was a grantwriter for a number of academic and social service agencies in western Massachusetts (1980s-2003), and in 2006 was co-organizer of the Environmental Health Coalition of Western Massachusetts. At age 35, Melrose was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and her health was further impaired by an injury to her inner ear leading to a balance disorder and cognitive problems.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 2007-M188

The papers of Julie Melrose were acquired from Julie Melrose in September, 2007.

Processing Information

Processed: April 2021

By: Jenny Gotwals

The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.  Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Melrose, Julie. Papers of Julie Melrose, 1972-2007: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch02053

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

Contact:
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