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COLLECTION Identifier: T-323

Audiotape collection of Andrea Dworkin, 1975-1997

Overview

Audiotape recordings of speeches and lectures by, and interviews with, radical feminist writer, speaker, and activist Andrea Dworkin.

Dates

  • Creation: 1975-1997

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Access to audiotapes (#1-62) is unrestricted. Access to audiotapes (#63-80) requires the written permission of John Stoltenberg and Catharine MacKinnon until his death. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright on speeches and other content, written by Andrea Dworkin and recorded onto audiotapes, is held by John Stoltenberg. Upon his death, copyright will be transferred to the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Other copyrighted materials found in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

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

Extent

80 audiotapes

The bulk of the audiotapes feature Andrea Dworkin either as the sole speaker or on a panel with others, but there are a few audiotapes featuring people in Dworkin's life who are made reference to in the paper collection. For related papers, see the finding aid for the Andrea Dworkin collection, MC 540. For related videotapes, see Andrea Dworkin videotape collection, 1981-1998 (Vt-136).

Series I, SPEECHES, 1975-1995 (#1-41), includes speeches given by Andrea Dworkin and others, such as Catharine MacKinnon, with whom she worked closely or had a significant personal relationship. Venues for the speeches range from conferences and protest rallies to workshops and testimony before former Attorney General's Commission on Pornography. Speeches for which there are transcripts in the paper collection include a cross-reference.

Series II, INTERVIEWS, 1984-1997 (#42-54), includes unedited material, off-air recordings, and recordings supplied by the individual stations, of radio interviews with Andrea Dworkin from over the United States as well as Canada and Great Britain. Interviews for which there are transcripts in the paper collection include a cross-reference.

Series III, PUBLIC READINGS AND SYLVIA DWORKIN'S FUNERAL SERVICE, 1976-1990 (#55-62), contains recordings of Andrea Dworkin reading to audiences in bookstores and university settings from her works: Letters from a War Zone, The New Woman's Broken Heart, Mercy, and unpublished works. Also included is a recording of Sylvia Dworkin's funeral service.

Series IV, TEACHING, 1983 (#63-80), contains recordings of Andrea Dworkin's and Catharine MacKinnon's lectures for their class on Pornography and the Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, fall 1983. Note that some tapes are missing (#3, #7, #11, #12, and #18-20). References to the course syllabus and other related materials in the paper collection are included.

BIOGRAPHY

Author, critic, and radical feminist Andrea Dworkin was born on September 26, 1946, in Camden, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Sylvia (Spiegel), a secretary, and Harry Dworkin, a guidance counselor. In 1965, while attending Bennington College, Dworkin was arrested in New York City for protesting against the Vietnam War, and spent four days in the Women's House of Detention. She later made headlines, publicizing her brutal treatment at the hands of staff, which led to a grand jury investigation of the prison. In 1965, she traveled to Crete, then returned to the United States to complete her coursework at Bennington College, before moving to Amsterdam, where she completed work for her B.A., which she received in 1968. On March 11, 1969, Dworkin married Cornelius (Iwan) Dirk de Bruin, a Dutch political activist. De Bruin abused Dworkin throughout the marriage, which ended in divorce in 1972. Dworkin moved to New York City in 1972 and in 1974, she met John Stoltenberg, a writer and editor. Dworkin, who identified herself as a lesbian, and Stoltenberg, who identified himself as homosexual, became close friends and lived together for many years before marrying in 1998.

Dworkin was the author of several books including Woman Hating (1974), Our Blood: Prophecies and Discourses on Sexual Politics (1976), Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981), Right-Wing Women (1983), Intercourse (1987), Letters from a War Zone: Writings, 1976-1989 (1989), Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation (2000), and Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant (2002). She was also the author of short stories and novels including Ice and Fire (1987) and Mercy (1991). In addition, Dworkin lectured widely and contributed to numerous periodicals and anthologies.

In 1983, with lawyer Catharine MacKinnon, Dworkin drafted a controversial civil rights ordinance defining pornography as sex discrimination. An activist working on behalf of many causes including abortion rights, she advised women and groups on issues of rape, battery, pornography, and incest in the United States and abroad.

Andrea Dworkin died April 9, 2005, in Washington, D.C.

ARRANGEMENT

The audio collection is arranged in four series. Within each series, audiotapes are organized chronologically by date, with those tapes stating only a year listed after any specific dates of that same year. Those tapes without dates are listed alphabetically at the end of each series.

  1. Series I. Speeches, 1975-1995 (#1-42)
  2. Series II. Interviews, 1984-1997 (#43-55)
  3. Series III. Public readings and Sylvia Dworkin's funeral service, 1976-1990 (#55-62)
  4. Series IV. Teaching, 1983 (#63-80)

Acquisition Information:

Accession number: 2001-M196

These audiotapes were included with the papers of Andrea Dworkin (MC 540) that were acquired from Andrea Dworkin by the Schlesinger Library in November 2001.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Andrea Dworkin Papers, 1914-2007 (MC 540). For related videotapes, see Andrea Dworkin Videotape collection, 1981-1998 (Vt-136).

Processing Information:

Processed: February 2009

By: Melissa Dollman

Creator

Subject

Title
Dworkin, Andrea. Audiotape collection of Andrea Dworkin, 1975-1997: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01209

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.

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