Papers of Alice S. Rossi, 1927-2009

The papers of Alice S. Rossi include correspondence, professional and autobiographical writings, datebooks, photographs, a videotape, CDs, and DVDs. Much of the collection is correspondence, either with family, friends and colleagues, or with other activists. Little material is from her early life. Rossi organized her files before sending them to the Schlesinger Library, and most folder titles are hers; those in brackets were created by the archivist.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1927-2009 (#1.1-3.2, F+D.1-F+D.2, PD.1-PD.2, DVD-050.1 - DVD-050.3, CD-045.1, E.1), includes family photographs, datebooks, resumes, and autobiographical writings. A photograph album from the 1930s shows Rossi's unidentified family members and friends. Rossi's high school newspaper articles are collected in a scrapbook (#2.11). A transcript of an interview for the Valley Women's History Collaborative details Rossi's experience with gender politics at University of Massachusetts. The series also includes Peter H. Rossi's privately published autobiography (#3.2), as well as Alice Rossi's unpublished autobiographical writings (#1.2-1.3). One DVD is a video of Peter H. Rossi's 2007 memorial service. The other two DVDs are conversations between Alice Rossi and her daughter Nina, fueled by Nina's suggestion that her mother paid too much attention to work and not enough to parenting. One of the CDs is a radio interview with the two women on the same topic that aired on National Public Radio. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1937-2008 (#3.3-18.5, PD.3), includes Rossi's incoming and outgoing letters to her husband, children, colleagues, students, and friends. Almost daily letters between Peter and Alice detail their courtship and the months leading up to their wedding in 1951, during which time both were also attempting to obtain divorces from their first spouses. Alice maintained an extensive correspondence with her children, particularly Nina, which often details their stormy emotional relationships. Most of Rossi's correspondence with her children was filed in named folders, though some can also be found throughout the general chronological files. Rossi filed her general correspondence alphabetically by sender during the 1970s; she later filed correspondence by year. These arrangements have been maintained. A folder of correspondence between Rossi and her good friend Sarah Betsky includes letters discussing a difficult time in the Rossi's marriage. Most general correspondence is from sociologists, other professional colleagues, students, etc. Correspondence with other academics in the late 1960s and early 1970s often involves questions about scholarship on women and Academic Women on the Move (see also Series III). There is no general correspondence between 1978 and 1992. General correspondence in the 1990s and 2000s is with colleagues working on midlife research, children, and grandchildren. Much of the 2007 correspondence is in response to Peter's death in 2006. The series is arranged with Rossi's family correspondence first, followed by alphabetical and then chronological folders.

Series III, PROFESSIONAL, 1954-1998 (#18.6-22.13, Vt-188.1), includes material relating to Rossi's lectures, awards, papers, reviews, etc., as well as several of her book projects. Folders on lectures and/or conferences may include copies of speeches, correspondence, programs, etc. Several folders relate to the editing and publishing process for The Feminist Papers. Material about Academic Women on the Move includes correspondence with co-editor Ann Calderwood, chapter authors, the Russell Sage Foundation (funders and publishers), etc. The series is arranged chronologically, with material on book projects filed together.

Series IV, ORGANIZATIONS, 1968-2007 (#22.14-25.14, CD-045.2), includes correspondence, notes, and research documents related to the founding of the American Sociological Association Women's Caucus and Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS), as well as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Committee W on the Status of Women in Academia. A few folders document Rossi's involvement with the National Organization for Women, including a lengthy written report of the NOW 2006 convention that includes Rossi's memories of events surrounding the 1966 founding meetings. A CD of a 2007 radio show discusses Rossi's 40 years of involvement with NOW. SWS material includes notes, meeting minutes, and correspondence, primarily with other founding members Arlene Kaplan Daniels, Lenore Weitzman, Pauline Bart, Athena Theodore, and Joan Huber. The AAUP Committee W was reactivated in the summer of 1970 after being inactive since the mid 1920s. AAUP material was not particularly well-organized by Rossi and material in folders may overlap considerably. The series is arranged alphabetically.

A selection of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database.