Guide to the Lauren Berlant papers, 1922-2019

(bulk 1970-2019)


John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2021

Collection Overview

Title: Lauren Berlant papers
Date range: 1922-2019, (1970-2019)
Creator: Berlant, Lauren Gail
Extent: 5 Linear Feet
Abstract: This collection contains personal and professional papers of Lauren Berlant, the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Berlant's scholarship focuses on queer theory, power, and boundary drawing between public and private spheres. Materials in this collection include correspondence, conference files, lecture and poetry drafts, handwritten research notes, and print materials, dating from 1922 – 2019 (bulk 1970 – 2019).
Repository: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number: Ms.2015.009

Scope & content

This collection contains personal and professional papers of Lauren Berlant, the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Berlant's scholarship focuses on queer theory, power, and boundary drawing between public and private spheres. Materials in this collection include correspondence, conference files, lecture and poetry drafts, handwritten research notes, and print materials, dating from 1922 – 2019 (bulk 1970 – 2019). This collection is arranged into 10 series.

Series 1, Personal and Biographical, 1983 – 2019, contains articles and interviews about and with Berlant, correspondence, and photographs. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, ADMINISTRATIVE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT, 1985 – 2019, includes files relating to Berlant's Leverhulme Visiting Professorships and programs for various events. Of particular note are materials related to Faculty for Divestment from South Africa. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 3, CONFERENCES, 1996 – 2019, includes programs, agendas, and handwritten notes from conferences Berlant attended. Conferences include "Forms of Attachment: Affect at the Limits of the Political," "Pleasureless: A Queer Symposium," and "You Hurt My Feelings: Anxiety, Urgency, Outrage, Hope... A Conference on Political Feeling." This series is arranged alphabetically by conference title.

Series 4, TEACHING, 1961 – 2015, includes syllabi and readings for courses taught by Berlant. Courses include "American Women and Waiting," "Feminism and the Public Sphere," and "Queer Arts After Stonewall." This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.

Series 5, WRITINGS, circa 1980 – 2019, includes talk drafts and poetry drafts by Berlant. This series is arranged alphabetically by writing format then by title when available.

Series 6, RESEARCH, 1942 – 1997, contains annotated articles Berlant used for research. Topics include "Improving higher education" and the National Organization of Women. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Series 7, PRINT MATERIALS, 1922 – 2019, includes books, journals, and a zine featuring works by Berlant and others. Titles include The Anti-Capitalism Reader, Reading Sedgwick, and differences: Difference: Reading Barbara Johnson volume 17 number 3. This series is arranged alphabetically by format then by title.

Series 8, EPHEMERA, n.d., contains 2 t-shirts Berlant obtained at conferences. This series is arranged alphabetically by writing on the shirt.

Series 9, OVERSIZE MATERIALS, circa 1980 – 2019, includes awards and conference posters. This series is arranged alphabetically by format then by title.

Series 10, ELECTRONIC RECORDS, 1991 – 2012, contains cassette tapes, 3.5" computer diskettes, and CDs. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title listed on the carrier.

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics

Arrangement

This collection is arragned into 10 series.

Biographical/Historical Note

Lauren Berlant (1957-2021) was born on October 31, 1957, in Philadelphia and grew up in suburban Penn Valley. They graduated from Oberlin College in 1979 with an AB in English and went on to earn a master’s degree in 1983 and then a Ph.D. in 1985, both in English and from Cornell University.

Berlant joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1984 and served as the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor of English, Gender Studies and the Humanities. Their scholarship focused on what sentimentality means in American culture for gender, sexuality and politics. Specifically, they sought to define the desires and emotions that compel people to create forms of life that support a sense of belonging, and the complex ways in which gender, race, citizenship, class and sexuality affect and mold those attachments.

Berlant’s career-defining entry to national sentimentality and affect theory began through the study of historical novels during their doctoral studies at Cornell University. At that time, their scholarship focused on how a historical novel produces a story that moves between history and subjectivity, often entwining a law plot and a love plot. Berlant recognized how structural, functional, and political norms synergize and shape subjectivity.

Notable books authored by Berlant include The Female Complaint: The Unfinished Business of Sentimentality in American Culture (2004); The Anatomy of National Fantasy: Hawthorne, Utopia, and Everyday Life (1991); and The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship (1997).

Berlant passed away on June 28, 2021, from a rare form of cancer at the age of 63.

The information cited in this section was retrieved from The University of Chicago in 2021. https://news.uchicago.edu/story/lauren-berlant-preeminent-literary-scholar-and-cultural-theorist-1957-2021

Access & Use

Access to the collection: There are no restrictions on access, 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.
Use of the materials: All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, available on the John Hay Library website or by request, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Lauren Berlant papers, Ms.2015.009, Brown University Library.
Contact information: John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: Gift of Lauren Berlant beginning in 2014.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Amanda Knox, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for the Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-07-01.
Descriptive rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sponsor: Curatorial work and processing provided by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women on behalf of the Feminist Theory Archive, Brown University Library.

Additional Information

Inventory


Series 1. Personal and Biographical, 1983-2019

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 5 Article about Berlant: "What They Talk About When They Talk About Love"
1991
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 1 Articles about Berlant
1991, 2019
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 2 Award: American Academy of Arts and Sciences; includes correspondence and induction program [see oversize folder for actual award]
2018
Box [31236104061802] 5, Item 1 Award: Norman Maclean Faculty Award
2019
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 9 Class Notes: "Publics and Privates," by MW and Lauren Berlant
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 13 Correspondence from E. G. Crichton; includes photo slides
1991-1999
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 14 Correspondence from Elizabeth Stephens; includes photo slides
1992-1997
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 15 Correspondence from "Harry;" includes photo slides
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 3 Correspondence from various senders: topics include thank you and birthday notes
1989-2019
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 11 Correspondence to T. Mitchell, Chair of the English Department at the University of Chicago
1990
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 10 Correspondence to Wendy Korwin at Pembroke Center Archives, Brown University
2015
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 12 Correspondence with Michael Warner from Duke University
1994
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 16 Ephemera & Photos
1983-1989
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 4 Interview with Berlant in Tank Magazine
2014
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 6 Interviews with/about Berlant
1986-2008
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 5 Notebook from "Eve"
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 17 Photograph: Berlant and Colleagues
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 18 Photograph: Lauren Berlant
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 6 Photos of Berlant
n.d.

Series 2. Administrative & Career Development, 1985-2019

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 9 Professorship materials: Leverhulme Visiting Professorship
2002
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 13 Studies and groups materials
1992-2000
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 14 Faculty for Divestment from South Africa materials
1985-1987
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 7 Programs for various events
2017-2019

Series 3. Conferences, 1996-2019

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 18 ADE Western Summer Seminar, The University of Utah
1996
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 15 The CSST Colloquium
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 19 Emergent Publics, ERSC Research Seminar Series Seminar 3; Public Feelings: notes
2009
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 20 Forms of Attachment: Affect at the Limits of the Political
2012
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 10 Pleasureless: a queer symposium: program and handwritten notes
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 8 Psychological Prosthetics: helping you handle your emotional baggage in political times: packet
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 21 Rethinking Sex, University of Pennsylvania
2009
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 9 The Soup is on: Experiment in Critical Practice: pamphlet with cuts from The Hundreds
2019
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 17 You Hurt My Feelings: Anxiety, Urgency, Outrage, Hope... A Conference on Political Feeling: posters
Access restrictions:

This folder is currently unavailable.


2007

Series 4. Teaching, 1961-2015

Container Description Date
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 11 Advanced Theories of Gender and Sexuality: syllabus
2015
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 6 Afro-American Women Writers: course materials (1 of 2)
1989
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 7 Afro-American Women Writers: course materials (2 of 2)
1989
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 2 After Great Pains: course materials
2001
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 10 American Women and Waiting: course materials
1990
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 3 Anthropology 319/Political Science 317: course materials and materials on Gender, Reason, and Nuclear Policy workshop
1989
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 4 Bad Originals of Godey's Lady's Book: course materials
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 12 Comedy Central 2: The Body's Genres: syllabus
n.d.
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 11 Early American Novel: course materials (1 of 2)
1988
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 12 Early American Novel: course materials (2 of 2)
1988
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 8 English 306: course materials
1995
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 14 English 553: packet
1987
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 18 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials (1 of 4)
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 1 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials (2 of 4)
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 2 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials (3 of 4)
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 3 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials (4 of 4)
n.d.
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 15 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials
1991
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 16 Feminism and the Public Sphere: course materials
1991
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 17 Feminism and the Public Sphere: Uris Library book reserve list
1994
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 17 Feminist Theory/Feminist Practice: course materials
1988
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 3 General Studies in the Humanities, Problems in Gender Studies-1: course materials
1995
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 13 Hawthorne and the Representation of Power: course materials
n.d.
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 9 The Intimate Public Sphere: course materials
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 13 Queer Arts after Stonewall: syllabus
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 14 Theories of Sex and Gender: syllabus
n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 15 The United States Historical Novel, 19th Century: sylabus
2011
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 1 Various courses: annotated copies of Godey's Lady's Book
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 27 Various courses: art & photographs.
1990-1999
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 11 Various courses: articles
n.d.
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 18 Various courses: "Caper-Sauce: A Volume of Chit-Chat about Men, Women, and Things" by Fanny Fern
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 12 Various courses: "Fanny Fern: A Memorial Volume Containing Her Select Writings and a Memoir" by Jamer Parton (1 of 2)
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 13 Various courses: "Fanny Fern: A Memorial Volume Containing Her Select Writings and a Memoir" by James Parton (2 of 2)
n.d.
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 19 Various courses: "Folly as it Flies; Hit at" by Fanny Fern
1868
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 4 Various courses: "Gabriel Over the White House" by Thomas Frederic Tweed
1933
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 2 Various courses: Gender and Sex Reader
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 4 Various courses: Godey's Lady's Book and Ladies' American Magazine
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 5 Various courses: Godey's Lady's Book and Ladies' Book and Magazine
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 6 Various courses: Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 7 Various courses: Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 8 Various courses: Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 9 Various courses: Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 14 Various courses: "Pencil Shavings" by Olive Higgins Prouty
1961
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 1 Various courses: "Rose Clark" by Fanny Fern
n.d.
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 10 Various courses: "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
1962
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 7 Various courses: student evaluations, Cornell University
1981-1982
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 8 Various courses: student evaluations, University of Chicago
1986-1991
Box [31236073964358] 2, Folder 5 Various courses: syllabi
1988-2012
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 15 Various courses: Woman's Coming of Age, A Symposium by S. Schmalhauden and V. F. Calverton (1 of 2)
1931
Box [31236073964366] 3, Folder 16 Various courses: Woman's Coming of Age, A Symposium by S. Schmalhauden and V. F. Calverton (2 of 2)
1931

Series 5. Writings, circa 1980-2019

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 1 Poetry
Access restrictions:

This folder is currently unavailable.


n.d.
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 16 Poetry
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 2 Poetry: "Series of Sonnets by Tom, Occasionally with Lauren"
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 3 Prose
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 4 Publications: critical writings & drafts (1 of 3)
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 5 Publications: critical writings & drafts (2 of 3)
Access restrictions:

This folder is currently unavailable.


n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 6 Publications: critical writings & drafts (3 of 3)
1987
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 7 Publications: selected publications
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 25 Talk: Testimony and Ineloquence: drafts
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 24 Talk: Remembering Love, Forgetting Everything Else: draft
n.d.
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 16 Talk: unidentified title(s): notes
n.d.

Series 6. Research, 1942-1997

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 22 Improving Higher Education: research materials
1989-1991
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 23 NOW/ACLU: research materials
Access restrictions:

This folder is currently unavailable.


1995
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 8 Various topics: annotated articles
1971-1997
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 10 Various topics: magazine articles
1942-1994
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 12 Various topics: magazine articles
1991-1996
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 11 Various topics: magazine articles and historical documents
1923-1989

Series 7. Print Materials, 1922-2019

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964341] 1, Folder 26 Book: The American Citizen's Handbook by Joy Elmer Morgan
1968
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 17 Book: The American Historical Novel
1950
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 18 Book: The Anti-Capitalism Reader
2002
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 19 Book: El Corazon de la Nacion
2011
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 20 Book: Cultural Studies and Political Theory
2000
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 21 Book: Reading Sedgwick
2019
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 22 Book: This Sex Which is Not One
1977
Box [31236104061802] 5, Folder 23 Book: United States Army Training Manual number 1: Studies in Citizenship for Recruits
1922
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 1 Book: Zines! volume 1
1996
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 2 Journal: differences: Difference: Reading Barbara Johnson volume 17 number 3
2006
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 3 Journal: Modern Philology volume 88 number 1
1990
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 4 Zine: Tropical Treatments
1997

Series 8. Ephemera, n.d.

Container Description Date
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 5 T shirt: "Depressed? It might be political"
n.d.
Box [31236104061794] 6, Folder 6 T shirt: "Soup on"
n.d.

Series 8. Oversize Materials, circa 1980-2018

Container Description Date
Folder [31236104062339] Pembroke Center Archives catch-all oversize box 3XXX Award: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2018
Folder [31236104062339] Pembroke Center Archives catch-all oversize box 3XXX Posters for conferences and lectures

Series 9. Electronic Records, 1991-2012

Container Description Date
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 19 Audio Cassette Tape: Lauren Berlant, Public Lecture, 05/22/03 (1 of 2)
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 20 Audio Cassette Tape: Lauren Berlant, Public Lecture, 05/22/03 (2 of 2)
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 21 3.5" Computer Diskette: "Feminist Theory Fall, '91" / "Film Research"
1991-1992
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 22 3.5" Computer Diskette: "Lauren's Stuff"
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 23 CD-R: "Female Complaint," MS_1
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 24 CD-R: "Now, Voyager" Ads
n.d.
Box [31236073964374] 4, Folder 25 CD-ROM: BBC Radio Podcast on "Thinking Allowed," "Cruel Optimism."
February 2012