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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 504

Papers of Maren Lockwood Carden, 1969-1979

Overview

Papers of Maren Lockwood Carden, sociologist, feminist, and author of The New Feminist Movement.

Dates

  • Creation: 1969-1979

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

TERMS OF USE

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright is held by Maren Lockwood Carden. 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

3.13 linear feet (7 + 1/2 file boxes)

The collection consists primarily of research material gathered by Carden for her book, The New Feminist Movement. In addition, it includes papers gathered for Feminism in the Mid-1970's: The Non-establishment, the Establishment, and the Future, her subsequent study of the women's movement for the Ford Foundation.

The collection has been divided into two series: Series I, The New Feminist Movement and Series II, Research interests and professional work.

Series I, The New Feminist Movement (#1.1-7.5), consists of interview and research notes, correspondence with colleagues and her publisher, and printed material and notes about women's organizations and centers. For her study, Carden interviewed over a hundred men and women active in the movement from seven major cities: Boston, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. This series contains some of her notes from these interviews, as well as legal release forms for the deposit of the notes at the Schlesinger Library. It has been divided into four subseries. Subseries A, Correspondence, is open to research.

Subseries A, Correspondence (#1.1), consists of correspondence with her publisher, the Russell Sage Foundation, and colleagues about The New Feminist Movement. Included are reviews of the book, revisions of text, and a questionnaire about the book.

Subseries B, Research notes (#1.2-2.11), contains Carden's notes from primary and secondary sources such as feminist periodicals and other printed material. The subseries includes six notebooks containing names of activists and contact information as well notes about these individuals. There are also charts and notes analyzing and comparing periodicals, women's organizations, and the activists interviewed, as well as calendars of events and conference notes.

Subseries C, Interviews (#2.12-4.4), contains notes from Carden's interviews with activists and drafts of interview questions. These interviews were originally organized in two bundles and a folder; the interviews in the bundles appear to be second drafts of the interviews in the folder. They have been arranged together in alphabetical order. Also included are release forms that Carden sent to the men and women she interviewed. The forms provided the interviewee the opportunity to grant or deny permission to deposit the notes from the interview at the library, place restrictions on the use of the notes, and retain or relinquish his or her literary rights. Correspondence relating to the permission form is also included in this subseries. Some notes from interviews are also included in Subseries B and D.

Subseries D, Organizations (#4.5-7.5), contains meeting notes, mailings, reports, printed material, and membership lists for women's organizations and centers. The organizations for which there is a significant amount of material have been listed alphabetically. The material for the National Organization for Women has been divided geographically. Carden's notes and printed material on smaller women's liberation organizations (centers, etc.) have also been grouped geographically. In addition, this subseries contains Carden's notes about members of the various organizations. It appears that some of these notes may have been from formal interviews. Since it is unclear whether the notes were from a lecture, a conversation, or a formal interview, the notes have been left with the organization with which the individual was associated and his or her name has been included in the title of the folder. There is considerable overlap with Subseries C.

Series II, Research interests and professional work (#8.1-8.20), contains correspondence, notes, and printed material related to Carden's interest and involvement in the women's movement and her work as a sociologist. The series is divided into two subseries:

Subseries A, Feminism in the Mid-1970's (#8.1-8.12), contains research material gathered by Carden for Feminism in the Mid-1970's: The Non-establishment, the Establishment, and the Future. For this study, Carden requested printed material from women's organizations, read women's periodicals and directories, and attended the national conference of the National Organization for Women (1975). Also included is correspondence with women's organizations (including NOW task forces and various chapters) and accompanying printed material, as well as notes from the 1975 NOW national conference.

Subseries B, Other research and professional work (#8.13-8.20), contains drafts and a copy of a questionnaire written by Carden for use by chapters of NOW. Also included is correspondence, a job application, a certificate commemorating Carden's listing in The World Who's Who of Women, and two notebooks listing notes and contact information for various organizations, scientific research firms, and companies, etc.

Reading and research notes from Carden's graduate study at Harvard in sociology and psychology were given to the Harvard University Archives. Newsletters from organizations such as the National Organization for Women were incorporated into Schlesinger Library's periodical collection.

Original phrases and folder titles by the donor appear in quotation marks. All other information was provided by the processor.

BIOGRAPHY

Maren Lockwood Carden, sociologist, received her B.Sc. from the University of London (1955), her master's degree in sociology from the University of Maryland (1957), and her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University (1963). Carden received a variety of grants, and was a Whitney Fellow at Radcliffe College in 1961 as well as a Radcliffe Institute Fellow from 1970 to 1972. She taught at SUNY/Buffalo, Boston University, Yale University, and Long Island University.

Carden's research interests included social reform movements, sociology of religion, and social change. In 1969, she published Oneida: Utopian Community to Modern Corporation. She considered herself a feminist, and was active in the National Organization for Women in the Boston area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this period, she researched and wrote The New Feminist Movement, published in 1974. For this study, she interviewed over a hundred women and men involved in the feminist movement.

After publishing The New Feminist Movement, Carden completed a report for the Ford Foundation entitled Feminism in the Mid-1970's: The Non-establishment, the Establishment, and the Future (published in 1977).

Physical Location

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 81-M210

These papers were given to Schlesinger Library by Maren Lockwood Carden between 1980 and 1981.

Processing Information

Processed: June 2004

By: Paula K. Aloisio

Title
Carden, Maren Lockwood. Papers of Maren Lockwood Carden, 1969-1979: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
Sponsor
Processing of this collection was made possible by a gift from the Radcliffe College Class of 1968.
EAD ID
sch00327

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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