This collection consists of women’s rights buttons (1952-2000) and political buttons collected by feminist activist and historian, Karen Offen. The collection includes buttons that support women’s political campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and Barbara Boxer's senate campaign in the 1990s. Other themes include the commemoration of Women’s History Month, feminism, union activism, the Equal Rights Amendment, and a 1952 button supporting Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign.

Karen Offen received her Ph.D. from Stanford University and she is an independent historian and scholar, affiliated with thee Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. Her area of expertise is on the history of Modern Europe and specifically France and its global influences; Western thought and politics in relationship to family, gender, the status of women, historiography, women’s history, national, regional, global histories of feminism, and comparative history. She has published extensively in these areas and is editor of “Globalizing Feminisms, 1789-1945 (Routledge, 2010).

0.5 Linear feet 1 Box

Copyright has not been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

The collection is open for research.