Immediate Source of Acquisition
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Arrangement
Biographical Information
Scope and Content
Preferred Citation
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Title:
Norma
Alarcón
Papers
Creator:
Alarcón,
Norma
Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 110
Physical Description:
21 Linear Feet
(55 document boxes and 6 oversize boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1935-2003
Abstract: Consists of 61 boxes containing records related to Third Woman Press, Helaine Victoria Press, and fempress including correspondence,
unpublished manuscripts, interviews, photographs, research notes, grants, and reviews related to Third Woman Press. Other
materials include academic records, academic journals, personal photographs, brochures, organizational files, and other ephemera
spanning from c. 1935-2003.
Language of Material: This collection is largely in English with some materials in Spanish and Portuguese.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of
Norma
Alarcón
, 2007.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Arrangement
The container list is arranged by subject and contents are described mostly at the item level. The five major series include:
- Personal and Biographical
- Academic
- Writing and Writers
- Research Files
- Audiovisual Files
Sub-series are broken down by content type - such as correspondence, periodicals, photographs, etc. - by type of publication,
or by place. Files are physically arranged in numerical order according to folder number rather than being grouped into their
series. One may need to request more than one box to access folders within the same series.
Biographical Information
Norma
Alarcon
is a celebrated writer and publisher and is a leading Chicana feminist. She was founder and publisher of Third Woman Press
that began as a journal in 1979 and became one of the most influential literary journals in Latina feminist literature. Between
1984 and 2004, Third Woman Press published more than thirty books and anthologies giving voice to Latina writers such as Sandra
Cisneros, Ana Castillo, and Gloria Anzaldua.
Alarcón was born in Villa Frontera in Coahuila, Mexico, in 1943. In 1955, her family moved to San Antonio, Texas, for a short
time, then to Chicago, Illinois, where she later attended De Paul University and, subsequently, Indiana University where she
earned her B.A., M.A. and a Ph.D. with a focus on Spanish literature. The topic of her 1983 dissertation was, "Ninfomanía:
El Discurso Feminista en la Obra de Rosario Castellanos."
From 1983 to 1987, she was Assistant Professor of Spanish at Purdue University. From 1987 to 1991, during her teaching tenure
at UC Berkeley, she was Assistant Professor of Ethnic/Chicano Studies; then from 1991 to 1996 was Associate Professor of Ethnic/Chicano
Studies and Women's Studies. From 1996 until her retirement from the University of California in 2004, she was Professor of
Ethnic/Chicano Studies and Women's Studies.
Norma
Alarcon
is considered noteworthy for her great contributions to postmodern Chicana feminism.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of 61 boxes containing records related to Third Woman Press, Helaine Victoria Press, and fempress
including correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, photographs, research notes, grants, and reviews related to
Third Woman Press. Other materials include academic records, academic journals, personal photographs, brochures, organizational
files, and other ephemera spanning from c. 1935-2003.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item],
Norma
Alarcón
papers, CEMA 110. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Feminism
Feminism -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Feminism in art
Feminism -- United States
Feminism -- History -- Pictorial works
Chicana art
Chicanas
Chicano movement