Kathleen B. Jones Papers, 1977-2003 | Special Collections & University Archives: Finding Aid Database

Title: Kathleen B. Jones Papers, 1977-2003

ID: MS-0365

Created by: Jones, Kathleen B. (1949-)

Kathleen B. Jones was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1949. Dr. Jones received her BA in Political Science from Brooklyn College (1970), and her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School of the City University of New York (1978) before moving to California in 1980. Jones has been academically and politically active in the fields of women’s studies, politics and feminist theory since 1975. She started teaching at San Diego State University (SDSU) in 1980 and became a professor of Women’s Studies at SDSU in 1991. Jones was formerly the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Letters (1995-1998) and Chair of the Department of Women’s Studies (1993-1996). She was also a visiting Associate Professor of Women's Studies and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in the Spring of 1990 and 1991. In the fall of 1997 Jones was awarded a STINT Fellowship (Swedish Foundation for International Research and Higher Education,) as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Örebro, Sweden. She was also awarded a STINT Grant for four-years of research and teaching collaboration with the University of Örebro from 1998 to 2002.

As an activist-scholar, Jones was a research consultant for the San Diego County Violence Against Women Project, 1995-1996 and was appointed to the City of San Diego Commission on the Status of Women as a representative on the San Diego Domestic Violence Council from 1995-1998. She also co-chaired the San Diego Violence against Women Task Force, 1996-97. Jones scholarly work includes extensive unpublished research on violent homicides in nineteenth century San Diego.

In 1998, as Director of University Resources for the City Heights Pilot (Director, University-Wide Programs City Heights Education Pilot), Jones was involved in the public interview process for the annual production of the play Around the World in a Single Day (AWISD). This was a community-based venture produced in collaboration with SDSU’s Chicana/Chicano Studies Department, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and Hoover and Crawford High Schools. Along with a significant number of recorded community interviews, the completed projects consist of two plays recorded onto video (VHS): Around the World in a Single Day and Priceless.

As a scholar and public speaker, Jones has traveled nationally and internationally lecturing on such topics as women and leadership; gender and politics; women’s movement for social change; domestic violence; and related topics of contemporary political interest. In June 1999, Jones journeyed to South Africa as leader of a delegation organized by People to People Ambassador Programs, a U.S. based citizen-to-citizen exchange program. The delegation's purpose was to provide professionals with the opportunity to explore women's rights and women's struggles in the new South Africa. This venture culminated in the video and lecture "Women’s Rights, Women’s Struggles in the New South Africa," presented at William Paterson University, March, 2000.

Some of Jones’ published academic works include Compassionate Authority: Democracy and the Representation of Women, (Routledge, 1993), The Political Interests of Gender, (Sage, 1988), edited with Anna G. Jónasdóttir and Women Transforming Politics (New York University Press, 1997) edited with Cathy Cohen and Joan Tronto. She also co-edits the International Feminist Journal of Politics. Her most recent book is a memoir, Living Between Danger and Love, (Rutgers University Press, 2000) Jones was also the Co-Editor of International Feminist Journal of Politics.

Throughout her professional career, Jones has belonged to numerous professional organizations. These include the American Association of University Women; the American Political Science Association; the International Political Science Association; the International Studies Association; the International Women's Writing Guild; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Caucus, American Political Science Association, Program Chair, 1997-1998; the National Women's Studies Association; and the Women's Caucus, American Political Science Association.

Kathleen Jones is currently Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies at SDSU. Also as an ordained non-denominational minister, Jones provides marriage ceremonies through a service called Uncommon Ceremonies.Sources:
Biographical information about Kathleen B. Jones was retrieved from records in the collection, and from her personal website: Kathleen B. Jones http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/wsweb
/Kathy_Jones/bio.html, Retrieved July 12, 2006.

Arrangement: I. Academic, 1977-2003
II. Professional, 1984-2000
1. Community Projects, 1997-1999
2. Homicide Research, 1980-1989
3. Conferences/Outreach, 1997-2000

Extent: 8.59 Linear Feet

Finding Aid/Inventory
Series 1: Academic Files, 1977-2003
Series 2: Professional, 1984-2000

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Scope and Contents: The Kathleen B. Jones papers document Jones’ professional career as a Professor, Associate Dean at San Diego State University and as activist-scholar within the greater community. This collection provides researchers with documentation of some of the activities and the contributions Jones made to the area of feminist scholarship. The papers date from 1977 to 2003, with the bulk of the documents created in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection consists of academic papers related to courses Jones instructed; materials from community-based projects, including video records; and papers documenting Jones’ international work in South Africa and at the University of Örebro, Sweden. The collection has been divided into two series, ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL. The PROFESSIONAL series contains three sub-series: Community Projects, Homicide Research, and Conference/Outreach. The collection contains a number of video recordings, photographs, and posters.

The Academic series dates from 1977-2003, with the bulk of records created between 1981 and 1995, and includes materials from courses instructed by Jones. These materials include course syllabi, class notes and handouts, and course readers from classes at SDSU and University California, Berkeley (UCB). The majority of the courses are Women’s Studies classes, from both SDSU and UCB. This material has the potential to provide valuable historical and research information in the areas of Women’s Studies and feminist theory. There are also significant records of Political Science classes taught by Jones at SDSU. The series documents Jones’ involvement with the STINT Fellowship (Swedish Foundation for International Research and Higher Education,) when she was a visiting scholar at the University of Örebro, Sweden, from 1997-2000. The series also includes 72 video cassettes consisting of class lectures (from visiting professors), and educational material. The series is filed alphabetically by department, numerically by course number, and chronologically within each course.

The Professional series dates from 1984-2000, and includes material documenting Jones’ professional involvement in the national and international community. The series includes three sub-series: Community Projects (1984-1998), Homicide Research (1980-1989), and Conference/Outreach (1997-2000). The Community Projects files contain materials documenting Jones’ involvement with the Eleanor Roosevelt Centennial Celebration held at SDSU in 1984, interviews she conducted with the San Diego City Council in 1987, and notes from her Around the World in a Single Day (AWISD) project, when Jones’ was Director of University Resources for the City Heights Pilot from 1997-1999. The Homicide Research sub-series includes research Jones did into homicides in San Diego in the late 19th century. It includes newspaper accounts of murders from the San Diego Union, 1870-1900, and a number of data-information sheets pertaining to each of the published homicides. Jones compiled the files in the 1980s. The Conferences/Outreach subseries documents Jones’ involvement in a conference titled Women Transforming the Public, held in Santa Barbara in 1999, and her involvement in South Africa in 1997-2000, including some material from the People to People Ambassador program (a citizen-to-citizen exchange program), the news journal Lola Press, the South African newspaper The Star, and numerous brochures and pamphlets regarding the abuse and rape of South African women. The materials are not particularly extensive, but do provide some insight into the plight of women in South Africa at the turn of the twenty-first century. Records in this series are filed by subject.