Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project, 1971-2006
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Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project
Creation of Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project
Time of Creation of Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project
Biographical History for: Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project
Project History The Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project began as a discussion in the Population, Reproductive Health, and Family Planning section of the American Public Health Association in the late 1990s. In her newsletter message to the section membership, Deborah R. McFarlane, then chair, discussed the need for archiving the papers of people in the field who were retiring and asked for ideas. Jack C. Smith, an eminent statistician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), read the column and called Deborah. "Not only do the papers of prominent people in our field need to be saved," he said, "but we need to save their stories. These stories are far more compelling than statistics." Jack convinced Deborah and many others of the need to conduct an oral history project with leaders in the population and reproductive health movements. Peggy Curlin in Nepal, n.d. Jack retired shortly after and spent the next several years looking for an appropriate repository, speaking with oral historians, professional organizations, and friends in the field. He secured funding for a pilot project interviewing the directors of the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC: these interviews were conducted by Rebecca Sharpless, director of the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University. Sadly, Jack died in October 2000, but not before he had identified the Sophia Smith Collection (SSC) at Smith College--following discussions with its director, Sherrill Redmon--as the best place to preserve the interviews and make them available for research. He was impressed with the commitment of the SSC to documenting the history of women's health and the reproductive rights movement and felt that the project's records would be a logical complement to the SSC's impressive holdings on the subject, including the Margaret Sanger Papers, the archives of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and many other collections. In 2001, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, in Menlo Park, California, generously awarded funding to Deborah R. McFarlane of the University of New Mexico for this project. Dr. J. Joseph Speidel, then population program director at Hewlett, has continued to assist the project with his connections to key figures throughout the field. To preserve the accounts and papers of pioneers in population and reproductive health, McFarlane enlisted the support of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College and the Institute of Oral History at Baylor University. The thirty-eight interviews were conducted by Rebecca Sharpless and Deborah McFarlane between 2002 and 2005. The oral history tapes and transcripts arrived at the SSC beginning in 2005, where they were edited and processed by oral historian Revan Schendler. Some of narrators in the Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project have agreed to donate their papers to the SSC. Others will donate their papers to the Francis Countway Library of Medicine at Harvard University, or other appropriate archives. Where known, this information is included in the list of narrators.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project, funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, includes accounts of individuals throughout the world who have made important contributions to the field. Reflecting the voices and perspectives of advocates, communication specialists, lawyers, managers, physicians, researchers, social workers and others, the series addresses the historical period 1965-2005. There are forty-one audio recorded interviews with complete transcripts for each. Project records include correspondence and emails between project staff and narrators; and biographical materials, some of which include writings. Jack Smith's professional files include memoranda, emails, correspondence, newsletters, reports, database searches, and project proposals pertaining to the planning and execution of the History Project. They also document some of the important events in the history of the reproductive health movement since 1965. Also included are writings by Deborah McFarlane. Selected transcripts have been digitized and are available on the SSC Web site.
Abortion--History--Sources
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Birth control--History--Sources
Birth control--Law and legislation--History--Sources
Birth control--Research
Contraceptives--History
Oral histories
Population assistance--Developing countries
Reproductive health--History--Sources
Reproductive health--Developing countries
Pro-choice movement--History--Sources
Alauddin, Mohammad
lcnaf
Benshoof, Janet
Camp, Sharon
Cates, Willard
Concepcion, Mecedes
Curlin, Peggy
Darney, Philip D.
David, Henry P.
Delano, Grace Ebun
DeSarno, Judith
Donaldson, Peter J.
Duke, Robin Chandler Lynn
Dunlop, Joan
Frank, Richard
Germain, Adrienne
Gillespie, Duff
Gillespie, Robert
Jaramillo, Mario
Johnson, J. Timothy
Kabir, Sandra
Kissling, Frances, 1943-
Maguire, Elizabeth
Minto, Lee
Morris, Leo
Neuse, Margaret
Pellegrom, Daniel E.
Piotrow, Phyllis Tilson
Potts, Malcolm, 1935-
Ravenholt, Reimert T., 1925-
Richards, Cory L.
Rogers, Everett M.
Rosenfield, Allan
Rosoff, Jeannie Isabelle
Sadik, Nafis
Sai, Fred T.
Scruggs, Stirling
Seims, Sara
Sheeran, Patrick J.
Sinding, Steven W.
Speidel, J. Joseph (John Joseph), 1937-
Viravaidya, Mechai
McFarlane, Deborah R., 1951-
Sharpless, Rebecca
Smith, Jack, 1941-2000
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.). Division of Reproductive Health
International Conference on Population and Development (1994 : Cairo, Egypt)
Alan Guttmacher Institute
Catholics for a Free Choice (Organization)
Centre for Development and Population Activities
International Planned Parenthood Federation
International Women's Health Coalition
Population Action International
United Nations Fund for Population Activities
USAID. Office of Population and Reproductive Health
Sophia Smith Collection
series
SERIES I. ADMINISTRATIVE FILES AND PROJECT HISTORY
Jack Smith's administrative files: memoranda, emails, correspondence, newsletters, reports, database searches, and project proposals pertaining to the planning and execution of the initial phases of the project, 1971-2000
Freeman, Ronald: curriculum vitae, and correspondence, 2004
McFarlane, Deborah: writings and notes, 2001, n.d.
Smith, Jack: curriculum vitae, n.d.
Baylor University: original transcripts (unedited) on DVD, 2005
Sophia Smith Collection project files, circa 2005-07
SERIES II. INTERVIEWS AND BACKGROUND MATERIALS
[Closed until December 31, 2015]
Concepción, Mercedes
Darney, Philip
[Closed]
Duke, Robin Chandler
[Restricted pages removed until April 15, 2014]
Jarmillo, Mario
Kissling, Frances
Neuse, Margaret [Closed until January 1, 2020]
Potts, Malcolm
Ravenholt, Reimert Thorolf
[Closed until January 1, 2030]
Sinding, Steven
Speidel, J. Joseph
SERIES III. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS
[ORIGINAL TAPES CLOSED]
Allaudin, Benshoof, Camp
Cates, Concepción, Curlin
Darney, David
Delano, Duke
Donaldson, Dunlop
Frank, Germain, Gillespie, D.
Gillespie, R., Jarmillo, Johnson
Kabir, Kissling, Maguire
Morris, Neuse, Pellegrom
Ravenholt
Piotrow, Richards
Rogers, Rosenfield, Rosoff, Sadik, Sai
Scruggs, Seims, Sheeran
Sinding, Speidel, Viravaidya, DeSarno, Minto