Tagged: activism

New Acquisitions: Taller de Gráfica Popular

Special Collections and University Archives has recently acquired two works published by the Taller de Gráfica Popular, an artist’s print collective founded in 1937 in Mexico that produces art for political and revolutionary social causes, including anti-militarism, organized labor, and anti-fascism

Taller de Gráfica Popular (Spanish: “People’s Graphic Workshop”) was established by the artists Leopoldo Méndez, Pablo O’Higgins, and Luis Arenal after the dissolution of Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (LEAR, Revolutionary Writers’ and Artists’ League), a group of artists who supported the Mexican Revolution. TGP’s print shop specialized in linoleum and woodblock printing, often working collaboratively among members and international artists.

These works complement the collection objective of building on strengths in political activism and counter-culture. Much of the artwork also touches on cross-border and borderland issues between the United States and Mexico.

El Taller de Gráfica Popular: Doce años de obra artística colectiva (Mexico City, 1949)

A catalog of works produced by TGP between 1937-1949

The catalog “The Workshop for Popular Graphic Art: A Record of Twelve Years of Collective Work” was published in Mexico City in 1949 by La Estampa Mexicana, the TGP’s imprint for the sale of political posters, prints, song lyrics, and poetry. The catalog is bound in a spiral-bound album, and contains black and white illustrations with text in Spanish and English. The catalog also contains five original wood engravings signed in pencil by the artists Alfredo Zalce, Alberto Beltrán, G. Fernandez Ledesma, Francisco Mora and Carlos Merida.

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New Finding Aid | Occupy Eugene collection

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce a new finding aid published for the Occupy Eugene collection (Coll 484). The finding aid is now available on Archives West.

Buttons, pins, name badges related to Occupy Eugene
[Artifacts, Occupy Eugene collection, Box 3, Coll 484, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.]
The Occupy Eugene collection contains notes, agendas, contact lists, speeches, campaign plans, drafted proposals, reports, event lists, correspondence, photographs, DVDs, posters, handmade signs, fliers, handouts, clippings, newsletters, guides for protesting, chants, and documentation relating to other Occupy movements throughout the United States.

The Occupy Eugene movement began in 2011 with the aim to invoke “accountability and responsibility in government.” In line with Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Eugene protested global banks and corporations arguing that these entities “embody the process that causes untold misery among 99% of the people for the benefit of top tenth of one percent with incomprehensible wealth.” The Eugene movement also supported a campaign to decriminalize homelessness. Protesters occupied local parks, including Millrace and Alton Baker.

Source: Occupy Eugene General Assembly. (2011). Vision statement. Retrieved from https://occupyeugenemedia.org/vision-statement/

Collection Highlight | Oregon Women’s Political History Collection

 

Political poster that reads "Win with Women"
Political poster, Oregon Women’s Political Caucus Records, Coll 369, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon

In honor of Women’s History Month, Special Collections and University Archives is highlighting the Oregon Women’s Political History Collection.

The Oregon Women’s Political History Collection comprises over a dozen individual manuscript collections. These collections constitute over 200 linear feet of manuscript material and represent women’s political and activist work in Oregon in the latter half of the twentieth century.  The collection was started in the 1990s as a collaborative collection development effort among UO Libraries, the Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS), and the Friends of the Oregon Women’s Political History Collection.

The collections include:

  •  Anderson, Jean Fuller Papers (Coll 312) 1978-1990, Finding aid
  • Davis, Eleanor Papers (Coll 351) 1963-1989  Finding aid
  • Dost, Jeanne Papers (Coll 366) 1972-1988  Finding aid
  • Dunn, Nancy Papers (Coll 362) 1986-1990  Finding aid
  • Eugene Women’s Crisis Center Records (Coll 313) 1977-1991  Finding aid
  • Fadeley, Nancy Papers (Coll 349) 1971-1989  Finding aid
  • Frye, Helen Papers (Coll 348) 1971-2011  Finding aid
  • Hendriksen, Margie Papers (Coll 365) 1971-1992  Finding aid
  • Kafoury, Gretchen Papers (Coll 353) 1971-1983  Finding aid
  • Milligan, Marian Papers (Coll 370) 1974-1983  Finding aid
  • Novick, Jane Papers (Coll 368) 1968-1990  Finding aid
  • Oregon Now Records (Coll 371) 1971-2006  Finding aid
  • Oregon Women’s Political Caucus Records (Coll 369) 1971-1999  Finding aid
  • Ryles, Nancy Papers (Coll 364) 1972-1990  Finding aid

Political pamphlet that says "We have a lot to win"Pol,tical button that says "I'm pro-choice and I vote"The activist women represented in these collections worked to increase women’s political engagement in Oregon and empower women to fully participate in elective politics and government agencies at the local, county, and state levels. The story of women’s political work in Oregon in the mid-to-late twentieth century has not been fully told; these primary documents–the sources necessary for the writing of history–are essential to that process. Through support by LSTA funding administered by the Oregon State Library, grant project staff were able to process, catalog, and publish finding aids for these collections and provide access to these collections.

Researchers can find out more about related SCUA collections documenting Women, Gender, and Sexuality in our research guides.

New Accessions: La Follette papers

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce accessions of new poetical works in the Cameron La Follette papers. The finding aid for this collection (Coll 432) is available here.

Cameron La Follette is a graduate of the University of Oregon in 1984 and received a J.D. in Law from Columbia and a M.S. in Psychology from New York University. La Follette is a notable environmental activist in the state of Oregon who currently works as the Executive Director for the Oregon Coast Alliance. Her efforts in coastline preservation have also included work for the Coastal Futures Project for 1000 Friends of Oregon and the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition.

Cover of Anamchara (2006) by Cameron La Follette.

La Follette is also a prolific poet whose work is intertwined with her environmental activism. La Follette has had one book of poetry published, in 2006, entitled Anamchara, of which SCUA has a copy. SCUA also holds a complete archive of La Follette’s poetry, which includes many hundreds of pieces. The collection includes original manuscript drafts, notebooks and typescripts of her poetry on the subjects of spirit, myth, and nature. La Follette also leads a Classical Poetry Group in her home of Salem, Oregon. This collection showcases an Oregonian environmental perspective in professional and creative works, both of which uniquely inspire and inform the other.

 

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The Bureaucracy and Red Tape: President Boyd’s Obstacles to Change at UO

This is the eighth of a series of blog posts highlighting the ongoing work of the Documenting UO History Project within the University Archives. A major part of this project is researching and documenting the often untold and hidden histories of the university’s diverse and underrepresented communities. This year our focus will continue to highlight Black history on campus, specifically Black student activism from the 1960s to present. Prior posts can be seen here.

President Boyd and “Animal House Director John Landis 1977, Courtesy University of Oregon Libraries

President William Beaty Boyd served as the University of Oregon President from 1975 to 1980. Boyd is remembered for restructuring the universities administration, and giving the provost predominant control of daily operations. He also worked with production crews from the creators of “Animal House,” and secured a contract so that the Oregon campus could serve as a backdrop for the film. Boyd’s tenure followed an incredibly contentious time for the university, though Boyd enjoyed a relatively calm period for the university. This post highlights his brief tenure and specific achievements related to committees and minority activism.

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