Fonds F-162 - Frances Wasserlein fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Frances Wasserlein fonds

General material designation

  • Sound recordings
  • Photographic materials
  • Textual records

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  • Source of title proper: Title of the fonds is based on the name of the creator.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

F-162

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Date(s)

  • 1895 - 1990 (Creation)
    Creator
    Wasserlein, Frances

Physical description area

Physical description

75 cm of textual records
34 photographs : slides
22 sound recordings

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Name of creator

Biographical history

Frances Wasserlein is a feminist, historian and social activist. Her research and social activism has focused on issues surrounding women's liberation. She completed a Master of Arts degree in history at Simon Fraser University in 1990. Her thesis, "An Arrow Aimed at the Heart": the Vancouver Women's Caucus and the Abortion Campaign, 1969-1971, investigated the history of the Vancouver Women's Caucus (VWC) and their organizing work for the Abortion Caravan from Vancouver to Ottawa in 1970.

Wasserlein was raised in Vancouver. She graduated from the University Program at Little Flower Academy in 1964. Wasserlein acknowledges becoming a feminist in 1976. At the time she was working as a secretary at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her involvement with the union, and a summer job working at Vancouver Rape Relief contributed to an interest in social justice and social change. In April 1977 she left her job at UBC and began full time undergraduate studies at that university. She completed a BA (honors) in history in 1980.

During the summer of 1979 Wasserlein worked as a researcher for the Women's Office at UBC on a project related to the early contributions of women to the establishment of UBC and the role women played in student activism at the university. In 1979 and 1980 she worked with a small group of women to begin Battered Women's Support Services, providing self-help groups for women who were seeking an end to the violence that had driven them and their children from their homes.

After receiving her BA from UBC, Wasserlein worked for the YMCA as a co-manager of Munro House for eighteen months. Following that, she worked as a researcher and writer with the Women's Research Centre, working on studies related to the institutionalization of women's services. She supplemented her income by doing bookkeeping for various arts and non-profit organizations. Wasserlein worked on founding Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) in 1982. She was also involved in the work of Women Against the Budget in 1983, a political group opposed to the legislation tabled by the Social Credit government following their victory in the 1983 provincial election.

Her interest in the source of conflict between and among individual women activists, and between and among women's organizations, motivated her to seek out the source of these conflicts by examining the history of women's movements in Canada. In 1982, she applied for a Canada Council grant for a women's history project she wished to undertake. The grant application was turned down. In 1985 she enrolled in a Master of Arts degree program in history at Simon Fraser University. After completing her MA, Wasserlein taught women's studies at Langara College in Vancouver, BC until 1997. She has also worked as a sessional instructor at SFU. As of 2002, she was employed as the executive producer of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds consists primarily of records created during the writing of Wasserlein's MA thesis at SFU, "An Arrow Aimed at the Heart": the Vancouver Women's Caucus and the Abortion Campaign, 1969-1971, completed in 1990. The fonds also contains records related to other research Wasserlein was involved in, specifically her work with the UBC research project on non-academic women in 1979, and her application for a Canada Council grant in support of her own research project in 1982. Fonds includes taped interviews, transcripts, notes, drafts, correspondence, published materials, periodicals, and photographs. No records exist related to Wasserlein's activities with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Contents of the fonds were donated to the SFU Archives by Frances Wasserlein.

Arrangement

Original order was maintained where possible. In cases where no order was apparent, the archivist imposed an arrangement.

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Restrictions on access

Some files may contain personal or confidential information. Access to cassette interviews and transcripts is restricted until 2045, as stipulated by Archives policy or the donor. Files marked 'pending review' must be reviewed by an archivist prior to release, and as a result of the review access restrictions may apply. Please see the file lists and consult the archivist for more details.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Series descriptions and file and item lists are available.

Generated finding aid

Associated materials

The original accession contained material belonging to the fonds of Andrea Lebowitz, F-164; Candace Parker, F-165; and Anne Roberts, F-166. See the inventories for these fonds.

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Accruals

All accessions have been processed as of March 2006. No further accruals are expected.

General note

DATES OF CREATION
The dates given (1895-1990) reflect the dates of the documents, including published research material Wasserlein collected in the course of writing her thesis. Her files were mainly accumulated over the period 1979-1990.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Physical description: 34 photographs (slides) are located in file F-162-3-3-0-28.

TERMS OF USE AND REPRODUCTION
Copyright subsists in all or some of the records and the donor, Frances Wasserlein, has retained copyright ownership. Generally, the donor only owns copyright to the works s/he authored and not necessarily to all the records that comprise this fonds or collection. The Archives can make a single copy only for private study, research, or other fair dealing use by a patron. The donor has granted the Archives permission to release her contact information to those researchers wishing to ask permission to copy and use the copyright protected materials for a different purpose. Speak with the Reference Archivist for details.

Alternative identifier(s)

Wikidata identifier

Q100144173

Wikidata URL

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q100144173

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Status

Revised

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Finding aid prepared by Frances Fournier, Glenn Dingwall, Enid Britt (April 2002); revised by Lisa Beitel and Enid Britt (March 2006); items re-numbered, minor revisions to series descriptions (October 2012).

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