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- Oral Histories
Interview with Bonnie Zimmerman Ph.D., 2010
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ZIMMERMAN-2010
Interview with Bonnie Zimmerman Ph.D., 2010
2010-09-07
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Interviewer: Resnik, Susan
An oral history conducted by Susan Resnik, Ph.D. with former San Diego State University Professor and Administrator Bonnie Zimmerman on September 7, 2010.
In 1978, Doctor Zimmerman accepted a position as a temporary lecturer at SDSU's groundbreaking Women's Studies department--the first Women's Studies program in the country.
She went on to become a professor and eventually chair of the department, and came to be recognized as one of the nation's top lesbian scholars. Zimmerman became well known for her published articles, including "What Has Never Been: An Overview of Lesbian Feminist Literary Criticism," has been anthologized in the Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism.
She also published numerous books, including Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia; The New Lesbian Studies: Into the 21st Century; Professions of Desire; Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature; and The Safe Sea of Women: Lesbian Fiction, 1969 to 1989. She has also been an active member of the Modern Language Association and the National Women's Studies Association, of which she served as president in 1998 and 1999. From 2003 until 2010, she was associate Vice-president of Faculty Affairs, having previously served as the chair of the university senate.
Doctor Zimmerman has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Most Influential Faculty Awards in English and Comparative Literature in 1982, and in Women's Studies in 1985, 1990, and 1999. She was also the recipient of the Lambda Literary Award and Emily Toth Award in 1991, as well as the Positive Visibility Award from GLAAD in 1996. Her contribution and service to the university have been recognized in such honors as the Alumni Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to the University in 2003, and the Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004. Doctor Zimmerman retired in 2010.
In her oral history, Zimmerman recollects her childhood and higher education, particularly her formative experience as a graduate student at SUNY Buffalo, where she discovered consciousness-raising groups and the women's liberation movement for the first time. She also reflects on her satisfying 32-year long career at San Diego State University. She recounts her job interview to be a lecturer in the nation's first-ever Women's Studies department, and talks about some of the landmark articles she published as a faculty member which led to her being recognized as a preeminent lesbian scholar. Finally, Zimmerman discusses her transition to administrative leadership roles within the university senate and Office of Faculty Affairs, and what it's like to be entering retirement.
This oral history was made possible by a grant from the John and Jane Adams Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the University Archives Multimedia Files Collection.
In 1978, Doctor Zimmerman accepted a position as a temporary lecturer at SDSU's groundbreaking Women's Studies department--the first Women's Studies program in the country.
She went on to become a professor and eventually chair of the department, and came to be recognized as one of the nation's top lesbian scholars. Zimmerman became well known for her published articles, including "What Has Never Been: An Overview of Lesbian Feminist Literary Criticism," has been anthologized in the Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism.
She also published numerous books, including Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia; The New Lesbian Studies: Into the 21st Century; Professions of Desire; Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature; and The Safe Sea of Women: Lesbian Fiction, 1969 to 1989. She has also been an active member of the Modern Language Association and the National Women's Studies Association, of which she served as president in 1998 and 1999. From 2003 until 2010, she was associate Vice-president of Faculty Affairs, having previously served as the chair of the university senate.
Doctor Zimmerman has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Most Influential Faculty Awards in English and Comparative Literature in 1982, and in Women's Studies in 1985, 1990, and 1999. She was also the recipient of the Lambda Literary Award and Emily Toth Award in 1991, as well as the Positive Visibility Award from GLAAD in 1996. Her contribution and service to the university have been recognized in such honors as the Alumni Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to the University in 2003, and the Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004. Doctor Zimmerman retired in 2010.
In her oral history, Zimmerman recollects her childhood and higher education, particularly her formative experience as a graduate student at SUNY Buffalo, where she discovered consciousness-raising groups and the women's liberation movement for the first time. She also reflects on her satisfying 32-year long career at San Diego State University. She recounts her job interview to be a lecturer in the nation's first-ever Women's Studies department, and talks about some of the landmark articles she published as a faculty member which led to her being recognized as a preeminent lesbian scholar. Finally, Zimmerman discusses her transition to administrative leadership roles within the university senate and Office of Faculty Affairs, and what it's like to be entering retirement.
This oral history was made possible by a grant from the John and Jane Adams Endowment for the Humanities and is part of the University Archives Multimedia Files Collection.
Bonnie Zimmerman; Susan Resnik; Professors; Administrators; Oral Histories; Interviews; Women's studies; Lesbian studies; Women's liberation movement; Office of Faculty Affairs; Indiana University; Radical politics; University at Buffalo; Consciousness-raising groups; Liz Kennedy; Queer theory; San Diego State University; Patricia Huckle; Lois Kessler; Feminist Follies; San Diego Lesbian Organization; SDLO; Lesbian feminist literary criticism; Lesbians; Elsie B. Adams; Karl Keller; Edith Benkov; Thomas Day; Lynne V. Cheney; The Safe Sea of Women (book); Jewish culture; National Women's Studies Association; Faculty Senate; Ethan Singer; Women's wardrobes
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- Oral Histories
San Diego State Oral Histories
MS-0296
English
Digital
02:05:51
Yes
ZIMMERMAN-2010T
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- San Diego State University Library and Information Access, Special Collections and University Archives
San Diego State University Library and Information Access, Special Collections and University Archives
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115.22 MB
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