Pauline Bart is a feminist sociologist and former professor of sociology and psychiatry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Bart was active in many feminist and civil rights issues, including anti-pornography protests, sexual assault and rape law reform, Jewish and middle-aged women's advocacy, reproductive rights, and violence against women. The Pauline Bart papers consists of personal files, including correspondence, appointment books, diaries, peer-reviewed mansucripts for which Bart served as a referee, subject files for conferences Bart attended, and other material related to Bart's personal and professional life; drafts and published copies of articles, papers, and reviews written by bart; papers related to classes taught by Bart at the University of Illinois in Chicago, the University of California at Los Angeles, and other institutions; and research files, including interview transcripts and other papers related to the Jane Collective, transcripts of interviews with 94 survivors of sexual assault or attempted rape and other papers related to Bart's study of rape avoidance; interview transcripts and other papers related to a study of depression, and other research files on topics such as pornography, depression, violence against women, the Illinois sexual assault statute, feminism, rape, and homosexuality.

The Pauline Bart papers are arranged into four series. The Personal Files Series contains correspondence, appointment books, diaries, peer-reviewed mansucripts for which Bart served as a referee, and other material related to Bart's personal and professional life, including papers related to her struggles to achieve salary equity and documentation of the 1992 controversy which led to her termination from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Also included in this series are subject files for conferences Bart attended to present papers or serve on panels. The Writings Series contains drafts and copies of reviews, written by Bart, of articles and books published by various authors; drafts of Bart's book, Stopping Rape: Successful Survival Strategies, and other papers related to the book's publication; drafts and published copies of articles and academic papers written by Bart; and other materials related to her writings, including book contracts, reprint requests, and reviews of her work. The Teaching Materials Series contains papers related to classes taught by Bart at the University of Illinois in Chicago, the University of California at Los Angeles, and other institutions. Materials include syllabi, lists and copies of course readings, student papers, and other papers. The Research Files Series contains interview transcripts, content analysis, and other papers related to the Jane Collective, which Bart researched in pursuit of her article "Seizing the Means of Reproduction: An Illegal Feminist Abortion Collective - How and Why it Worked;" materials related to Stopping Rape: Successful Survival Strategies, including transcripts of interviews with 94 survivors of sexual assault or attempted rape, notebooks containing content analysis of the interviews, grant applications and drafts, Viva rape questionnaires, and other papers; interview transcripts and other papers related to a study of depression; and other research files on topics such as pornography, depression, violence against women, the Illinois sexual assault statute, feminism, rape, and homosexuality. The Audiotapes series contains recordings of talks given by Bart, conference sessions, presentations, interviews, and classes conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Also included are recordings of 9 interviews with members of the Jane Collective (see box 90).