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Title proper
Michael A. Gilbert fonds
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- Graphic material
- Textual record
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Fonds
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Physical description area
Physical description
5.11 m of textual records
51 computer disks ; 9 x 9 cm
33 photographs : b&w and col. ; 21.5 x 27 cm or smaller
34 photographs : b&w and col. negatives ; 35 mm
2 posters
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Michael A. Gilbert, writer and professor, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and then Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, between 1962 and 1966. He graduated with a BA in philosophy and political science in January 1967. Gilbert then attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, undertaking graduate studies in philosophy until June 1968. By September 1968, Gilbert had moved to Canada to begin graduate studies at the University of Waterloo. He completed his PhD in 1974 with a thesis entitled “A Formal Analysis of Relevance”. Gilbert’s academic teaching career began in earnest with his appointment as a lecturer at the University of Toronto in the Department of Philosophy from 1973 to 1975 and at its School of Continuing Studies from 1974 to 1980, where he taught a course entitled “How to Win an Argument”. In 1975, Gilbert was hired as a professor of philosophy at York University and served as the Department of Philosophy’s undergraduate program director in the 1990s and 2000s. Gilbert has taught courses and published articles in the areas of philosophy, argumentation theory, and gender/transgender theory, and runs a consultancy firm, Paradox Communications (previously Effective Dispute Management).
Gilbert is the author of non-fiction books “How to Win an Argument” (1979), “Coalescent Argumentation” (1997), “Arguing with People” (2014), as well as novels “Office Party” (1981) and “Yellow Angel” (1985). “Office Party” was adapted into a screenplay and produced as a film, “Hostile Takeover”, in 1988.
Gilbert identifies as a cross dresser and is also known by the name Miqqi Alicia Gilbert. Gilbert is a founding member of the Toronto group Xpressions, a director of the Fantasia Fair, and was a columnist for the magazine of the International Foundation for Gender Education, “Transgender Tapestry”.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records pertaining to the work and activities of Michael A. Gilbert. These records document Gilbert’s work as a professor of philosophy and administrator at York University, as a writer and lecturer in the areas of argumentation theory and transgender theory, and as a writer of literary fiction. Records in this fonds include correspondence and day planners, academic papers and articles, draft manuscripts and screenplays, notes, course materials and lecture notes, photographs, and conference materials.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Michael A. Gilbert in 2015.
Arrangement
Fonds has been arranged in six series.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
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Restrictions on access
Some files are subject to access restrictions. See series-level descriptions for details.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
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Finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Fonds consists of the following accession: 2015-028. Further accruals may be expected.