In Memoriam: Barbara Jones, 1935-2024

Barbara Jones, a women’s studies scholar and cultural anthropologist, passed away on March 6. She was 89 years old.

Throughout her career, Dr. Jones taught women’s studies and anthropology courses at various higher education institutions across the country. She served as chair of the anthropology department at Merritt College in Oakland, California, where she received numerous Teacher of the Year awards. During her time in Oakland, she served as the director of the Merritt Museum of Anthropology. Dr. Jones also taught at Idaho State University, The New School for Social Research in New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and San Jose State University in California, where she served as the first professor to chair the Gay and Lesbian Club in the 1970s.

In addition to her academic and leadership positions, Dr. Jones was the author of two books: The Changing Woman: Women of a Certain Age (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013) and Bike Lust. Harleys, Women, and American Society (University of Wisconsin Press, 2001).

Dr. Jones completed her undergraduate education at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She held a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology from New York University and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the City University of New York.