Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives

402 Pages·2009·1.28 MB·English

by  Mead, Margaret,

Margaret Mead Papers and the
South Pacific Ethnographic
Archives
A Finding Aid to the Collection in the
Library of Congress
Prepared by Mary M. Wolfskill with the
assistance of Paul Colton, Patrick Doyle,
Leonard Hawley, Paul Ledvina, Sherralyn
McCoy, Michael McElderry, Susie Moody,
Harold Nakao, Janice Ruth, Joseph Sullivan,
Allan Teichroew, and Audrey Walker
Revised and expanded by Donna Ellis and
Michael McElderry with the assistance of
Kathleen Kelly and Tammi Taylor
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
2009
Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of
Congress Manuscript Division, 2009
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009117
Collection Summary
Title: Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives
Span Dates: 1838-1996
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1911-1978)
ID No.: MSS32441
Creator: Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978
Extent: 530,000 items; 1,790 containers plus 50 oversize; 783.2 linear feet; 2 microfilm reels
Language: Collection material in English
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Anthropologist, author, and educator. Personal, professional, and family papers,
consisting of correspondence, notebooks, organization files, appointment books, writings, teaching
and office files, field notes, photographs, and miscellany relating primarily to anthropological and
ethnological fieldwork, Mead's association with various universities and other cultural, scientific,
and educational institutions, and her interests and activities in the broader areas of race,
technological change, overpopulation, and peace. Also includes papers of Mead's associates and
colleagues.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online
catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by
occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Personal Names
Adams, Léonie, 1899-1988.
Bateson, Caroline Beatrice.
Bateson, Mary Catherine.
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942.
Buck, Peter Henry, 1877?-1951.
Chapple, Eliot Dismore.
Chinnery, E. W. Pearson (Ernest William Pearson), 1887-1972.
Clary, Fanny Fogg.
Cressman, Luther Sheeleigh, 1897-1994.
Dillon, Wilton.
Dollard, John, 1900-
Eichelberger, Marie, 1894-1983.
Emory, Kenneth Pike, 1897-
Erickson, Milton H.
Erikson, Erik H. (Erik Homburger), 1902-1994.
Firth, Raymond, 1901-2002.
Fisher, Mary Shattuck, b. 1899.
Frank, Lawrence K. (Lawrence Kelso), 1890-1968.
Fremont-Smith, Frank, 1895-1974.
Fries, Margaret E. (Margaret Evelyn), 1896-
Geertz, Clifford.
Geertz, Hildred.
Gorer, Geoffrey, 1905-
Hallowell, A. Irving (Alfred Irving), 1892-1974.
Hanna, Leah Josephson.
Heath, Barbara Honeyman.
Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963.
Hogbin, Herbert Ian, 1904-1989.
Hutchinson, G. Evelyn (George Evelyn), 1903-1991.
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 2
Kaberry, Phyllis Mary, 1910-
Kalēr, Madē.
Kluckhohn, Clyde, 1905-1960.
Kortheuer, Eleanor Pelham.
Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960.
Lasswell, Harold D. (Harold Dwight), 1902-1978.
Lewin, Kurt, 1890-1947.
Lowie, Robert Harry, 1883-1957.
McMaster, Fanny Fogg.
Mead family.
Mead, Edward Sherwood, 1874-1956.
Mead, Emily Fogg, b. 1871.
Mead, Giles F.
Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978.
Mead, Martha Adaline Ramsay.
Mead, Richard R. (Richard Ramsay), 1904-
Mershon, Katharane Edson.
Métraux, Rhoda Bubendey, 1914-
Mosely, Philip E. (Philip Edward), 1905-1972.
Ogburn, William Fielding, 1886-1959.
Oliver, Douglas L.
Phillips, Frederick Beaumont, Sir, 1890-1957.
Roll, G. Frederick, 1911-2001.
Rosenblatt, Louise M. (Louise Michelle)
Rosten, Priscilla Mead, 1911-1959.
Rothenberger, Katharine.
Spies, Walter.
Steig, Elizabeth Mead, 1909-1983.
Tax, Sol, 1907-1995.
Whiting, John Wesley Mayhew, 1908-1999.
Organizations
American Anthropological Association.
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
American Museum of Natural History.
Columbia University.
Committee for National Morale.
Fordham University.
Hanover Seminar in Human Relations.
National Research Council (U.S.)
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Food Habits.
New York University.
Research in Contemporary Cultures.
World Federation for Mental Health.
World Health Organization.
World Society for Ekistics.
Subjects
Anthropology--American Samoa.
Anthropology--Great Plains.
Anthropology--Indonesia--Bali.
Anthropology--Papua New Guinea--Admiralty Islands.
Anthropology--Sepik River Valley (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea)
Anthropology.
Balinese (Indonesian people)
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 3
Culture.
Cybernetics.
Ethnology--American Samoa.
Ethnology--Great Plains.
Ethnology--Indonesia--Bali.
Ethnology--Papua New Guinea--Admiralty Islands.
Ethnology--Sepik River Valley (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea)
Ethnology.
Health.
Human settlements.
Interdisciplinary research.
Nutrition.
Omaha Indians.
Overpopulation.
Peace.
Population.
Race.
Samoans.
Technological innovations.
Technology and civilization.
World War, 1939-1945.
Related Names
Bateson, Gregory, 1904-1980. Gregory Bateson papers.
Belo, Jane, 1904-1968. Jane Belo papers.
Benedict, Ruth, 1887-1948. Ruth Benedict papers.
Cobb, Edith, 1895-1977. Edith Cobb papers.
Foerstel, Lenora, 1929- Lenora Foerstel papers.
Fortune, Reo, 1903- Reo Fortune papers.
Institute for Intercultural Studies. Institute for Intercultural Studies records.
Lowenfeld, Margaret, 1890-1973. Margaret Lowenfeld papers.
Romanucci-Ross, Lola. Lola Romanucci-Ross papers.
Schwartz, Theodore. Theodore Schwartz papers.
South Pacific Ethnographic Archives.
Wolfenstein, Martha, 1911-1976. Martha Wolfenstein papers.
Occupations
Anthropologists.
Authors.
Educators.
Administrative Information
Provenance:
The papers of Margaret Mead, anthropologist, author, and educator, were bequeathed to the
Library of Congress by Mead, 1979-1980. The South Pacific Ethnographic Archives was given to
the Library by the Institute for Intercultural Studies in 1980. Additions to the collection were made
in a series of gifts by Mead's daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson, 1981-1988, and by gifts and
purchases from various donors, 1980-2008. A series of deposits from Bateson, 1992-1999, was
converted to gift in 2000, and additional gifts were received from her, 2001-2005.
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 4
Processing History:
The papers of Margaret Mead and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives were arranged and
described in 1983. Additional material received between 1984 and 1992 was processed as
Additions I and II in 1993. Material received between 1996 and 2001 was processed as Addition III
in 2001. Addition IV was processed in 2009 and includes material received in 2005 and 2008.
Additional Guides:
The Mead Papers are described in Library of Congress Acquisitions: Manuscript Division, 1982,
pp. 33-35. Unpublished appendices to the collection containing supplementary information are also
available. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for more information.
Transfers:
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the
Library. Some maps have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. Motion picture
films, sound recordings, and related material have been transferred to the Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. Some photographs, including four containers of
negatives and diapositives taken by Jane Belo removed from the collection in 2004, have been
transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as
part of the Margaret Mead Papers.
Related Material:
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include the papers of Rhoda Bubendey Métraux.
Copyright Status:
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Margaret Mead in these papers and in other collections
in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript
Division for further information.
Access and Restrictions:
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection.
Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In
addition, many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items
for research use.
Microfilm:
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on one reel. Consult reference staff in the
Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote
preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Preferred Citation:
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or
reel number, Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date Event
1901, Dec. 16 Born, Philadelphia, Pa.
1919-1920 Attended DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 5
1923 B.A., Barnard College, New York, N.Y.
Married Luther Sheeleigh Cressman (divorced 1928)
1924 M.A., psychology, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1925-1926 Field trip to American Samoa as a National Research Council fellow for the
study of adolescent girls
Associate, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
1926-1969 Assistant curator (1926), associate curator (1942), and curator (1964-1969) of
ethnology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, N.Y.; retired in
1969 as curator emeritus
1928 Married Reo Fortune (divorced 1935)
1928-1929 Field trip to Manus, Admiralty Islands, with Reo Fortune, as a fellow of the
Social Science Research Council for a study of young children
1929 Ph. D., anthropology, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1930 Field trip with Reo Fortune to study the Omaha Indians
1931-1933 Field trip to New Guinea with Reo Fortune to study the Arapesh, Mundugumor,
and Tchambuli people
1936 Married Gregory Bateson (divorced 1950)
1936-1939 Field expedition with Gregory Bateson to Bali and New Guinea to study the
Iatmul people
1939 Birth of daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson
1939-1941 Visiting lecturer in child study, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
1942-1945 Executive secretary, Committee on Food Habits, National Research Council,
Washington, D.C.
1947-1951 Lecturer, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1948-1950 Director, Columbia University Research in Contemporary Cultures, New York,
N.Y.
1953 Field trip to Manus, Admiralty Islands, with Theodore and Lenora Schwartz
1954 Adjunct professor of anthropology, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
1955-1962 Member, Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science
1956-1957 President, World Federation for Mental Health
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 6
1957 Recipient, Viking Medal in General Anthropology, Wenner Gren Foundation
1957-1958 Returned to Bali with Ken Heyman
1957-1978 Visiting professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio
1960 President, American Anthropological Association
1961-1978 Wrote regular feature for Redbook magazine with Rhoda Bubendey Métraux
1964-1965 Field visits to Manus, Admiralty Islands
1966-1968 Chairperson, Committee on Science in the Promotion of Human Welfare,
American Association for the Advancement of Science
1967 Field visits to Manus, Admiralty Islands, to make the film "New Guinea Journal"
and to New Guinea to consult with Rhoda Bubendey Métraux on the Iatmul
people
Helped establish Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York,
N.Y.
1969 Received William Proctor Prize for Scientific Achievement, Scientific Research
Society
1969-1971 Professor of Anthropology, Fordham University, New York, N.Y.
1971 Field visits to Manus, Admiralty Islands, and to New Guinea and Samoa
Received Arches of Science Award, Pacific Science Center; Kalinga Prize for
the Popularization of Science, UNESCO and the Government of India; and
Joseph Priestley Award, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.
1972 Chairperson, advisory committee to the U.S. delegation to the International
Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences
Co-chairperson, U.S. Task Force on the Future of Mankind and the Role of the
Churches in a World of Science-based Technology
Member, organizing committee for the IXth International Congress of the
International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Chicago,
Ill.
President, Scientists' Institute on Public Information and the Society for
General Systems Research
Special guest of secretary general, United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, Stockholm, Sweden
1973 Field visit to study the Arapesh people at Hoskins Bay, New Britain
1975 President, American Assocation for the Advancement of Science
Field visit to Manus, Admiralty Islands
Member, National Academy of Sciences
1977 Field visit to Bali
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 7
1978, Nov. 15 Died, New York, N.Y.
Major Publications
Date Publication
1928 Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western
Civilization (New York: W. Morrow & Co. 297 pp.)
An Inquiry Into the Cultural Stability in Polynesia (New York: Columbia
University Press. 89 pp.)
1930 Growing Up in New Guinea: A Comparative Study of Primitive Education (New
York: W. Morrow & Co. 372 pp.)
"Social Organization of Manu'a," Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 76,
Honolulu, Hawaii
1932 The Changing Culture of an Indian Tribe (New York: Columbia University
Press. 313 pp.)
1934 "Kinship in the Admiralty Islands," Anthropological Papers of the American
Museum of Natural History 34, pp. 183-358
1935 Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (New York: W. Morrow &
Co. 335 pp.)
1937 Cooperation and Competition Among Primitive Peoples (New York: McGraw-
Hill Book Co. 531 pp.)
1939 From the South Seas: Studies of Adolescence and Sex in Primitive Societies
(New York: W. Morrow & Co. 304 pp.)
1942 And Keep Your Powder Dry: An Anthropologist Looks at America (New York:
W. Morrow & Co. 274 pp.)
Published with Gregory Bateson Balinese Character: A Photographic Study of
Balinese Childhood (New York: New York Academy of Sciences. 277 pp.)
1949 Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World (New York: W.
Morrow. 477 pp.)
1951 Published with Frances M. Cooke Macgregor Growth and Culture: A
Photographic Study of Balinese Childhood (New York: Putnam. 223 pp.)
The School in American Culture (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
48 pp.)
Soviet Attitudes Toward Authority (New York: McGraw-Hill. 148 pp.)
1953 Cultural Patterns and Technical Change edited by Margaret Mead (Paris:
UNESCO. 348 pp.)
The Study of Culture at a Distance, edited by Margaret Mead and Rhoda
Bubendey Métraux (Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 480 pp.)
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 8
1954 Published with Rhoda Bubendey Métraux Themes in French Culture: A Preface
to a Study of French Community (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
120 pp.)
1955 Childhood in Contemporary Cultures edited by Margaret Mead and Martha
Wolfenstein (Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 473 pp.)
1956 New Lives for Old: Cultural Transformation--Manus (New York: Morrow. 548
pp.)
1959 An Anthropologist at Work: Writings of Ruth Benedict (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin. 583 pp.)
People and Places (Cleveland: World Publishing Co. 318 pp.)
1960 The Golden Age of American Anthropology selected and edited by Margaret
Mead and Ruth L. Bunzel (New York: G. Braziller. 630 pp.)
1964 Anthropology, a Human Science: Selected Papers, 1939-1960 (Princeton, N.J.:
Van Nostrand. 260 pp.)
Continuities in Cultural Evolution (New Haven: Yale University Press. 471 pp.)
1965 American Women: The Report of the President's Commission on the Status of
Women and Other Publications of the Commission edited by Margaret Mead
and Frances B. Kaplan (New York: Scribner. 274 pp.)
Anthropologists and What They Do (New York: F. Watts. 209 pp.)
Published with Ken Heyman Family (New York: Macmillan. 208 pp.)
1966 Published with Muriel Brown The Wagon and the Star: A Study of American
Community Initiative (St. Paul, Minn.: Curriculum Resources. 166 pp.)
1968 Science and the Concept of Race edited by Margaret Mead, Theodosius
Dobzhansky, Ethel Tobach, and Robert E. Light (New York: Columbia
University Press. 177 pp.)
Published with Paul Byers The Small Conference: An Innovation in
Communication (Paris: Mouton. 129 pp.)
1970 Culture and Commitment: A Study of the Generation Gap (Garden City, N.Y.:
American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Press. 113 pp.)
Published with Rhoda Bubendey Métraux A Way of Seeing (New York: McCall
Publishing Co. 335 pp.)
1971 Published with James Baldwin A Rap on Race (Philadelphia: Lippincott. 256
pp.)
1972 Blackberry Winter: My Earlier Years (New York: Morrow. 305 pp.)
To Love or to Perish: The Technological Crisis and the Churches edited by
Margaret Mead, J. Edward Carothers, Daniel D. MacCracken, and Roger L.
Shinn (New York: Friendship Press. 152 pp.)
1973 Twentieth Century Faith: Hope and Survival (New York: Harper & Row. 172
pp.)
Margaret Mead Papers and the South Pacific Ethnographic Archives 9