Researchers in the history of many disciplines may expect to find
relevant material in the Harvard University Archives. While the collecting
scope is defined by relatedness to Harvard, that fact allows for a wide
latitude of interests. It grows naturally out of the University's presence
through much of American history and from the varied involvement of the
institution and its faculty in a multitude of concerns and activities.
Documentation for extra-institutional topics is particularly characteristic for
collections of the twentieth century.
The following notes, grouped by topic, will help to suggest
possibilities for investigation and to connect research areas with the diverse
parts of the Archives' holdings. These notes are a brief mapping of research
resources and a suggestion of the range of materials that are available.
General University History
For those
interested especially in Harvard's history, a select bibliography of published
works is available from the Archives. In addition to the works listed there,
the Archives has a wealth of primary and secondary printed material. These
include annual reports and catalogues, University and student serial
publications (e.g., Gazette, Harvard Magazine, Crimson),
press releases, and a special class of general history materials that includes
clippings, pamphlets, books, and other items.
University Administrative History
For research interests that depend on a view of events from the central
administation of the University, there are virtually complete records from the
seventeenth century to the present. Relevant sources include annual reports
(1825/26-present), minutes of governing boards (Corporation and Board of
Overseers), correspondence of the presidents (until about 1870 bound in the
series known as College Papers), reports of the visiting committees of the
Board of Overseers, and financial ledgers and journals. Selected early records
of the University through 1750 have been issued in Publications of the
Colonial Society of Massachusetts, volumes 15, 16, 31, 49, 50.
History of Schools, Departments, Museums,
etc.
The stories of the professional schools, the Faculty of Arts
and Science, and individual academic departments, museums, libraries,
laboratories, and the like contribute important detail to University history.
They also can be, in themselves, the center of research interest. Some of the
major units are referred to under academic disciplines below. In addition to
files of official correspondence and other records from many of these divisions
or offices, a variety of related primary and secondary printed sources is
available. Since distinctive academic departments did not develop until late in
the nineteenth century, before that period the records of the president are a
central source. In addition to serial publications such as the annual reports
and catalogues, the reports of Overseers' Visiting Committees also are useful
as a review of the state of various units or subjects over time.
History of Academic Disciplines
Documentation for the history of the disciplines is in the University's
official records, the curriculum collection, and especially in the several
hundred collections of the papers of faculty members. As a resource, this
material documents the University's internal history but often is equally
relevant to social and intellectual developments within the national and
international community of scholars. These interests are discussed below under
the three traditional broad areas of academic interest.
- Humanities:
In addition to the records of
certain departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (e.g., Classics,
English, Fine Arts, History, Music, Philosophy, and various foreign language
departments), the records of the graduate schools of Divinity and Design may
prove useful for studies in this area. Records of the Fogg Art Museum are in
the University Archives as well as at the Museum itself. There also are many
collections of personal papers relevant to this subject such as those of Samuel
H. Cross (Slavic literature), John K. Fairbank (East Asian History), George
Hanfmann (classical archaeology), Douglas Horton (divinity), George L.
Kittredge (English literature), Charles R. Lanman (Sanskrit), Ralph Barton
Perry (philosophy), Arthur K. Porter (fine arts), Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.
(American history), and G. Wallace Woodworth (music)
- Social and behavioral sciences:
Records of
certain departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will be useful,
including Anthropology, Economics, Government, Psychology, Social Ethics,
Social Relations, and Sociology, as well as those of the schools of Education,
Government, and Law, and the records of the Peabody Museum (anthropology and
ethnology). The many collections of personal papers of the faculty that are
relevant in this subject category include Edwin G. Boring (psychology), Richard
C. Cabot (social ethics and medicine), Zechariah Chafee (law), Carl J.
Friedrich (government), Henry W. Holmes (education), Talcott Parsons
(sociology), Frederic Ward Putnam (anthropology), and Joseph A. Schumpeter
(economics).
- Physical and natural sciences:
Among the
collections of value are the records of academic departments that include
Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Engineering and Applied
Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Zoology. Resources also include records of
research facilities and of the latter those of the Observatory are notable. The
following are representative of the collections of personal papers in this
area: George D. Birkhoff (mathematics), Percy W. Bridgman (physics), William J.
Crozier (physiology), Kirtley F. Mather (geology), Ernst Mayr (biology), Harlow
Shapley (astronomy), George W. Whipple (sanitary engineering), and Robert B.
Woodward (chemistry).
Teaching and Curriculum
The available
sources for the early history of this topic are sparse. After about 1825, there
are annual catalogues and other printed material. The Archives holds a
substantial collection of curricular material that begins with a few items from
the 17th century. Included in this collection are term papers and student and
faculty lecture notes, textbooks, course reading lists and syllabi. Overall,
the curriculum collection is arranged chronologically so that teaching in
Harvard College and in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences can be studied
over time. A collection of examination questions also is available. The records
of graduate schools and academic departments will include material relating to
curricular discussions, planning, and critique. The annual catalogues, printed
program announcements, and similar items also serve researchers in this area.
Student Activities and Customs
The
University is a community as well as an institution; this is especially true in
regard to students. The Archives has a wide variety of sources on student life,
consisting of archival material, ephemera, and publications. The holdings
include student diaries and letters, flyers, posters, and other printed items
relating to musical, theatrical, athletic, and other activities, and serial
publications, including such literary magazines as The Advocate (1866-).
The Archives also has records of student clubs and other organizations. The
official records of the University also are a useful source, including, e.g.,
those of faculty committees that have dealt with various aspects of student
life. During the first 250 years of the undergraduate college, the minutes of
the Faculty reveal much about student (mis)behavior. The subject file of
photographs is an invaluable visual resource.
University Buildings and Property
Existing buildings and other property are themselves a record of more than two
and a half centuries of University history. For both existing buildings and
structures that have been razed, textual documents, architectural plans, and
photographs combine to document the history of educational principles and
architectural styles. A number of printed sources also exist. Among the
resources are so-called Buildings and Lands records of the Corporation,
clippings and other printed material relating to buildings and property, and
pictorial views of Harvard, as well as an extensive photograph collection
depicting grounds and building exteriors and interiors.
The University in Context
Over several
centuries, Harvard has experienced a complex relationship with the public and
with public institutions. Administrative records document the part that
government, business, philanthropy, and other sectors have played in the
University's history, and Harvard's impact on those institutions. Personal
papers of professors and major administrative officers such as the university's
presidents document the increasing involvement of academia in political,
social, and economic life. The records of many student organizations also
reflect the reactions of the student body to both on-going and momentary
concerns.
Biography and Genealogy
Many patrons come
to research individual lives or family history. For this purpose, there are
abundant manuscript and printed sources for both officers and alumni. These
include Harvard College class reports, nineteenth century manuscript
classbooks, yearbooks, a large biographical clippings file, and faculty papers.
There also are admissions and academic records for individual students,
beginning principally in the 1890s (restricted for 80 years from the time a
student leaves the University).
Visual Studies
Visual materials in the
Archives include early perspective drawings by students, paintings, lithographs
and engravings, as well as an extensive collection of photographs. Photographs
are found among the official records of the University that document the
administration, academic departments, libraries, museums, as well as student
and alumni organizations. Photographs in the personal papers of faculty often
include portraits, family scenes, travel photos, and, occasionally, research
related images. Many of the photographs and some prints and drawings are
arranged in three separate collections of portraits, subjects, and views of
Harvard. The Portrait File includes pictures of Harvard graduates, faculty, and
employees, as well as visitors to the University. The Subject File includes
pictures of student life and organizations, dormitory rooms, athletics,
military training, and commencement exercises. The Views File contains images
of campus scenes, buildings, and Cambridge. The photograph holdings date from
the 1850s through the present, and provide a rich source of information about
the life of the University, as well as about the history of photography. There
are a few artifacts relating to University history, but the Archives does not
serve a museum function.
return to top |
 |
|
