Guide to the University of Chicago Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations Records 1958-1975


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Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Historical Note
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY
• Series I: Correspondence
• Series II: Meetings
• Series III: Grants
• Series IV: Publications
  • Subseries 1: Editorial Files
  • Subseries 2: Administrative Files and Publicity Material
• Series V: Conferences
• Series VI: Visitors
• Series VII: Facilities and Equipment
• Series VIII: Seminars
• Series IX: Financial
• Series X: Personnel
  • Subseries 1: Personnel Administration
  • Subseries 2: Biographical Files
  • Subseries 3: Administrative Memoranda
• Series XI: Fellowships
• Series XII: Course Administration
• Series XIII: Restricted
  • Subseries 1: Seminar Student Papers (R-80)
  • Subseries 2: Financial (R-50)
  • Subseries 3: Personnel Administration (R-50)
  • Subseries 4: Fellowship Applications and Awards (R-80)
  • Subseries 5: Course Administration (R-80)

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

Series VIII contains student evaluative material, personnel evaluations, and personal documents to which access is restricted. Restriction periods are noted with each file heading.

The remainder of the collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

Formally established in 1960, the Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations was a group of faculty from several social sciences departments, all of whom had an interest in the problems of developing countries. In their own departments, many of these faculty members specialized in the study of Asian and African societies. In the committee, these faculty members explored inter-disciplinary approaches to problems shared by new nations. The committee's activities were supported largely through grants from major foundations.

Founding faculty members included Edward Shils, Clifford Geertz, McKim Marriott, Lloyd A. Fallers, Morris Janowitz, Manning Nash, and Max Rheinstein. While the membership was originally intended to be kept relatively small, the committee more than doubled in size over the next ten years, and included many of the university's leading faculty in anthropology, history, law, and education. The scope of the committee's interest also expanded to include studies of developing nations worldwide, issues of imperialism and colonialism, and broader research in the comparative development of societies. The committee dissolved in the mid-1970s, following the departure of key faculty members.

The committee did not award degrees, but supported graduate and post-doctoral study through a fellowship program. Fellows worked closely with committee members while conducting advanced study in comparative analysis of developing nations.

The committee's intellectual activities centered on weekly seminars, in which faculty and fellows of the committee discussed and presented research on broad topics. The committee also organized interdisciplinary conferences, and hosted public lectures by visiting scholars and dignitaries.

Scope Note

Series I: Correspondence, contains incoming and outgoing letters and memoranda of the committee chair and administrative support staff. Along with routing administrative correspondence regarding personnel and coursework, this series includes memos and internal correspondence related to the founding and development of the committee, along with related reports and proposals.

Series II: Meetings, contains minutes and agendas, as well as related correspondence, reports and notes. Topics discussed at meetings of the committee and the smaller Executive Committee included fellowships, committee members' research, publications, faculty appointments, and special events.

Series III: Grants, documents the funding of the committee through support from organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Materials in this series include grant proposals, applications, reports, and related correspondence.

Series IV: Publications, is divided into two subseries. Subseries 1: Editorial Files, includes drafts, proofs, correspondence and other material related to two collections of essays published by the committee: Old Societies and New States, the Quest for Modernity in Asia and Africa, edited by Clifford Geertz and published in 1963; and Economic Nationalism in Old and New States, edited by Harry Johnson and published in 1968. Subseries 2: Administrative Files and Publicity Material, includes correspondence related to the development of brochures and pamphlets, sample publications, publications of other university departments. Also included is correspondence related to requests for reprints and other committee publications.

Series V: Conferences, contains material related to two conferences organized by the committee: The Conference on Research for Development in West Africa, held in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1961; and the Conference on Lebanese Democracy, held in 1963. Organized according to conference, the materials in this series include programs, schedules, drafts of papers presented, and correspondence discussing organizational and administrative matters.

Series VI: Visitors, documents the many scholars and dignitaries hosted by the committee. This series contains correspondence, programs, broadsides, biographical material, schedules, and drafts of lectures and speeches. Most of this material is arranged alphabetically by visitor.

Series VII: Facilities, contains university administrative correspondence, reports and surveys. Subject matter includes the management of Pick Hall and other Social Sciences Division buildings; as well as university equipment and services.

Series VIII: Seminars, documents the weekly events that were the committee's central activity. Materials are organized chronologically and contains correspondence, drafts of papers, schedules, lecture notes, and other material related to the organization and conduction of seminars.

Series IX: Financial, is organized chronologically, and contains annual budgets and financial reports, as well as routine financial matters such as invoices, check requests, vouchers and statements.

Series X: Personnel, contains material related to faculty and non-academic staff associated with the committee. This series is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1: Staff and Faculty Files, includes letters of appointment, applications and termination forms related to the service of individual personnel. Subseries 2: Biographical Files, contains bibliographies, faculty reports, c.v.'s, drafts of research, administrative correspondence, and other material documenting the activities of many of the committee's faculty members. Subseries 3: Administrative Memoranda, discusses mainly routine university and divisional procedures and policies for salaries, appointments and benefits, as well as Affirmative Action programs and employment initiatives.

Series XI: Fellowships, contains mainly correspondence from prospective fellowship applicants, as well as internal memoranda and solicitations for applications.

Series XII: Course Administration, contains grade reports, syllabi and outlines from Social Sciences Division courses, including those given by the committee.

Series XIII: Restricted, contains restricted materials gathered here from other parts of the collection. Subseries 1 contains graded student work from Series 8. Subseries 2 contains restricted financial materials drawn from Series 9. Subseries 3 contains restricted personnel documents drawn from Series 10, Subseries 1. Subseries 4 contains student evaluative materials drawn from Series 9. Subseries 5 contains student evaluative materials drawn from Series 12.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Fallers, Lloyd A. Papers

Janowitz, Morris. Papers

Rheinstein, Max. Papers

Geertz, Clifford. Papers

Shils, Edward. Papers

Subject Headings

• Fallers, Lloyd A.
• Geertz, Clifford
• Shils, Edward, 1910-1995
• University of Chicago. Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations
• Developing countries

INVENTORY

This series contains incoming and outgoing letters and memoranda of the committee chair and administrative support staff. University administrators and faculty members of the committee are the most frequent correspondents. Much of the subject matter is routine in nature, regarding personnel and organizational issues; however, this series also includes memos and other internal correspondence related to the founding and development of the committee, along with related reports and proposals.

This series contains material related to meetings of the committee as a whole, as well as meetings of the smaller Executive Committee. Found in this series are minutes and agendas for meetings, as well as related correspondence, reports and notes. Topics discussed at meetings often included fellowships, committee members' research, publications, faculty appointments, and special events.

The committee's activities were supported largely through grants from major foundations. This series documents the committee's relationship to organizations such as the Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Materials in this series include grant proposals, applications, reports, and related correspondence.

Subseries 1: Editorial Files, includes drafts, proofs, correspondence and other material related to two collections of essays published by the committee: Old Societies and New States, the Quest for Modernity in Asia and Africa, edited by Clifford Geertz and published in 1963; and Economic Nationalism in Old and New States, edited by Harry Johnson and published in 1968.

Subseries 2: Administrative Files and Publicity Material, includes correspondence related to the development of brochures and pamphlets, sample publications, publications of other university departments. Also included is correspondence related to requests for reprints and other committee publications.

This series contains material related to the Conference on Research for Development in West Africa, held in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1961; and the Conference on Lebanese Democracy, held in 1963. Organized according to conference, the materials in this series include programs, schedules, and correspondence discussing organizational and administrative matters. Drafts of papers presented at the conference are also found: The files for the Conference on Lebanese Democracy include drafts organized alphabetically by presenter, and used for the preparation of conference proceedings for publications.

The committee hosted visiting scholars and dignitaries, often in conjunction with lectures, seminar presentations, and other special events. This series contains correspondence, programs, broadsides, biographical material, schedules, drafts of lectures and speeches. Most of this material is arranged alphabetically by visitor.

This small series consists mainly of university administrative correspondence, reports and surveys. Represented is the management of Pick Hall, including security procedures, fire systems, and utilities service; space usage in Social Sciences Division buildings; and university equipment and services such as printing and shipping.

This series documents weekly seminars, the committee's central activity. It is chronologically organized and contains correspondence, drafts of papers, schedules, lecture notes, and other material related to the organization and conduction of seminars.

Graded student work originally contained in this series has been relocated to Series XII, Subseries 1.

Arranged chronologically, this series contains documents related to the daily functioning of the committee, as well as material related to grant funding and budgets. Restricted financial materials such as invoices, check requests, vouchers, statements, annual budgets and financial reports have been relocated to Series XIII, Subseries 2.

This series contains material related to faculty and non-academic staff associated with the committee. This series is divided into three subseries.

Subseries 1: Staff and Faculty Files, contains material related to the employment of individual personnel, including letters of appointment, application and termination forms. Restricted materials have been relocated to Series XIII, Subseries 3.

Subseries 2: Biographical Files, contains material related to many of the committee's faculty members. Most of this subseries is arranged alphabetically by faculty member, and includes individuals' bibliographies, faculty reports, c.v.'s, drafts of research, and administrative correspondence. This series also includes staff directories, faculty rosters, and committee bibliographies.

Subseries 3: Administrative Memoranda, contains mainly material sent by personnel administrators at the university and divisional level to committee administrators. Much of the content of the memoranda is routine, covering procedures and policies for salaries, appointments and benefits, as well as Affirmative Action programs and employment initiatives.

This series contains administrative material related to the committee's fellowship program. Contained materials primarily includes correspondence from prospective applicants, as well as internal memoranda and solicitations for applications.

Restricted application and award materials have been relocated to Series XIII, Subseries 4. These restricted materials include application forms and personal statements, notifications of awards granted and denied, correspondence deliberating decisions, recommendations and transcripts.

This small series contains grade reports, syllabi and outlines from Social Sciences Division courses, including those given by the committee. Restricted student evaluative materials have been relocated to Series XIII, Subseries 5.

This series contains documents restricted materials. These include student evaluative materials, budgets and financial documents as well as documents related to university personnel decisions.

Subseries 1 contains evaluated student papers drawn from Series 8. This material is restricted for 80 years.

Subseries 2 contains restricted University of Chicago financial and administrative materials drawn from Series 9. These materials are restricted for 50 years.

Subseries 3 contains restricted materials related to University of Chicago personnel drawn from Series 10. These materials are restricted for 50 years.

Subseries 4 contains restricted materials related to student fellowship applications and awards drawn from Series 11. These materials are restricted for 80 years.

Subseries 5 contains restricted student evaluative materials drawn from Series 12. These materials are restricted for 80 years.