The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the James Silverberg Papers 1941-1994
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Silverberg, James. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1941-1994 |
| Size: | 27 boxes (14.5 linear feet) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | James Silverberg, Professor of Anthropology department at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. As a graduate student he accompanied Gitel P. Steed on the Columbia University Research in Contemporary India Field Project. The bulk of the papers are related to the India Field Project. Additionally, there are files regarding the creation and organization of the Steed archive. There is also a small collection of Silverberg's writings and correspondence. |
Series VI contains financial material that is restricted until 2039.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Silverberg, James. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
There are few biographical materials housed in the James Silverberg Papers. He worked with Gitel P. Steed as a graduate student, traveling with her to Gujarat, India, as part of the Columbia University Research in Contemporary India Field Project. He was accompanied by his wife, Donna. Silverberg later taught at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He died in 2001.
The James Silverberg Papers contain 14.5 linear feet of material and roughly cover 1941-1994, though the bulk of the materials were generated between the late 1940s and late 1970s. The collection consists largely of Silverberg's research materials, which include: field notebooks, quantitative data, surveys, maps, reports, interview transcriptions, etc. These materials relate exclusively to his work in India, though they do cover several different research trips. Much of the qualitative data should prove useful and interesting to researchers interested in 20th century India and, especially, the Indian caste system.
In addition, the Papers house a small collection of writings and correspondence. The former contains typescript and reprint copies of Silverberg's work, both published (articles) and unpublished (talks, conference papers), as well as related correspondence. The latter contains a mix of personal and professional correspondence. The James Silverberg Papers also include a series of general files in which materials unrelated to the established taxonomy of the collection can be found.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Gitel Steed. Papers
Series I: Writings |
Subseries 1: Dissertation, "Peasant Behavior and Its Caste Relevancy: the Kolis of Kassandra" |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, notes, partial draft typescript, 1957-1961 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Partial copy, notes, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 3-5 | Complete copy, 1961 |
| Box 1 Folder 6-7 | Chapter one, "General Setting: The Land, the Village Community, and the Koli Castes," typescript, notes, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | "Multiplicity and Cross Caste Duplication of Koli Economic Roles - First Draft (Second Copy)," typescript, notes, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | "Kolis as Service Recipients," typescript with commentary, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | "Koli Production Roles," typescript, notes, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | "Koli Proprietary Roles," typescript, notes, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 4-7 | Typescript titled "Koli Social Roles," undated |
| Box 2 Folder 8-9 | Typescript titled "Kolipatel Political Roles," notes, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 1-4 | "Probably Chapter 4 or 5: Political Roles," typescript, notes, undated |
Subseries 2: General Files |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | "Background Chapter - First Part (1953)," typescript, notes, 1953 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | "Diverse Field Techniques in India," meeting of CSAS, Urbana, IL, 1953 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | "Caste in the Village," University of Wisconsin - Madison, notes, correspondence, syllabi, 1955 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | "Caste-Ascribed ‘Status’ versus Caste-Irrelevant Roles," Man in India, publication, 1959 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | "Eye-witnessing Modes of Production in Indian Villages in Order to Introduce a Solar Energy Technology," 10th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, typescript, 1978 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Lecture re development and the role of personality in an historical-functional context, delivered to Barrett’s culture-personality class, notes, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Notes for talk delivered to the Asia Club, undated |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | "Introductory Statement," typescript, notes undated |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Unidentified typescripts, undated |
| Box 4 Folder 1-6 | Notecards for unidentified work, undated |
Series II: Correspondence |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Correspondence, 1953-1997 |
| Box 5 Folder 2-3 | Correspondence regarding research in India, 1949-1952
|
| Box 5 Folder 4-5 | Correspondence regarding Gitel Steed papers and the preparation of a Steed biography, 1986-1987
|
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Marriott, McKim, correspondence regarding Steed-Columbia India Field Project Archive and Silverberg’s appointment to the University of Chicago’s Committee on South Asian Studies, 1988-1993 |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Silverberg, Donna, 1952 |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Steed, Gitel P., 1952-1971
|
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Steed, Robert, 1971-1985
|
| Box 5 Folder 10 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Correspondence regarding Silverberg’s application for a sabbatical year and retirement, 1988-1990 |
Series III: Research Materials |
This series contains materials related to Silverberg's research in India. The bulk of these materials were generated as part of the India Field Research Project, headed by Gitel P. Steed. They have been separated according to geographic region and theme: Bakrana, Kasandra, caste system, and unknown or general India. The first two Subseries are named for villages located in the state of Gujarat. Subseries III deals specifically with the caste system, a major theme in Silverberg's research. Finally, the materials whose geographical provenance is unknown or which relate to India generally have been housed together in Subseries IV, though it is probable that they were generated in either Bakrana or Kasandra. Researchers are advised to examine the materials in Subseries IV should they be interested in Subseries I, II or III.
Subseries 1: Field Research Materials - Bakrana (Gujarati Village) |
| Box 6 Folder 1-8 | Transcripts of interviews conducted in Bakrana, 1950 |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | Field notes, 1950 |
| Box 7 Folder 1-11 | Field notes, 1950 |
| Box 8 Folder 1-5 | Field notes, 1950 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | "India Gujarat Bakrana," computer disks, 1950 |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Informant List, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | Notes on the Bakrana Census Code Book, general census notes, 1950, 1980-1981 |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Photographs of Bakrana, 1979 |
| Box 9 Folder 2-3 | to archive on Bakrana, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Description of curing ceremony, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | Notes housed in folder titled "Steed’s "Classified Index,"’ undated |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Genealogical map, notes, undated |
Subseries 2: Field Research Materials - Kasandra (Gujarati Village) |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | Notes on Kasandra, 1950 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Notes on caste subdivisions, 1950 |
| Box 9 Folder 9-13 | Notes on in visiting, out visiting, the ritual cycle, and the agricultural cycle, 1958-1959 |
| Box 9 Folder 14 | Notes and partial typescripts on social rules and behavior, correspondence, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 15 | Maps, undated |
Subseries 3: Field Research Materials - Koli Status and Caste System |
| Box 9 Folder 16-19 | Questionnaires on Koli status in various areas of Gujarat, commentary on these questionnaires, related correspondence, 1950-1953 |
| Box 10 Folder 1-6 | Field notes on caste system in Gujarat, collected in multiple villages, typed on 5x7 note cards, 1952 |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Field notes on caste system in Gujarat, collected in multiple villages, typed on 5x7 note cards, 1952 |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | Notes, interview transcript, list of contacts for Bucknow-Bombay trip, 1952 |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Notes on Kolis in India, census data, 1952 |
| Box 11 Folder 4-8 | Notes on Koli social roles, related correspondence, charts, 1960 |
| Box 11 Folder 9 | Notes on Gitel P. Steed’s "Caste and Kinship in Rural Gujarat: The Social Use of Space," 1969 |
| Box 11 Folder 10 | Typescript titled "A Note on the Koli Status in Dhanpur Mahal," undated |
| Box 11 Folder 11-13 | Notes on caste and Kolis, undated |
| Box 11 Folder 14 | Notes on Koli ideological and intellectual roles, undated |
| Box 12 Folder 1-2 | Notes on caste system in Bakrana, separated into the following categories: Rules & History, Dress & Hair-style, Occupations, and Miscellaneous, undated |
Subseries 4: General Field Research Materials |
| Box 12 Folder 3-4 | Census handbooks for Ahmedabad District, 1941, 1951, 1961 |
| Box 12 Folder 5 | Notes on psychological tests administered to villagers, 1949-1950 |
| Box 12 Folder 6 | Notes on logistics of research in India (number of researchers, hours needed, topics covered, etc.), 1950 |
| Box 12 Folder 7 | Inventories of clothing and equipment taken to India, itemized expense account, 1950-1951 |
| Box 12 Folder 8 | Abstracts from Silverberg’s field diary, 1950 |
| Box 12 Folder 9-11 | Field notebooks, 1950-1951 |
| Box 13 Folder 1 | Research notes on India, charts, graphs, drawings, 1950-1951 |
| Box 13 Folder 2 | Drawings, 1951 |
| Box 13 Folder 3 | Notes, both handwritten and typed, and bibliography on Gujarat, 1951-1952 |
| Box 13 Folder 4 | Census data for different areas of India, Silverberg’s notes on this data, 1951, 1971 |
| Box 13 Folder 5 | Field notebooks, 1952 |
| Box 13 Folder 6 | Slide list (no slides included) titled "156-326: Peoples and Cultures of South Asia," 1952, 1979 |
| Box 13 Folder 7 | Transcripts and cassettes of interviews, 1970
|
| Box 13 Folder 8-9 | Photographs of India, sent from Gitel Steed to Silverberg, 1971 |
| Box 14 Folder 1-2 | India: Research materials related to study of energy resources, in particular the use of solar energy: Interview notes, correspondence, photograph, reports, notes, articles, 1976-79 |
| Box 14 Folder 3 | Land utilization survey conducted in Adon, India, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 4 | Notes on the conclusions of Silverberg's dissertation research, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 5 | Notes on farmer conflict in Durban, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 6 | Bibliography for dissertation research, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 7 | Photocopy of unidentified field notebook, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 8 | Notes on the Gujarati language, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 9 | Notes on the Jajmani system, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 10 | Unidentified kinship chart, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 11 | Handwritten notes housed in folder titled "Historical Records (Khata Vati etc) for Village Study," undated |
| Box 14 Folder 12 | Maps of peninsular Gujarat, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 13 | Road map of Delhi Province, undated |
Subseries 5: General Files |
| Box 15 Folder 1 | One copy of Survey of India: Map Catalogue, 1945 |
| Box 15 Folder 2 | Collection of academic articles on various aspects of Indian culture and politics, notes, 1946-1957 |
| Box 15 Folder 3 | Newspaper clipping from The Times of India, 1952 |
| Box 15 Folder 4 | India map book, 1952 |
| Box 15 Folder 5 | Newspaper clippings of articles on India, 1958 |
| Box 15 Folder 6-7 | Materials regarding Camilo Torres, a Columbian Catholic priest turned guerrilla: Correspondence (including correspondence with Torres), newspaper clippings, one copy of The Catholic Worker (periodical), 1965-1973 |
| Box 15 Folder 8 | Map of the Valley of Puebla, Mexico, 1968 |
| Box 16 Folder 1 | One copy of Bibliography of World Applied Solar Energy Research (1940-1975), 1976 |
| Box 16 Folder 2 | One copy of Guide to the Albert Mayer Papers on India, 1977 |
| Box 16 Folder 3 | Collection of published writings related to agriculture in India, 1977-1978 |
| Box 16 Folder 4 | Notes on drug use in India, essays on drug use in India, floppy disks, 1988 |
| Box 16 Folder 5 | Notes on South Asian kinship, charts, undated |
| Box 16 Folder 6 | Notes on E.O. Moe’s Indian Agriculture: Present Condition - Prospective Changes, undated |
| Box 16 Folder 7-8 | Copies of chart detailing the Hindu religious calendar (based on M.M. Underhill’s The Hindu Religious Year), notes, undated |
| Box 16 Folder 9-10 | Bibliography on India, undated |
| Box 17 Folder 1-2 | Photocopied foreign-language (Gujarati? Hindi?) typescript, undated |
| Box 17 Folder 3 | Unidentified notes titled "Borradaile," undated |
Series IV: General Files |
This series contains a miscellany of materials. The first subseries is devoted to
writings written by authors other than Silverberg. Subseries II contains materials
related to Gitel P. Steed. While materials pertaining to Steed can be found
throughout the James Silverberg Papers, the bulk of these materials have been
housed here. Subseries III includes materials that do not fit within the established
taxonomy of the collection: miscellaneous photographs, unidentified writings and
notes, and press items. Of interest in this subseries are the diaries of Silverberg's
wife, Donna. These diaries were written while Mrs. Silverberg was in India,
accompanying her husband on the India Field Research Project. Lastly,
Subseries IV contains several pottery items whose use and provenance are
undetermined.
Subseries 1: Others’ Writings |
| Box 17 Folder 4 | Folklore Notes: Vol. I - Gujarat, 1914 |
| Box 17 Folder 5 | Review of Werner Levi’s Free India in Asia: Clipping, 1953 |
| Box 17 Folder 6 | Reprint copy of Margaret Mead’s "Manus Restudied: An Interim Report," 1954 |
| Box 17 Folder 7 | Village India: Studies in the Little Community ed. McKim Marriott, 1955 |
| Box 17 Folder 8 | Lore (publication of the Milwaukee Public Museum), 1958 |
| Box 17 Folder 9-10 | Papers from a symposium titled "Caste in India," abstracts, list of participants, correspondence, notes, name tag, 1958-1959 |
| Box 18 Folder 1 | Human Organization (journal), 1963 |
| Box 18 Folder 2 | Copies of Gerald D. Berreman articles published by the South Asia Series of the Center for South Asian Studies, University of California - Berkeley, 1966-1972 |
| Box 18 Folder 3 | Copy of A.M. Shah’s "Historical Sociology: A Trend Report," 1974 |
| Box 18 Folder 4 | Copies of publications put out by the Appropriate Technology Development Association (India), 1978 |
| Box 18 Folder 5 | Review of William L. Kolb’s "The Structure and Functions of Cities": Reprint, undated |
| Box 18 Folder 6-8 | Reprints and photocopied papers, published and unpublished, 1959-1984 |
| Box 19 Folder 1-6 | Reprints and photocopied papers, published and unpublished, 1959-1984 |
| Box 20 Folder 1-6 | Reprints and photocopied papers, published and unpublished, 1959-1984 |
| Box 21 Folder 1-2 | Reprints and photocopied papers, published and unpublished, 1959-1984 |
Subseries 2: Materials Related to Gitel P. Steed |
| Box 21 Folder 3 | Newspaper clipping of story on Gitel Steed, 1949 |
| Box 21 Folder 4 | Typescript copy of report prepared by Gitel P. Steed in relation to the Research in Contemporary India Field Project, 1950 |
| Box 21 Folder 5 | Gitel P. Steed’s data index as sent to Dr. Kardiner, 1952 |
| Box 21 Folder 6-7 | Transcripts of lectures delivered by Gitel P. Steed at Columbia University as part of "Sociology 311-312: Techniques of Psychodynamic Analysis of Culture: Illustrated by Aspects of Primitive and Contemporary Societies," 1953 |
| Box 21 Folder 8 | of India Archive (Steed Papers), as compiled by Silverberg, 1979-1980
|
| Box 21 Folder 9 | Materials related to Silverberg’s bequest to the Gitel P. Steed Papers at The University of Chicago Special Collections: Request to view Gitel P. Steed Papers at The University of Chicago Special Collections, notes, correspondence, 1994
|
| Box 22 Folder 1-2 | Materials regarding the India archives at the Regenstein Library’s Special Collections: Notes, inventories, 1994
|
Subseries 3: General Files |
| Box 22 Folder 3 | Notes on the organization of Silverberg’s research files, 1950 |
| Box 22 Folder 4 | Newspaper clipping of cartoon, 1950 |
| Box 22 Folder 5-6 | Donna Silverberg, diaries, 1950-1951 |
| Box 22 Folder 7 | Copies of feature story on Silverberg’s dissertation research, published by the University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1952 |
| Box 22 Folder 8 | Newspaper clipping of story on Silverberg, 1952 |
| Box 22 Folder 9 | Xth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences: Correspondence, notes, copy of Silverberg’s "Intercultural Communication among Anthropologists: Tower of Babel or Siblinghood of Humanity?" 1978 |
| Box 22 Folder 10 | Typescript titled "Notes from Public Opinion Quarterly, winter 1952-53," undated |
| Box 22 Folder 11 | Unidentified photos, undated |
| Box 22 Folder 12 | Unidentified photocopied excerpt, undated |
| Box 23 Folder 1-4 | Unidentified miscellaneous notes, undated |
Subseries 4: Pottery |
| Box 24 | Brown shell/pod with a carved surface, undated |
| Box 24 | Ceramic bell, painted in blue and green, undated |
| Box 24 | Hollow coconut, filled with pottery fragments, undated |
| Box 24 | Small ceramic bowl with painted exterior, undated |
| Box 24 | Two smaller ochre ceramic goblet-shaped items with decorated surface and ashen interior, undated |
| Box 24 | Wine skin |
| Box 25 | Brown ceramic goblet-shaped item with ashen interior, undated |
Series V: Oversize |
| Box 26 | Notes on Koli vocabulary regarding kinship, diagrams, photographs, undated |
| Box 26 | Hand drawn map of India, undated |
Series VI: Restricted |
| Box 27 Folder 1-2 | Materials related to research funding, [Restricted 50 years: financial records] 1978-1989
|