Addition 1
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No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
The Gwendolen M. Carter Papers chronicle Carter's career as a political scientist and Africanist from the 1930's through the 1970's (a small amount of earlier material is also included.) The bulk of the collection dates from approximately 1960 through approximately 1975. Carter's South African research interests and her activities as director of Northwestern University's Program of African Studies are especially well documented.
The collection is divided into eight sections: Personal Papers; Administrative Files; South African Research Materials; Papers and Speeches; Research Files; Manuscript of National Unity and Regionalism in Eight African States; Dissertation Research Materials; and Scrapbooks.
Personal Papers: This small file includes personal and family correspondence, mementos, documents such as transcripts and recommendations, and similar items relating to Carter's personal life. Most of this material dates from the 1950′s or earlier.
Administrative Files: This material, principally correspondence and from Carter's tenure as director of Northwestern's Program of African Studies, is organized into three groups: General Correspondence, Letters of Recommendation, and Subject Files. General Correspondence includes letters, both incoming and outgoing, arranged chronologically. Letters of Recommendation are also arranged chronologically, and include requests for such letters as well as Carter's recommendations.
Subject Files consist primarily of correspondence, but reports, memos, proposals, and similar supporting materials are included as well. Subjects are arranged alphabetically; within these subdivisions, arrangement is chronological.
South African Research Materials: South Africa was Carter's major field of concentration since the late 1940′s, and various facets of her South African interests are documented here. The subseries is divided into eight sections: Correspondence, Documents, Biographies and Interviews, Administrative Files, Manuscripts, Background Information, the 1953 Elections, and Card Files.
Correspondence dates from 1943 until 1977. Arranged by subject, it concerns resources for study, Carter's research, and current South African affairs.
Documents include minutes, constitutions, legislation, official statements and memoranda, and similar material relating to South African events and organizations from the 1920′s through the 1960′s. The largest portion of the material relates to the Natal, South African, and Transvaal Indian Congresses. Arrangement is alphabetical by subject.
Biographies and Interviews consist of memoirs, interviews, and other biographical information about South African activists, black and white. The material dates from the 1940′s through the 1960′s and arrangement is topical.
The Administrative Files are composed of indexes, reports, and other records pertaining to the organization and management of the South African Documents' Survey Project. Reports and records are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Manuscripts include articles about South Africa written by Carter, as well as a manuscript version of From Protest to Challenge, a documentary history edited by Carter and others.
Background Information, arranged alphabetically by subject, includes informational material covering a wide range of South African topics, including communism, nationalism, and religion. Bibliographic information is also included here.
The 1953 Elections section includes election returns, constituency reports, information about the United and Nationalist parties and their candidates, and propaganda, arranged alphabetically by subject. This section concludes with a large file of clippings from South African newspapers.
Card Files consists of three sets of subject files, each arranged alphabetically, pertaining to South African affairs. Two are unidentified, and the final set is dated 1964.
Papers and Speeches consist of papers by students or other scholars. A general sequence of papers (alphabetical by author's surname) is followed by alphabetical sequences of dissertation proposals, miscellaneous proposals, and papers from the American Negro Leadership Conference in 1964 and the CSA Meeting of Specialists on Urbanization and Urban Development in 1961. Finally, there is a set of these submitted to Carter by Smith College students, arranged alphabetically by surname of author.
Research Files include clippings from newspapers and magazines, reprints of articles, and notes are included here. The majority of the material is filed alphabetically by African nation. A sizable file of general material on Africa follows this sequence, then by an alphabetical file of subjects, such as art, education, and drought. Although material in this subseries dates from the late 1940′s though the 1970′s, much of it is undated. Folders unmarked as to date may span this thirty-year period. A small group of card files concludes this section.
Manuscript of National Unity and Regionalism in Eight African States consists of a typescript draft of the publication, which Carter edited.
Dissertation Research Materials include notes and research materials collected by Carter while researching the League of Nations for her dissertation. The subseries is arranged topically.
Scrapbooks are filled with newsclippings about world affairs between the 1930′s and the 1960′s. Most date from during and immediately after World War II. Scrapbooks 1-45 are bound; most of these were numbered by Carter. Numbers 46-82 are bundles of unbound scrapbook pages, arranged in no particular order.
Dates
- 1915-1991
Creator
- From the Collection: Carter, Gwendolen Margaret, 1906-1991 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The Gerhart (Box 166 Folder 7) and Karis (Box 166, Folder 12-Box 169 Folder 3) correspondence and the Buthelezi diary (Box 170 Folder 9) is restricted; consultation with University Archivist required.
Extent
From the Collection: 134.00 Boxes
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Description of the addition
The addition fills twenty-five and one-half boxes and spans the period 1925-1986. The bulk of the material dates between the 1950s and the early 1980s. The Papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, teaching files, research files, speech manuscripts and related materials, and publications files. Two additional sections of the Papers are very small: education materials (one folder), and materials relating to professional organizations that Carter participated in (three folders). The biographical materials include a large collection of clippings documenting Carter's speeches, travels, and interviews. Of special interest is the textual and photographic material (see Archives photograph collection) relating to the American Political Science Association's 1984 round table on Carter's contribution to the field of African studies (Box 156 Folder 7) and the interviews of Carter by Thomas Karis, of the African studies program at Indiana University, and Phyllis Martin. This section is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Files on personal data. curricula vitae, and questionnaires for professional directories precede the alphabetical arrangement. The general correspondence relates to Carter's many trips, speaking engagements, research, publications and, teaching. Some letters contain valuable accounts of important events, such as the independence of Kenya (Box 160 Folder 3). Some of the earliest letters have been retyped or photocopied. The general correspondence is arranged chronologically by date. The subject correspondence consists mainly of letters to and from Thomas Karis. Other subjects pertain to Carter's publishing with the Cornell University and the Indiana University Presses, the Ford Foundation, the Indiana University Program of African Studies, Christmas letters, and other individuals. The subject correspondence is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Within subjects, the folders are arranged chronologically by date. The teaching files are comprised of materials relating to Carter's teaching career at both Indiana University and Northwestern University. The files include syllabi, reading lists, and a few grade sheets and student papers. Of special interest is the material related to two student tours to Africa led by Carter in 1959 and 1961. A small section of general teaching materials relating to the 1967 summer seminar in Africa and Project 87, the planning committee of the nation-wide educational activities for the bicentennial celebration of the U.S. Constitution (1987), are located at the end of this section. The research files contain interview files and trip reports from Carter's numerous excursions to Africa as well as India and other Asian and Pacific countries. The interview files contain transcripts and brief interview summaries of government officials and political leaders from African countries. The files are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the person interviewed, or by the name of the country where the interview took place. The trip reports consist of notes describing scenery, people, housing, social customs, as well as the political, community, and religious events. Several of the trip reports, such as the account of the Incwala (the Swaziland ceremony of the first fruits), are article length (Box 173 Folder 1). These materials are arranged alphabetically by name of the country or continent. Users of the research files should also examine both the subject and general correspondence around the pertinent dates for related documentation. The files of speech manuscripts and related materials frequently include drafts, notes, and occasionally, related correspondence and event programs. This section is arranged alphabetically according to the title of the speech. In some instances the title is unknown and the speech is filed alphabetically under the name of the place where the speech was given (the place names are in parentheses). The publications files contain publicity material, textual material, and some correspondence relating to Carter's books. From the Frontline and Which Way is South Africa Going? Are represented by substantial drafts. The books section is arranged alphabetically by book title. Articles, book reviews authored by Carter, and reviews of her books are included in separate sections of the publications files. Many of the articles are in draft form and most of the book reviews are in printed form. A small group of article reprints are included at the end of the book reviews section. The book reviews authored by Carter and the reprints are arranged chronologically by date while the articles and reviews of Carter's books are arranged alphabetically by title.
Acquisition information
Eleven accessions comprise this addition: 83-161, donated by Gwendolen Carter on Nov. 9, 1993; 83-179, donated by Gwendolen Carter via Hans Panofsky on Nov. 25,1983; 84-29, donated by Gwendolen Carter via Hans Panofsky on Feb. 10,1984; 84-114, donated by Gwendolen Carter via Hans Panofsky on July 25,1984; 84-207, donated by Gwendolen Carter on Nov. 20,1984; 85-67, dontated by Judy Rosenthal (Africana) on Apr. 20,1985; 85-95 donated by Hans Panofsky on June 4, 1985; 85-258, donated by Nancy J. Schmidt via Hans Panofsky on Nov. 25 & Dec. 26, 1985; 86-225, donated by Nancy J. Schmidt on Oct. 26, 1986; 87-167 donated on Aug. 8, 1987; and 89-35, donated by Hans Panofsky on March 7, 1989.
Separated materials
Forty one black and white and nine color photographs were transferred to the Archives photograph collection. Thirty books by Carter were transferred to the Archives Faculty Authors collection. Approximately 100 linear inches of material were transferred to the Library's Melville J. Herskovits Africana Library. Thirty-one audiotapes were transferred to the Archives audio cassette collection. Three large certificates were placed in the Archives oversize collection. A small amount of material was transferred to the Program for African Studies Records. Approximately 65 linear inches of duplicate material and 25 linear inches of extraneous material were discarded.
Processor
William K. Beatty; March July 1989
Library Details
Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635
specialcollections@northwestern.edu