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John Robert Lee (1923-1976) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 14/8

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The John Robert Lee Papers are arranged in ten main categories: biographical material; correspondence; teaching material - specific courses; teaching material - supporting documents; teaching material - general; student papers and related material; committees and administration; speeches; publications; and social studies curriculum study center materials.

The biographical material includes appointment books (1971-1974, 1976) and some consulting materials from Lee's work with the Crocus Nutrition Program (1973) and the Victor Company (1966-1975).

The correspondence consists primarily of carbon copies of outgoing letters (1967-1976). These are mostly related to Lee's teaching and writing. There is a considerable number of carbon copies of recommendations Lee wrote (1961-1970) for students and colleagues.

The teaching material - specific courses category includes assignment sheets, reading lists, notes, and other items dealing primarily with the 77 series of the social sciences courses at Northwestern. There is also some material related to reading programs at the Palo Alto and Evanston school systems.

The teaching materials - supporting documents category contains slightly more than four boxes, and includes rough and revised notes, reading lists, marked articles that provided useful information, and many other varieties of source materials and developmental drafts.

The teaching material - general category embraces a small amount of critical reviews and comments.

The student papers and related material category includes many papers written for courses, drafts, outlines, and correspondence relating to doctoral dissertations. Some grade reports are also included. Several student papers may be found with the specific courses or supporting material folders where Lee had originally filed them.

The committees and administration materials include minutes, correspondence, and reports dealing with graduate and undergraduate programs.

Only a few of Lee's speeches are dated. The rest are arranged alphabetically by title.

The publications include both published and unpublished materials. Most of the unpublished items are revisions of chapters for books written or edited by Lee.

The social studies curriculum study center category (7 boxes) is substantial, and presents a good picture of the birth, development, activities, and publications of this federally-supported project.

Addition, Boxes 24-26

This addition to the John R. Lee Papers, filling three boxes (including one half-size), consists primarily of correspondence with publishers and consulting clients; teaching materials; and materials connected with Lee's elementary social studies curriculum Americana +50, published by McGraw-Hill.

The correspondence comprising eleven folders is arranged alphabetically by publisher or organization. It includes correspondence with Allyn & Bacon (1967-69, 1974) concerning the second edition of Readings in Elementary Social Studies, edited by Lee and Jonathon C. McLendon; with Doubleday Multimedia (1973-76), pertaining to a projected elementary-level legal education curriculum; and with the Free Press (1968-73) concerning Lee's text, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary School. Also included are outlines and scripts of a projected educational filmstrip for the American Dental Association.

Nine folders of teaching materials pertain to readability and vocabulary control in writing for elementary students, and an additional nine folders relate to techniques of making instructional films. These materials were probably prepared for Lee's elementary social science methods course, Education 265-C77. They include lecture outlines, transparencies, and class exercises. Also included is one folder relating to Education D06, "Introduction to Research," and one folder of unidentified course materials.

Material concerning the Americana +50 series includes one folder of correspondence with McGraw-Hill Films (1974-76); one folder of unit outlines, teacher's guides, class activity cards, and bibliographies; one folder containing photocopies of possible book illustrations; and one folder of transcribed tape recordings discussing the series, made by Lee and his collaborator Shirley Baugher. Eight additional folders contain scripts and (in some cases) photocopied illustrations for the eight filmstrips in the series.

The addition also includes a small amount of miscellaneous material including a folder of unidentified bibliographies; a folder of miscellaneous instructional filmstrip scripts; an outline of desirable skills for elementary school social science students; and a "Library Research Guide for Ph.D. Candidates in Social Science Education."

Dates

  • 1951-1976

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored off-site and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

26.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

John Robert Lee joined the faculty at Northwestern University in the fall of 1957 as Assistant Professor of Education. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1961 and Professor in 1965. His major contributions were his development of the Master of Arts Teaching program, his use of simulated war-peace games and case methods in teaching, and his development of new approaches in teaching U.S. history. His papers are arranged in ten main categories: biographical material; correspondence; teaching material - specific courses; teaching material - supporting documents; teaching material - general; student papers and related material; committees and administration; speeches; publications; and social studies curriculum study center materials.

Arrangement

The John Robert Lee papers are organized into: teaching material (specific courses, arranged by course; supporting documents, arranged by topic but not alphabetically); student papers and related material; committees and administration; speeches; publications; social studies curriculum study center; biographical material. An addition contains publisher correspondence, additional teaching materials, and material on the Americana +50 project.

Method of Acquisition

Donations to the University Archives by Mrs. Susan Dye Lee in September, 1977, and January, 1978.

Accruals and Additions

The addition to the John Lee Papers was donated to the University Archives by Mrs. Susan Dye Lee on May 21, 1984 (Accession #84-75).

Separated Materials

Approximately 5 linear inches of secondary school teaching aids, duplicate book chapter drafts, and extraneous publications were discarded from the addition.

Processing Information

William K. Beatty, Nov. 1977 - Feb. 1978.  Additional processed by James G. Carson, December 10, 1984.

Title
Guide to the John Robert Lee (1923-1976) Papers
Author
William K. Beatty
Date
01/11/1977
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Library Details

Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635