Research in Contemporary Cultures
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Bunzel, Ruth Leah, 1898-1990
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ruth Leah Bunzel Papers
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.2 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1947-1954
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2006-22, Series 2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Columbia University Research in Contemporary Cultures [RCC] was organized and directed by Ruth Benedict and funded by the Human Resources Division of the Office of Naval Research in 1947.  RCC was organized to develop methods in studying contemporary cultures from a distance.  Interdisciplinary groups composed of anthropologists, psychiatrists/clinical psychologists, sociologists, historians, political scientists, students, and other people with interests in cross-cultural problems were formed to study the following cultures: Chinese, Czech, French, Russians, Polish, Syrians, and East European Jewish.  To gain more balanced perspectives, an effort was made to have group members that belonged to the culture being studied along with Americans and nationals of other countries.  Invited by Benedict to participate in RCC, Bunzel directed the group studying Chinese culture. When Benedict passed away in 1948, Margaret Mead took over as director of RCC until 1951 when the project ended.  Offshoots of RCC were created, including Studies of Soviet Culture [SSC] (directed by Mead) and Studies in Contemporary Cultures [SCC] (directed by Rhoda Métraux); both projects were sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History.