Conrad M. Arensberg papers
name: label: Creator
content: Arensberg, Conrad M. (Conrad Maynadier), 1910-1997
label: Names
content: Brooklyn College
label: Names
content: Columbia University
label: Names
content: Harvard University
label: Names
content: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
label: Correspondent
content: Appell, George N.
label: Correspondent
content: Beatty, John
label: Correspondent
content: Chapple, Eliot D.
label: Correspondent
content: Comitas, Lambros
label: Correspondent
content: Coon, Carleton S. (Carleton Stevens), 1904-1981
label: Correspondent
content: Curry, Donald
label: Correspondent
content: Dillon, Wilton
label: Correspondent
content: Ehrich, Robert W.
label: Correspondent
content: Fried, Morton H. (Morton Herbert), 1923-1986
label: Correspondent
content: Gamburd, Geraldine DeNering
label: Correspondent
content: Garrison, Vivian, 1933-2013
label: Correspondent
content: Goodell, Grace E.
label: Correspondent
content: Halpern, Joel Martin
label: Correspondent
content: Haskell, Edward F.
label: Correspondent
content: Iberall, Arthur S.
label: Correspondent
content: Kimball, Solon T.
label: Correspondent
content: Landes, Ruth, 1908-1991
label: Correspondent
content: Lomax, Alan, 1915-2002
label: Correspondent
content: Mencher, Joan P., 1930-
label: Correspondent
content: Niehoff, Arthur H., 1921-
label: Correspondent
content: Richardson, Frederick L.W.
label: Correspondent
content: Steward, Julian Haynes, 1902-1972
label: Correspondent
content: Tax, Sol, 1907-1995
label: Correspondent
content: Tootell, Geoffrey M. B. (Geoffrey Matthew Bemis)
label: Correspondent
content: Warner, William Lloyd
label: Correspondent
content: Whyte, William Foote, 1914-2000
label: Correspondent
content: Winner, Irene
label: Correspondent
content: Zenner, Walter P.
place: label: Place
content: India
label: Place
content: Europe
label: Place
content: Ireland
topic: label: Topic
content: Peasants
label: Topic
content: Management
label: Topic
content: Ethnology
label: Topic
content: Ethnic groups
label: Topic
content: Family
label: Topic
content: Urban policy
label: Topic
content: Social interaction
label: Topic
content: Industrial relations
label: Topic
content: Political anthropology
label: Topic
content: Linguistics
label: Topic
content: Applied anthropology
label: Topic
content: Economic anthropology
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Vivian E. Garrison Arensberg in 2011.
creator: label: Creator
content: Arensberg, Conrad M. (Conrad Maynadier), 1910-1997
culture: label: Culture
content: Irish
setName: label: See more items in
content: Conrad M. Arensberg papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection contains the professional papers of Conrad M. Arensberg, anthropologist, university professor, and anthropological consultant. Included are correspondence; published and unpublished writings; research materials, including notes, correspondence, diaries, charts, drafts, interviews, research plans, reports, project proposals, and bibliographic cards; speeches; pamphlets; articles from newspapers and periodicals; course materials, including bibliographies, lecture notes, reading lists, assignments, exams, project proposals, and syllabi; curriculum vitae; date books; scholarly papers and publications of other scholars; and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Conrad M. Arensberg was born on September 12, 1910 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Academically inclined from a young age, he graduated first in his class at Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh. His early success earned him admittance to Harvard College. Arensberg studied anthropology and graduated summa cum laude in 1931.

As a graduate student at Harvard University, Arensberg was asked to join a project being conducted in Ireland by Harvard's Anthropology Department. Alongside W. Lloyd Warner and Solon T. Kimball, Arensberg spent three years studying rural Irish life in County Clare. This research resulted in his doctoral dissertation, "A Study in Rural Life in Ireland as Determined by the Functions and Morphology of the Family," which was later published as The Irish Countryman in 1937. His work was groundbreaking in the field of anthropology, and his study of County Clare "became a model for other community studies... requiring that researchers study a target culture from the inside, making meticulous notes on everything they saw, heard or experienced." Arensberg reshaped the way that anthropologists approached fieldwork and opened doors for the study of modern industrial societies.

Arensberg had a long teaching career. He first became a university professor in 1938 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and remained a professor for the rest of his life, teaching at MIT, Brooklyn College, Barnard College, Columbia University, the University of Florida, and the University of Virginia. At Columbia, Arensberg worked alongside such notable anthropologists as Margaret Mead, Charles Wagley, and Marvin Harris.

Arensberg officially retired in 1979, but he continued to collaborate with his colleagues, counsel past students, and participate in professional associations until his death. He passed away on February 10, 1997 in Hazlet, New Jersey.

Sources Consulted

Comitas, Lambros. 2000. "Conrad Maynadier Arensberg (1910-1997)." American Anthropologist 101(4): 810-813.

Curriculum Vitae—Amended Posthumously. Series 6. Biographical Files. Conrad M. Arensberg papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. 1997. "Conrad Arensberg, 86, Dies; Hands-On Anthropologist." New York Times, February 16: 51.

Chronology

1910 September 12 -- Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1931 -- B.A. from Harvard College

1932-1934 -- Traveled to Ireland to study rural life in County Clare as part of the Harvard Irish Mission

1933-1936 -- Junior Fellow, The Society of Fellows, Harvard University

1933-1994 -- Member and Fellow, American Anthropological Association

1934 -- Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University

1937 -- Published The Irish Countryman, the result of his work in Ireland

1938-1940 -- Occasional consultant, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of American Ethnology

1938-1941 -- Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1940 -- Founded (with others) the Society for Applied Anthropology

1941-1946 -- Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Brooklyn College

1943-1946 -- Captain, Major, AUS, Military Intelligence Service

1946-1952 -- Associate Professor of Sociology, Chairman (until 1949) Department of Sociology, Barnard College, Columbia University

1951-1952 -- Research Director, UNESCO, Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany

1951-1952 -- Editor, Point Four Manual, American Anthropological Association

1952-1953 -- Associate Professor of Anthropology, The Graduate Faculty of Political Science, Columbia University

1953-1970 -- Professor of Anthropology, Chairman (1956-1959), Department of Anthropology, Columbia University

1962-1978 -- Co-Director (with Alan Lomax) of Columbia University's Cross-Cultural Surveys of Social Structure and Expressive Behavior

1970-1979 -- Buttenwieser Professor of Human Relations, Columbia University

1979-1997 -- Buttenwieser Professor Emeritus of Human Relations, Columbia University

1980 -- President, American Anthropological Association

1991 -- First recipient, "Conrad M. Arensberg Award" of the Society for the Anthropology of Work

1997 February 10 -- Died in Hazlet, New Jersey
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 33.3 Linear feet (83 document boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1931-1997
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.2011-17
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Periodicals
label: Type
content: Lecture notes
label: Type
content: Reports
label: Type
content: Syllabi
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Field notes
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is organized into 8 series:

Series 1) Correspondence, 1933-1994

Series 2) Writings, 1936-1983

Series 3) Research files, 1931-1984

Series 4) Professional activities, 1933-1990

Series 5) Teaching files, 1938-1983

Series 6) Biographical files, 1946-1997

Series 7) Subject files, 1934-1979

Series 8) Photographs, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The papers of Conrad M. Arensberg were prepared for deposit at the National Anthropological Archives by Vivian E. Garrison Arensberg. The papers arrived at the archives partially organized, with a general description of the contents written on the record storage boxes. Some of the materials were in labeled folders, but most were not. Original folder titles were retained. Folder titles assigned by the archivist are indicated by square brackets. Files have been rehoused in acid free folders. The archivist kept existing groupings and organized the collection into eight series. While the materials were organized into several natural series—correspondence, teaching materials, Eastern and Central Europe, and industrial relations files, several series—writings, biographical files, professional activities, and research files—were imposed by the archivist with the help of biographical information as well as Arensberg's curriculum vitae. These materials were scattered throughout the collection and had to be brought back together. Restricted materials were separated and replaced with notes indicating original and new locations.

Processed by Christy Fic, 2011. Finding aid originally encoded by Jocelyn Baltz, 2012 June. Finding aid updated and encoded by Katherine Madison, 2018 June.
bibliography: label: Selected Bibliography
content: 1937.  -- The Irish Countryman -- . New York and London: Macmillan.

1940. With Solon T. Kimball.  -- Family and Community in Ireland -- . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

1940. "Toward a 'Control System' for Industrial Relations."  -- Mechanical Engineering  -- 62(5): 380-382.

1952. "Behavior and Organization: Industrial Studies." In  -- Social Psychology at the Crossroads -- . John H. Rohrer and Muzafer Sherif, eds. pp. 324-352. New York: Harper.

1954. "The Community Study Method."  -- American Journal of Sociology --  40(2): 109-124.

1955. "American Communities."  -- American Anthropologist --  57(6): 1143-1162.

1957. With Geoffrey Tootell. "In-Plant Industrial Sociology." In  -- Common Frontiers of the Social Sciences -- . Mirra Komarovsky, ed. pp. 310-337. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press.

1957. "Anthropology as History." In  -- Trade and Markets in the Early Empires -- . K. Polanyi, H. W. Pearson, and C. M. Arensberg, eds. pp. 97-113. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press.

1961. "The Community as Object and as Sample."  -- American Anthropologist --  63(2): 241-264.

1963. "The Old World Peoples: The Place of European Cultures in World Ethnography."  -- Anthropological Quarterly --  36(3): 75-99.

1965. With Solon T. Kimball.  -- Culture and Community -- . New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.

1967. "Upgrading Peasant Agriculture: Is Tradition the Snag?"  -- Columbia Journal of World Business --  2(1): 63-69.

1968. With Solon T. Kimball. "Community Study: Retrospect and Prospect."  -- American Journal of Sociology --  73(6): 691-705.

1972. "Culture as Behavior: Structure and Emergence." In  -- Annual Review of Anthropology, --  Vol. 1. Bernard Sigel et al, eds. pp. 1-26. Palo Alto, California: Annual Reviews.

1976. With Vivian E. Garrison. "The Evil Eye: Envy or Risk of Seizure? Paranoia or Patronal Dependency?" In  -- The Evil Eye -- . Clarence C. Maloney, ed. pp.286-328. New York: Columbia University Press.

1981. With Arthur Iberall and Harry Soodak. "Homeokinetic Physics of Societies—A New Discipline: Autonomous Groups, Cultures, Polities." In  -- Perspectives of Biomechanics -- . H. Reul, D. N. Ghista, and G. Rau, eds. pp. 433-519. New York: Harwood Academic Publishers.

1981. "Cultural Holism through Interactional Systems: Presidential Address for 1980."  -- American Anthropologist --  83(3): 562-581.

1982. "Generalizing Anthropology: The Recovery of Holism." In  -- Crisis in Anthropology: View from Spring Hill -- . E. Adamson Hoebel, ed. pp. 109-130. New York: Garland Publishing.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Periodicals
label: Genre/Form
content: Lecture notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Reports
label: Genre/Form
content: Syllabi
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Field notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection contains the professional papers of Conrad M. Arensberg, anthropologist, university professor, and anthropological consultant. Included are correspondence; published and unpublished writings; research materials, including notes, correspondence, diaries, charts, drafts, interviews, research plans, reports, project proposals, and bibliographic cards; speeches; pamphlets; articles from newspapers and periodicals; course materials, including bibliographies, lecture notes, reading lists, assignments, exams, project proposals, and syllabi; curriculum vitae; date books; scholarly papers and publications of other scholars; and photographs.

The materials in this collection document Arensberg's career as a university professor, his relationships with colleagues across a spectrum of disciplines, and his contributions to the field of anthropology. As a respected member of the anthropological community, Arensberg received a voluminous amount of correspondence from his peers, who often included copies of their most recent papers. He kept many of these works, which, along with his annotations, can be found throughout the collection. It appears he used these papers in a variety of ways, including as resources for his classes or as reference materials. Arensberg's own work is reflected in his writings and research files. Arensberg's Ireland research, despite its importance to his career and to the field of anthropology as a whole, has a minimal presence in the collection. Located in Series 3. Research Files, the subseries containing Arensberg's Ireland material primarily consists of photocopies of his correspondence, field notes, and diaries during this time. His role as a professor, rather than as a researcher or writer, is the most well-represented in the collection. Arensberg formed lasting relationships with many of his students, as evidenced by his continued correspondence with many of them long after their years at Columbia.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Arensberg is listed as a correspondent in the following collections at the Smithsonian Institution's National Anthropological Archives: John Lawrence Angel papers; Papers of Carleton Stevens Coon; Ethel Cutler Freeman papers; Frederica de Laguna papers; Ruth Landes papers; William Duncan Strong papers.

For oral history interviews with Arensberg, see the following collections:

-The Smithsonian Institution's Human Studies Film Archives "Video Dialogues in Anthropology: Conrad Arensberg and Lambros Comitas, 1989." In this video oral history conducted by anthropologist Lambros Comitas, Arensberg comments on his training in anthropology, the individuals who were influential in his career, and the geographical areas where he conducted his fieldwork.

-The National Anthropological Archives Manuscript (MS) 2009-15. May Mayko Ebihara conducted this oral history interview with Arensberg on March 7, 1984 as part of a larger oral history project with anthropologists.

For more concerning Arensberg's work with interaction theory, see the Frederick L.W. Richardson papers at the National Anthropological Archives. Richardson worked closely with Eliot Chapple and Conrad Arensberg on theories concerning human interaction.

For correspondence and other information related to Arensberg's Ireland research, see: 
Solon Toothaker Kimball Papers, Special Collections, Teachers College, Columbia University; and Solon Toothaker Kimball Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Additional materials concerning Arensberg's research and personal life can be found among the papers of his wife, anthropologist Vivian "Kelly" Garrison. See the Vivian E. Garrison papers at the National Anthropological Archives.