Southern Anthropological Society records
name: label: Creator
content: Southern Anthropological Society
topic: label: Topic
content: Professional associations
creator: label: Creator
content: Southern Anthropological Society
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: The Southern Anthropological Society was founded in 1966 after John J. Honigmann, in response to calls for organization by Asael T. Hansen, organized a meeting of anthropologists at New Orleans in conjunction with a meeting of the Southern Sociological Society. (The Southern Sociological Society had earlier served as a meeting ground for anthropologists in the South.) A constitution and by laws for the new organization were adopted in a meeting in 1967. The society was incorporated under the laws of Georgia in 1975. 

The purpose of the Southern Anthropological Society was simply "the promotion of anthropology in the Southern United States." To that end, meetings are held in the South. Membership is open, however, to all persons interested in anthropology, and members and participants at meetings, although strongly from the South, include anthropologists from throughout the United States. Originally the Society was organized with officers consisting of a president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and two elected councillors. 

The society has been mainly concerned with meetings, publications, and two awards that it offers. The publications include a newsletter, The Southern Anthropologist, and the Proceedings of the Southern Anthropological Society. The awards include a prize for a student paper and the James Mooney Award for a "book-length manuscript which best describes and interprets the people or culture of a distinctive New World population." The society has also sponsored a visting lecture program that brought anthropologists to smaller southern colleges.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5.75 Linear feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1965-1982
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.1978-52
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection is unprocessed.  Contact the repository for more information.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The society's records consist mainly of the files of the secretary-treasurer, but these include some correspondence of other officers. Added to these are materials of former officers, which have been donated for inclusion in the society's records. Of these, John Joseph Honigmann's records (donated by Irma Honigmann) concern his part in the founding of the society. The records donated by Harriet Jane Kupferer include copies of the original articles of incorporation and by-laws.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.