Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Correspondence

Correspondence is the largest and most important series within the collection providing documentation of White's entire career, his teaching and research, his interaction with colleagues and other notable anthropologists, and his mentoring of students and young anthropologists. The files, with some slight exceptions are in the order maintained by White. The earliest correspondence (1921 to 1944) is arranged chronologically by day. Correspondence thereafter is arranged by academic year and then alphabetically. With some individuals, White maintained separate named files. Notable among these correspondents were Harry Elmer Barnes, H. L. Mencken, Robert Carneiro, Edward Norbeck, and Elsie Clews Parsons. It should be noted that these were by no means the only individuals that White corresponded with on a regular basis. The dated files include significant exchanges with many anthropologists and academicians. Appended to this finding aid is a selected list of Leslie White's correspondents.

Collection

Leslie A. White Papers, 1921-1974

26 linear feet

Professor of anthropology at University of Michigan, student of the culture of the Pueblo Indians of the southwestern United States, and of the career of early American anthropologist, Lewis H. Morgan. Correspondence files, articles and reviews relating to all phases of his anthropological interests, research notes on Lewis H. Morgan, and field notes pertaining to his trips among the Pueblo Indians, and collection of scholarly publications.

The Leslie A. White papers document the fifty-year career of one of America's most distinguished and influential anthropologists. The collection documents through correspondence and other materials the development of modern anthropological theory and practice, particularly the concept of cultural evolution and his theory that the control of energy is basic to the evolution of culture. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Course Work; University Career; Biographical/Personal; Writings; Speeches and Lectures; Miscellaneous; Field Notes and Research Trips; and Published Materials.