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A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Kate Cruikshank

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Fax: 812-855-8104
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington. African Studies Program.

Extent
9.3 cubic feet

Language
Materials are in English unless otherwise indicated.

Collection no
C217

Abstract
The collection consists of the administrative records and correspondence of directors J. Gus Liebenow and Patrick O'Meara related to the development of the African Studies Program.

Administrative Information

Administrative History

The formal development of an African Studies Program at Indiana University began in 1961 with the receipt of a five-year developmental grant from the Ford Foundation under the directorship of J. Gus Liebenow of the Department of Political Science. The program was strengthened in 1965 when it was designated as an African Language and Area Center under the National Defense Education Act. In the first ten years of its existence, faculty participants increased from 3 to 23, graduates specializing in African studies from 3 to 95, courses offered during the regular academic year from 4 to 79, graduate enrollments from 26 to 367, and undergraduate enrollments from 17 to 244. A cornerstone of the program was the weekly “continuing seminar,” to which an ever-expanding range of national and international experts in African history and culture was invited for lecture and discussion.

In 1970, when Liebenow as appointed Dean for International Programs and Associate Dean for Research and Advanced Studies, he agreed to continue the directorship of the African Studies Program if he could have the assistance of a deputy director. Patrick O’Meara was appointed to this position, then became director in spring 1972 when Liebenow was appointed Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs. O’Meara continued in this position until his own appointment as Dean for International Programs in June 1993. The records in this collection are from the Liebenow and O’Meara directorships.

Five areas of emphasis characterized the early years of the program: West African regional studies, African humanities with emphasis on the arts and music, problems of development, historical study emphasizing West Africa, and African languages and linguistics. Work in African languages included the preparation of teaching manuals for 14 African languages under contract with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and with the Peace Corps; coursework was offered in other languages as well. A sixth area of emphasis evolved with the extensive work of Alan Taylor in the development of the library collection on Africa and the training of African bibliographers within the Graduate Library School.

The African Studies Program was from the beginning intended to become a permanent program, drawing on faculty with appointments in established departments, encouraging recruitment of new faculty with African interests for departmental openings, and pursuing interdisciplinary efforts with other campus entities such as the Folklore Institute (joint publication of Cross-Rhythms), the Archive of Traditional Music, the International Development Research Center, and the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. Its faculty was active nationally and internationally in the development of scholarship on Africa through the support of the African Studies Association, founded in 1956, as well as through individual affiliations and extensive publications. In response to the increasing demands by African-Americans for attention to their African heritage and contributions to American society and the world in 1968, faculty from the African Studies Program were heavily involved in developing and carrying out the extensive Focus: Black America program of speakers, performers, and discussions during the 1968-69 academic year. As Liebenow described the program, it was intended “to educate the university community with respect to the many contributions being made by Black citizens to all phases of American society” and to investigate “the causes and implications of inter-racial conflict in the United States.” His hope was that “Focus: Black America will not only contribute to the launching of the recently approved Program of Afro-American Studies, but will lead also to the hiring of new Black faculty at Indiana and to making the university a more attractive institution for current and prospective Black students” (Dec. 1968 Christmas letter).

Other notable projects of the program’s early years were the annual Hans Wolff Lectures, bringing noted international Africanists to campus for a schedule of lectures and seminars; publications in African humanities; collection of extensive audio and video resources on Africa; the “Living Africa” television production; efforts in support of the Southern African Research Archives Project (SARAP) under the leadership of Gwendolen Margaret Carter, Director of the African Studies Program at Northwestern University and from 1974-1984 a member of the I.U. faculty; and development of the MacArthur Foundation grant that launched the Center for Global Change and World Peace.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of records and correspondence from the directorships of J. Gus Liebenow (1961-1972) and Patrick O’Meara (1972-1993). Records of particular note are early annual reports (1960-1972); records related to the continuing African Studies Seminar (1963-1974), the early development of the African Studies Association (1957-1975), and the Focus: Black America Program (1968-69); and correspondence with international scholars in African Studies.

The African Studies Program Directors’ Records are organized into five series: Administration, African Studies Association, Correspondence, Focus: Black America, and University Service, four of which are further arranged into subseries.

Within the Administration series, the first subseries, Annual Reports (1960-1973), is arranged chronologically. The second subseries, “Archives,” consists of files so-designated when the records were received and is arranged alphabetically. The third and fourth subseries, Course Offerings (1963-1988) and Governance (1985-1989), are arranged chronologically to facilitate tracking the development of the program. The four subseries on Intra-university Collaboration (1970-1990), Outreach Activities (1966-1988), Projects (1971-1990), and Publications (1982-1990) are arranged alphabetically, then chronologically within a given activity or project. The ninth subseries, Subject Files (1968-1991), is arranged alphabetically.

The African Studies Association series (1957-1975) is arranged chronologically.

The Correspondence series is divided into five subseries, each arranged alphabetically. The first, Faculty (IU) (1962-1993), contains in particular extensive correspondence with Gwendolen Margaret Carter, J. Gus Liebenow after his leaving the directorship of the program in 1972, Alan Merriam, Emile Snyder, and Alan Taylor. The other four subseries are Faculty Recruitment (1961-1972); Faculty, Visiting (1962-1980); Seminar Speakers and Lecturers (1966-1987); and Other Correspondence (1962-1990).

The Focus: Black America Program series (1968-1969) consists of four subseries. The Initial Planning subseries consists of Liebenow’s files on conceptualization of the program and intensive planning in May and June 1968; it is roughly chronological within that narrow time frame. The subseries of Administration files is arranged alphabetically, as are the two subseries for Events and for Speakers and Performers.

The University Service series (1979-1995) includes substantive information on the establishment of the Mathers Museum (Museum Advisory Committee files) and the early development of instructional technology at I.U. (Center for Media and Teaching files and Media Task Force files), as well as on International Programs and African Exchanges. The series is arranged alphabetically by committee or board, then chronologically.

Arrangement

Organized in five series: Administration, African Studies Association, Correspondence, Focuse: Black America, and University service.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Indiana University. African Studies Program --Archives.
  • Indiana University. African Studies Program --Records and correspondence.
  • Indiana University. African Studies Program --History --Sources.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. African Studies Program --Archives.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. African Studies Program --Records and correspondence.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. African Studies Program --History --20th century --Sources.
  • African Studies Association --History --20th century --Sources.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. Dept. of Afro-American Studies --History --20th century --Sources.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis --History --20th century --Sources.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. Archives of Traditional Music --History --20th century --Sources.
  • Indiana University. African Studies Program.
  • Liebenow, J. Gus, 1925- --Archives.
  • Liebenow, J. Gus, 1925- -- Correspondence.
  • O'Meara, Patrick --Archives.
  • O'Meara, Patrick --Correspondence.
  • Carter, Gwendolen Margaret, 1906- --Correspondence.
  • Snyder, Emile --Correspondence.
  • Taylor, Alan R. (Alan Robert), 1932- --Correspondence.
  • Liebenow, J. Gus, 1925- Correspondence. Selections.
  • O'Meara, Patrick. Correspondence. Selections.
  • Carter, Gwendolen Margaret, 1906- Correspondence. Selections.
  • Snyder, Emile. Correspondence. Selections.
  • Taylor, Alan R. (Alan Robert), 1932- Correspondence. Selections.
• • Topics
  • Africanists --Indiana --Bloomington.
  • Sound archives --Indiana --Bloomington.
  • College museums --Indiana --Bloomington.
• • Places
  • Africa, West --Languages --Study and teaching (Higher) --Indiana --Bloomington.
  • Africa, West --Civilization --Study and teaching (Higher) --Indiana --Bloomington.

Separated Material

Photographs transferred to the University Archives Photographs Collection.

Student files transferred to Office of the Registrar.

Oversized files stored in Box 10.