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Electronic finding aid encoded by Megan MacDonald.

Summary Information

Repository
Liberian Collections
Indiana University
504 North Fess Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
Phone: (812) 856-0782
Email: liberia@indiana.edu
http://www.onliberia.org

Creator
d'Azevedo, Warren

Collection No.
LCP2001/001

Extent
29 cubic feet; 29 records cartons

Location
LCP300

Language
Materials are primarily in English

Abstract
Warren d’Azevedo is a retired ethnographer, renowned for his work in anthropology and African studies. D’Azevedo began his research in the 1950s, focusing primarily on African cultures, including the Gola ethnic group of Liberia and the Native American Washoe culture of the Great Basin. This collection consists of d’Azevedo’s writings, photographs, memorabilia, and U.S. and Liberian government documents and teaching materials. 


Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Warren d'Azevedo was a professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno, from 1963 to 1988. As a student, d'Azevedo worked with a number of prominent anthropologists at the University of California, Berkeley and Northwestern University, including Paul Radin and Melville Herskovits, both of whom had a profound influence on his work. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1962 from Northwestern University. Throughout his long and distinguished career, Professor d'Azevedo authored numerous articles and books, including Straight with the Medicine: Narratives of Washoe Followers of the Tipi Way . He also edited Great Basin , and the eleventh volume of the Smithsonian Institution’s encyclopedic Handbook of North American Indians , an 850- page work that took fourteen years to complete. Beverly Crum, Steven Crum, and William Jackson were consultants in the project and contributed to the volume, as well.

Professor d'Azevedo is also well known in the field of African Studies, where he is acknowledged as a pioneer in the study of African arts. The Traditional Artist in African Societies, his seminal work on the place of the artist in African society in the 1960’s has influenced scholars in anthropology, art history, and museology since its publication in 1974. This work represented a revolutionary shift away from the study of art as independent object, toward a more inclusive study of art as the result of a dynamic creative process in which an artist is firmly embedded in his or her society.

d'Azevedo's scholarly interests always bore some connection to his advocacy efforts in the United States and Liberia. While founding the Anthropology Department at the University of Nevada, Reno, he was also involved in the creation of the Black Students Organization. While coordinating field schools for graduate students funded by the National Science Foundation, he also advocated for greater religious freedom for Native Americans. Finally, after helping the Smithsonian Institution assemble its vast collection of African art, Professor d'Azevedo served as a human rights observer in the Liberian elections following the country’s protracted civil war.

At the time of his retirement, Warren d'Azevedo was honored by the Institute for Advanced Study at Indiana University for his pioneering achievements, by the Liberian Studies Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and by the African Studies Association with a Leadership Award.

Series Arrangement

Consists of Dr. d'Azevedo'spersonal field notes taken during the years 1956-1967. Prominent areas of study include Liberia, the Kongba Chiefdom, Kle and Gola tribes.

Includes writings by Dr. d'Azevedoand his collection og writings by others ranging in years from 1670-2000. Materials include drafts, published materials and unpublished materials. The writing by others include original manuscripts as well as photocopies from books and periodicals.

Authors are primarily arranged alphabetically by last name. Prominent names include J. Gus Liebenow, Ivan Karp, Frederick Lampand Andreas Massing.

Government documents, 1950-1993.
The U.S. Government documents include a variety of U.S.government documents primarily related to Africa, and specifically Liberiaand Sierra Leone.The Liberian Government Documents include a variety of Liberian government documents from multiple regimes, inlcuding those of Charles Taylor,William Tolbertand Samuel K. Doe

Scope and Content Note

The Warren d’Azevedo collection spans the years from 1935-2001and comprises 29 cubic feet. The materials in the collection include the writings of Dr. d’Azevedo, his correspondence, personal papers, field notes, collected U.S. government documents, Liberian government documents, teaching materials, collected writings by others, memorabilia, and an assortment of other miscellaneous materials. The Dr. d’Azevedo Collection is divided into thirteen series: Field Notes; Writings; Professional Activities; Correspondence; Government Documents; Peace Corps; Photographs; Teaching and Classes; Tenth County; Van Hime; Ethnocentrism Project; Memorabilia; Miscellaneous. There is some overlap between a few series and subseries areas. To be more precise, some series, such as Peace Corps, may also have materials in its own subseries under the correspondence series, for example.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index this collection.

• • Names
  • Carter, Jeanette E.
  • D'Azevedo, Warren L.
  • Doe, Samuel K. (Samuel Kanyon)
  • Dunn, D. Elwood
  • Johnson, S. Jangaba M.
  • Johnson, Zuanna
  • Karnley, George Kpandbakie II
  • Karnley, Isaac James Sr.
  • Liebenow, J. Gus, 1925-
  • Moore, Bai T., 1916-1988
  • Sawyer, Amos
  • Siegmann, William
  • Taylor, Charles Ghankay
• • Topics
  • African diaspora
  • Anthropology
  • Art, African
  • Art and Anthropology
  • Ehthnology - Liberia
  • Liberian Literature
• • Places
  • Africa, West
  • Liberia - Civilization
  • Liberia - Economic Conditions
  • Liberia - History

Administrative Information