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[Identification of item], Edgar Tristram Thompson papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Edgar Tristram Thompson papers were received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1963-1990.
Processed by Matt Harkins and Emily J. Glenn
Completed October 2002
Encoded by Jill Katte, May 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Edgar Tristram Thompson received his instruction in sociology and education from the University of South Carolina and the University of Chicago. Thompson was a Professor of Sociology at Duke University from 1935 to 1970 and founder and chair of the Center for Southern Studies. He conducted plantation research in South Africa from 1965-1968 as a Hugh Le May Fellow at Rhodes University. Thompson served as President of the Southern Sociological Society in 1961 and was a participant in many conferences on race relations. He was an expert on the the anthropology of race and plantation society in the South; he also did extensive research on community structures. His main works were
The material in this collection addresses American race relations and scholarly treatment of race from about 1940 to 1970. The bulk of the records date from 1920 to 1970. Included are manuscripts of papers by Thompson, his thesis, a bound volume of selected writings, personal and professional correspondence, printed matter, research notes, proofs, departmental budgets and other materials relating to the study and teaching of sociology. Primary sources include handwritten autobiographical histories written by African American students and surveys from a nationwide graffiti project. Major subjects in the manuscripts include race relations in the United States and in other countries, the South, religion in the South, international plantation systems, and sociological anthropology. There is also a small amount of material on the sociology of language. Also included are histories of the Department of Sociology, articles presented in symposia and conferences by Thompson, correspondence concerning the development, establishment, and operations of the Duke Center for Southern Studies (1965 to 1969) and the formation of a Black Studies program (1969). There are also papers from the Mayor's Committee on Interracial Affairs of Durham from 1945. Other materials include newspaper articles which address problems and violence in race relations and publicity of race relations events at Duke.
In addition to scholarly topics in sociology, this collection introduces perspectives on race relations at Duke University during the politically active 1960s and 1970s. There are a number of articles about Duke-sponsored race relations learning activities. Thompson was a strong advocate of learning about personal racial heritage and understanding social structures and events though that frame. He tried for many years, without success, to gain the Ford Foundation's sponsorship of race relations conferences and seminars; this topic received much attention from scholars in sociology. Correspondents include contemporary sociologists Herbert Blumer, Charles Ellwood, Eric Hoffer, Everett Hughes, and Howard Jensen. Thompson's greatest influence was Robert E. Park, a former instructor who was also an expert on race relations theory and plantation systems.
The Edgar T. Thompson papers were originally unorganized. Folders contained many types of documents covering a variety of topics and were loosely grouped by date according to year of accession of the material. The folders have since been further grouped into several series, and further by date within each series, where applicable. Many items in this collection are undated. A list of Thompson's writing can be found at the front of the bound volume
These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
Includes personal and professional correspondence from Herbert Blumer, Charles Ellwood, Eric Hoffer, Everett Hughes, and Howard Jensen about curriculum ideas, race relations, activities among colleagues, politics, and comments on papers and presentations.
Arranged by date.
Includes course outlines and reading lists from undergraduate and graduate courses taught by Thompson as Professor of Sociology at Duke University and Northwestern University. The course subjects cover race relations, physical anthropology, racial identity in the United States, and culture. The Readings in Introductory Sociology folders contain short summaries and commentaries of assigned readings for an entire course section.
Arranged by course subject.
Includes papers written by undergraduate and graduate students of Thompson. Of particular interest are the Negro Life Histories, where Thompson asked students to write autobiographically about their personal experiences with race.
Arranged by date.
Includes extensive documentation of years of effort by Thompson and his colleagues to bring a race relations conference to Duke University.
Arranged by program.
Includes field notes, research assignments and assorted correspondence relating to scholarly study of race relations. Thompson followed the work of Robert E. Park while studying intermarriage, plantations, and race relations in Hawaii. Thompson was the Hugh Le May Fellow at Rhodes University in Rhodesia, Africa where he studied plantations and race relations. He later returned to study apartheid and social class in Africa during the summer of 1966. Thompson also conducted local research for a national survey of graffiti at universities around the United States and followed local developments and trends in racial composition of Durham, NC.
Arranged by research topic.
Included are conference notes, programs, and collected conference papers of events where Thompson was a speaker or organizer. Thompson participated in conferences and symposia of Alpha Kappa Delta and the American Sociological Association on religion, race relations, and race in the South. The Proposals folder includes extensive documentation of years of effort by Thompson and his colleagues to bring a race relations conference to Duke University.
Arranged by topic of conference.
Includes drafts of
Arranged alphabetically by paper title or subject.
Includes correspondence, lecture notes, reading lists, and general short writings by Robert E. Park, a professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago during the 1930s. Also includes correspondence and drafts related to Park's biography, written by Winifred Raushenbush and edited by Thompson and Everett Hughes.
Arranged by date.
Includes speeches made by Thompson, notes from Mayor's Committee (Durham, North Carolina) meetings, Kiwanis membership honors, a biographical sketch, and a family genealogy.