Smithsonian Institution. Institute of Social Anthropology Search this
Extent:
5.25 Linear feet (Six document boxes (including one box of restricted materials), four card file boxes, and one oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Field notes
Drawings
Place:
Temuco (Chile)
Lunahuaná (Peru)
Valparaíso (Chile)
Date:
1949-1966
1980
bulk 1950-1953
Summary:
Ozzie G. Simmons (1919--988) served as field director in Peru for the Bureau of American Ethnology's Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA) from 1949 to 1952 and as Consulting Anthropologist for the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, Chile. The papers in this collection mainly concern his field research on the role of alcohol in the community of Lunahuaná, Peru. The collection also contains draft manuscripts on the activities of the public health service in Lima and Chimbote, Peru, and his study of medical centers in Chile.
Scope and Contents:
The papers in this collection mainly concern Ozzie G. Simmons' field research on the role of alcohol in the community of Lunahuaná, Peru. Materials include field notes, reading notes, survey responses, photographs, drawings, maps, and demographic information. The collection also contains draft manuscripts pertaining to his study of medical centers in Chile, focusing on preventative and educational activities and the relationship of the health centers with local communities. In addition, the collection contains a draft manuscript by Simmons on the activities of the public health service in Lima and Chimbote, Peru.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into two series: Series 1. Peru Research, 1950-1966, 1980; Series 2. Chile Research, 1952-1953.
Biographical Note:
Ozzie Gordon Simmons (1919--1988) was born in the Canadian city of Winnipeg to American parents. He studied sociology at Northwestern University (BA, 1941) and Harvard University (MA, 1948; PhD, 1952). Simmons' doctoral dissertation, "Anglo Americans and Mexican Americans in South Texas: A study in dominant-subordinate group relations," was based on field research he conducted in Gallup, New Mexico and San Antonio, Texas, under Clyde Kluckhohn and Talcott Parsons. Simmons also served in the Air Force during World War II.
Simmons served as field director in Peru for the Bureau of American Ethnology's Institute of Social Anthropology (ISA) from 1949 to 1952. The ISA was an autonomous unit of the Smithsonian Institution which aimed to train Latin American anthropologists. Field personnel taught and mentored students in the field, while also pursuing their own research interests in the host country. In Simmons' case, he became involved in a study on the use of alcohol in the Peruvian town of Lunahuaná. After the ISA came to an end in 1952, Simmons briefly worked in Chile for the Institute of Inter-American Affairs.
Simmons' later career included appointments at Harvard University, the University of Colorado Boulder, the Ford Foundation, and Fordham University's Hispanic Research Center. In 1962, Simmons received the Hofheimer Prize from the American Psychiatric Association. His research interests included Latin American culture and society, medical anthropology, the use of alcohol, social psychiatry, and population. His last book, Perspectives on Development and Population Growth in the Third World, was published in 1988, shortly before his death.
Ozzie Simmons passed away on November 26, 1988 at age 69 of lung cancer.
Sources Consulted
American Anthropological Association. 1989. Deaths: Ozzie Gordon Simmons. Anthropology Newsletter 30(1): 4.
Demb, Sarah R. 1999. Simmons, Ozzie Gordon, (1919-1988) Papers, 1947-1948: A Finding Aid. Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University.
Obituary Editor. 1988. Obituaries: Ozzie G. Simmons, 69, Sociology Researcher. New York Times, November 29.
Simmons, Ozzie G. 1964. [Peru Research: Faculty Fellowship Application]. Ozzie Gordon Simmons Papers. National Anthropological Archives.
1919 -- Born October 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
1941 -- Joins the Air Force for four years during World War II Earns BA from Northwestern University
1947-1948 -- Conducts field research in Gallop, New Mexico and San Antonio, Texas under Clyde Kluckhohn and Talcott Parsons at Harvard University
1948 -- Earns MA in Sociology from Harvard University
1949-1952 -- Field Director Peru, Institute of Social Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution Visiting Professor, National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru
1952 -- Earns PhD in Sociology from Harvard University
1953 -- Consulting Anthropologist, Institute of Inter-American Affairs, Chile
1953-1961 -- Lecturer to Associate Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University Director, Harvard Community Health Project, Harvard University
1961-1968 -- Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder Director, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder Senior Faculty Associate in Research, Brandeis University
1962 -- Receives Hofheimer Prize from the American Psychiatric Association
1969 -- Program Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ford Foundation
1971 -- Program Director for Social Science, Ford Foundation
1981 -- Joins Hispanic Research Center, Fordham University
1988 -- Dies of lung cancer on November 26 in Westwood, New Jersey
Related Materials:
Other materials related to Ozzie Gordon Simmons at the National Anthropological Archives include the Institute of Social Anthropology records and Manuscript 4623 Institute of Social Anthropology photographs.
In addition, Simmons' field notes from New Mexico and Texas during the period of 1947 to 1948 are held by Harvard University's Peabody Museum Archives.
Restrictions:
Some materials are restricted to protect the identity and privacy of individuals from Lunahuaná, Peru. Series 1. Peru Research contains sensitive information about the medical histories of individuals from Lunahuaná, as well as information about the victims of alleged crimes. Boxes 1 through 5, as well as some materials in Boxes 7 and 8, have been restricted until 2031-2032. One folder from Box 8 has been restricted until 2046.
