Harold K. Schneider was an economic anthropologist specialized in Africa. He was trained at Northwestern University (Ph.D., 1953) and taught at Lawrence University (1953-1970) and Indiana University (1970-1987). The Schneider papers comprise mainly sets of documents relating to fieldwork in East Africa. The collection includes a few original fieldnotes, complete copies of expanded typscript versions of the notes, collations of data on subject categories, lexicons and other linguistic material, indexes, maps, and a few photographs. Also among the material are translations of German sources and copies of notes based on archival material, particularly material produced in colonial district offices. A small quantity of material concerning Africa generally reflects Schneider's broad interest in Africa and African pastoral economies.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Harold K. Schneider are primarily comprised of documents relating to his fieldwork in East Africa. One part concerns the Pokot (Suk), a pastoral people of Kenya, among whom Schnieder conducted fieldwork in 1951-1952 and about whom he wrote his dissertation. Another part concerns the Turu, a pastoral people of Tanzania, whom Schneider visited in 1959-1960.
The collection includes original fieldnotes, complete copies of expanded typescript versions of the notes, collations of data by subject categories, lexicons and other linguistic material, indexes, maps and a few photographs. Also among the materials are translations of German documents, copies of archival items, and notes from archival research, especially in records of colonial district offices. A small quantity of material concerning Africa in general reflects Schneider's broad interests in Africa and African pastoral economies. There are also a number of sound recordings, mainly recordings of Schneider's own lectures but also including a lecture by historian George Stocking.
There is also an alphabetical file based on personal names that includes correspondence, obituaries and publications. Notable contacts include William R. Bascom, G. Boulogne, John Bucklew, Stephan Borhegyi, E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Father Delbert Ewing, Lloyd A. Fallers, George Fathauer, William N. Fenton, Daryll Forde, Meyer Fortes, H.A. Fosbrooke, Padraic Frucht, Alexander Galloway, James Gibbs, Maurice Godelier, J.R. Good, Melville J. Herskovits, Hubert H. Humphrey, Father Raymond F. Kelly, Edward E. LeClair, Jr., Alan P. Merriam, James Moody, Joseph G. Moore, Leonard Moss, Raoul Narroll, Maxine Nimitz, J. Peristiany, Nathan M. Pusey, Audry I. Richards, Chandler W. Rowe, Aidan W. Southall, Kathleen Stahl, Roy Swanson, Curtis W. Tarr, Sol Tax, and E.H. Winter.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
1. Personal name file (includes correspondence); 2. Pokot Material; 3. Turu Material; 4. Other Materials (comprising draft manuscripts, conference papers, lecture notes and typescripts of Turu fieldnotes; 5. General Africa Materials; 6. Sound recordings.
Biographical Note:
Harold K. Schneider was an economic anthropologist who specialized in Africa. He began his undergraduate studies at Macalester College, attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (1946-48), then returned to Macalester to complete his degree, majoring in sociology with a minor in biology (B.A., 1949). He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University (where he studied with Melville Herskovits) in 1953. Following his fieldwork among the Pokot of Kenya, Scheider accepted a position as instructor of anthropology at Lawrence University (1953-1970). He conducted fieldwork among the Turu of Tanzania in 1959-60, from which he further developed his theories in economic anthropology. He served as the president of the Central States Anthropological Society (1965); as founding president of the Society for Economic Anthropology (1982-84); and as associate editor for American Ethnologist (1980-84). In 1970, he joined the faculty of Indiana University, where he remained until his death on May 2, 1987.
1925 -- Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on August 24, 1925
Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve; Moco Moco II Creek, 20 mi. SW of Kurupukari on Kurupukari-Annai Road, 1 km N E of camp, Potaro-Siparuni, Guyana, South America - Neotropics
Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve; Moco Moco II Creek, 20 mi. SW of Kurupukari on Kurupukari-Annai Road, 1 km N E of camp, Potaro-Siparuni, Guyana, South America - Neotropics
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This series is comprised of notes relating to Schneider's study of the Turu, including some of his original field notebooks. The original entries are often quite cursory; they have been expanded and formalized in the typescript versions. For some of these original notes, however, corresponding materials have not been located in the typescripts. The location of the other original field notebooks is not known. The volume numbers of both the original field notebooks (Box 10) and the typed manuscripts were assigned by the archivist. The first set of typed volumes have been organized by date (Box 12); the second set have been arranged topically (Boxes 13-14).
Collection Restrictions:
The Harold K. Schneider papers are open for research.
Access to the Harold K. Schneider papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Harold K. Schneider Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Digitization and preparation of a portion of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund
Pages 1-199. June 26-August 13, 1959. Much in the first part of this volume are statistical data and notes from published and unpublished materials. On pages 4-52 is a copy of Hans Cory, "Rimi law and customs."
