The Donald J. Ortner Papers, dated 1963 to 2013, document his research and professional activities while working in the Division of Physical Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. They primarily deal with his contributions to the field of paleopathology and his work with specimens from Bab edh-Dhra, Jordan and Chichester, England. The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence, files related to Ortner's publications, specimen observations and analysis, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The Donald J. Ortner Papers primarily document his projects, research, and correspondence working as a biological anthropologist in the Division of Physical Anthropology of the Department of Anthropology from 1963 until his death in 2012. The bulk of the projects represented relate to his work in paleopathology, such as the Near Eastern skeletal biology program in Jordan and the medieval skeletal disease project in England. The collection consists of notes, research materials, correspondence, data and data analysis, transcripts of specimen observations, maps, blueprints, artwork, negatives, slides, photographs, CD-Roms, floppy discs, and sound cassettes.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 8 series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1966-2012; Series 2. Subject files, 1965-2013, undated; Series 3. Near Eastern Skeletal Biology Program, 1977-2010, undated; Series 4. Medieval Skeletal Disease Project, 1988-2006, undated; Series 5. Other publications, projects, and research, 1963-2011, undated; Series 6. Professional activities, 1971-2007, undated; Series 7. Biographical and office files, 1963-2011, undated; Series 8. Artwork, 1978, undated
Biographical Note:
Donald J. Ortner was a biological anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). By the time of his death, Ortner had served in many positions at the Museum, including Acting Director (1994-1996). His areas of expertise included human paleopathology, human health in medieval England, bioarcheology of the ancient Near East, and the history and evoluton of human infectious diseases. Ortner was a founding member of the Paleopathology Association.
Ortner was born in 1938 in Stoneham, Massachusetts and arrived at the NMNH in 1963, working primarily with J. Lawrence Angel who had recently started as Curator in the Division of Physical Anthropology. While working at the Museum, Ortner completed his Master's in Anthropology in 1967 and received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1970. His doctoral dissertation was on The Effects of Aging and Disease on the Micromorphology of Human Compact Bone.
Ortner worked with Walter G. J. Putschar, a pathologist based at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, on a series of short-courses (1971-1974) on paleopathology at the Smithsonian. During the summer of 1974, Putschar and Ortner traveled to Europe (London, Edinburgh, Zurich, Strasbourg, Vienna, Prague) studying and photographing examples of skeletal pathology in museums and other repositories. The result of this research was the book Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains published in 1981, with later editions in 1985 and 2003.
In 1977, Ortner joined the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain directed by archaeologists Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub, focusing on the site of Bab edh-Dhra. Ortner studied the tombs and skeletons for data indicating cultural and biological changes, especially urbanization and connection to the development of other "Western civilizations." Ortner participated in two more field seasons in Bab edh-Dhra in 1979 and 1981. From his research at Bab-edh-Dhra, Ortner published many scholarly articles and recreated two tombs for the Hall of Western Civilization at NMNH.
In 1988, Ortner began his collaboration with the University of Bradford in Bradford, England, teaching short-courses on paleopathology. While a Visiting Professor at the University, he also participated in a project on human health and disease in Medieval England. The project focused on leprosy and syphilis in skeletons from St. James Hospital's leprosarium cemetery in Chichester, Wharram Perry, and Magistrates' Court in Kingston-upon-Hull. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University in 1995.
Donald J. Ortner died on April 29th, 2012 in Maryland.
Sources consulted:
Ubelaker, D. H. "Obituary: Donald J. Ortner (1938–2012)." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149 (2012): 155–156.
Arnoldi, Mary Jo and Ann Kaupp. "Donald J. Ortner, Sr. (1939-2012)." Anthropolog: Newsletter of the Department of Anthropology, Spring 2012: 1-3.
Chronology
1938 -- Born on August 23 in Stoneham, Massachusetts.
1960 -- Received B.A. in Zoology from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland.
1963 -- Began working at the Smithsonian Institution.
1967 -- Received M.A. in Anthropology from Syracuse University.
1969 -- Promoted to Assistant Curator.
1970 -- Received Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.
1971 -- Promoted to Associate Curator.
1971-1975 -- Taught part-time at the University of Maryland.
1974 -- Spent summer with Dr. Walter G. J. Putschar studying pathological specimens in Europe.
1976 -- Promoted to Curator in the Anthropology Department, National Museum of Natural History.
1977 -- First field season at Bab edh-Dhra cemetery site in Jordan.
1979 -- Second field season at Bab edh-Dhra cemetery site in Jordan.
1981 -- Third field season at Bab edh-Dhra cemetery site in Jordan.
1988 -- Began association with the University of Bradford in Bradford, England.
1988-1992 -- Chairman of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History.
1994-1996 -- Acting Director of the National Museum of Natural History.
1995 -- Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Bradford.
1999-2001 -- President of the Paleopathology Association.
2005 -- Received Eve Cockburn Award from the Paleopathology Association in recognition of his contributions in the field of paleopathology.
2012 -- Died on April 29 in Maryland.
Related Materials:
The following photo lots depicting Donald J. Ortner can be found at the NAA:
Photo Lot 7D: Photograph of attendees after American Anthropological Association annual meeting, 1965
Photo Lot 7A: Portraits made at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 1970
Photo Lot 77-45: Photograph of Smithsonian Institution physical anthropologists, circa 1977
Photo Lot 4822: Division of Physical Anthropology collection of photographs of physical anthropologists, undated
Sound recordings of Donald J. Ortner at the NAA:
John Lawrence Angel Papers, Sound Recordings, "How Humans Adapt: A Biocultural Odyssey," November 9, 1981
Other collections at the NAA in which Donald J. Ortner is a correspondent or creator of material:
Records of the Department of Anthropology, 1877-1980
Department of Anthropology Annual Reports, 1920-1983
John Lawrence Angel Papers, 1930s-1980s
Three films that document Ortner's work in Bab edh-Dhra are located in the Human Studies Film Archives (HSFA):
Film number 2000.9.1, The Bones of Bab edh-Dhra, ca. 1970s
Film number 2000.9.3, Bab edh-Dhra Film Project, 1970-1980
Film number 2014.3, City of the Dead, 1978
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds the original City of the Dead in Accession 05-282, Office of Telecommunications, Productions.
Provenance:
These papers were transferred to the NAA from the Department of Anthropology in 2014.
Restrictions:
The Donald J. Ortner Papers are open for research.
Access to the Donald J. Ortner Papers requires an appointment.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be
viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless
permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Electronic records are unavailable for research. Please contact the reference archivist for
additional information.
Use of audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
This series, dated 1963 to 2011 and undated, includes biographical material related to Ortner's education and career as a biological anthropologist at the Smithsonian. It contains resumes, diplomas (including the Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Bradford), administrative office files, retirement plans, travel documents, and a calendar of appointments.
Of note are several folders containing Ortner's reviews for the Professional Accomplishments Evaluation Committee (PAEC), which advised the director of the NMNH on matters related to the competency and progress of staff members. The PAEC complemented the annual performance plans and reviews, also present in this series, by focusing on a longer term level of performance. PAEC reviews include what Ortner was doing professionally in research, publications, public functions, field work, exhibits, honors and awards received, professional memberships, grants and contracts, teaching, and job-related training.
Restrictions:
The floppy discs and CD-Roms are restricted due to preservation concerns.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Includes 2 photographic prints of 1985 short-course class at the Smithsonian and 7 photographic prints of short-course classes probably at University of Bradford in 1988.
Container:
Box 86
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1971-2005, undated
Series Restrictions:
The floppy discs and CD-Roms are restricted for preservation reasons.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
This series, dated 1965 to 2013 and undated, reflects parts of Ortner's whole career. It includes his work at the University of Bradford, as Acting Director of the NMNH, at the site of Bab edh-Dhra in Jordan, as Vice-Chairman of the Bioarchaeology Panel of the Wellcome Trust, and for the Paleopathology Association. It also documents his daily activities in the Department of Anthropology. Of particular interest are materials for the publication project for the archaeological site of Tell Jemmeh with Gus Van Beek and David Ben-Shlomo, which Ortner worked on from 2008 up until his death.
Most of the materials are sent and received correspondence or memos grouped by an individual or organizational correspondent. An individual's file may also hold correspondence that refers to them, such as an academic or job reccommendation from Ortner. Other materials include programs from conferences, scholarly articles, photographs, slides, CD-Roms, and floppy discs.
Cross-referencing information from this series with other series may be required to understand it in context.
This series is arranged alphabetically. The series maintains Ortner's original arrangement with some changes for clarity.
Restrictions:
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be
viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless
permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
This series, dated 1966 to 2012, consists of correspondence, sent and received, relating to Ortner's publications; involvement in the Paleopathology Association; work as Vice-Chairman of the Bioarchaeology Panel of the Wellcome Trust; forensic work for outside agencies; his position as advisor and reference for students; his position as Acting Chair of NMNH; involvement in the Bab edh-Dhra site excavation; work as Visiting Professor at the University of Bradford; and family life and other activities.
Ortner's classification of daily correspondence, professional correspondence, and personal correspondence was retained. Therefore, there is significant overlap in subjects and types of correspondence between these subseries. Overall, daily correspondence tends to be from colleagues within the museum, publishers, or other people with whom Ortner often communicated. Professional correspondence tends to be more formal, such as letters from students, people organizing conferences, and people who had never met Ortner in person, but worked his field. Correspondents in Ortner's personal correspondence include Ortner's parents, Ortner's children, and the pastor at the church Ortner attended. Some letters in personal correspondence are more professional in nature.
The original order of these files was maintained.
This series is arranged in 3 subseries: 1.1 Daily correspondence, 1995-2012; 1.2 Professional correspondence, 1987-2012; 1.3 Personal correspondence, 1966-2012
Collection Restrictions:
The Donald J. Ortner Papers are open for research.
Access to the Donald J. Ortner Papers requires an appointment.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be
viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless
permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Electronic records are unavailable for research. Please contact the reference archivist for
additional information.
Use of audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
This series, dated 1971-2007 and undated, consists of materials relating to Ortner's professional activities. These include notes, correspondence, drafts, newsclippings, photographs, and computer disks.
Subseries 6.1, Lectures, conferences, symposia, 1975-1986 and undated, includes Ortner's notes and research materials for these lectures or talks at conferences. Ortner's lecture addressing science and culture in modern society was for the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program in 1984. The research materials that accompany Ortner's notes for his lecture on science and religion follow the controversy and lawsuit over the National Museum of Natural History's exhibit on evolution, which opened in 1979. The materials from the Smithsonian's Seventh International Symposium, How Humans Adapt: A Biocultural Odyssey include files from Ortner's participation in the 1981 symposium. Drafts, book reviews, and public relations materials for the book that accompanied the symposium, which Ortner edited, are also included.
Subseries 6.2, Forensic work, 2002, 2007, includes correspondence, notes, photographs, CD-Roms, and floppy discs relating to forensic cases from outside agencies on which Ortner was asked to collaborate. In these cases Ortner used remains to determine cause of death, verify identity, or provide other information for the case.
Subseries 6.3 Other professional activities, 1971-2005, includes NMNH Research Associate Rebecca Ferrell's NIH grant proposal for a project titled "The Biology of Striae of Retzius in Human Tooth Enamel" that Ortner supervised in 2005; case reports Ortner organized and edited for the Paleopathology Newsletter; workshops he organized for the annual meetings of the Paleopathology Association from 1997-2002; and Ortner's short-courses in paleopathology. The material from the short-courses in paleopathology includes planning and correspondence from when they were offered as a lecture series at the Smithsonian Institution with Walter G. J. Putschar during the years 1971-1974 and 1985. The file also includes short-courses at the University of Bradford during the years 1988, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005.
Subseries 6.4 Photographs, 1960s-2000s, includes slides, negatives, and prints depicting professional events, such as conferences and awards ceremonies; Ortner at work in his office or lab with colleagues and interns; and a few prints of unidentified specimens. Notable people included in these images are Thomas Dale Stewart and John Lawrence Angel. Also included are negatives of photographic portraits of children, probably Ortner's.
This series is arranged in 4 subseries: 6.1 Lectures, conferences, symposia, 1975-1986, undated; 6.2 Forensic work, 2002, 2007; 6.3 Other professional activities, 1971-2005; 6.4 Photographs, 1960s-2000s.
Restrictions:
The floppy discs and CD-Roms are restricted for preservation reasons.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
This series, dated 1988 to 2006 and undated, consists of notes, data, publications, grant applications, maps, photographs, and negatives related to Ortner's Medieval Skeletal Disease Project in collaboration with Brian Connell. Most of the data and observations are from specimens from the Leprosarium cemetery in Chichester, England, held in the Biological Anthropology Research Centre of the University of Bradford.
Ortner also collected notes and data on skeletons from Wharram Percy, Hull Magistrates Court, and Blackfriars in Gloucester. Grant applications submitted by Ortner to the Smithsonian Scholarly Studies program, 1993-1994, and to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1997-1998, are also included.
Restrictions:
The CD-Roms and floppy disks are not available for research due to preservation concerns.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be
viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless
permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
Requests to view forensic files are subject to review by the NAA. Forensic files can only be
viewed in the National Anthropological Archives reading room. No copies are permitted unless
permission is granted by the agency the report was written for.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Donald J. Ortner Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The papers of Donald J. Ortner were processed with the assistance
of the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Joel M. Halpern and, to a lesser extent, the papers of Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern. Both their collaborations and individual work are represented here. Materials include their correspondence, published and unpublished writings, research materials, photographs, grant applications, consultant work, teaching files, their files as students, and writings by colleagues.
The bulk of the research files pertain to Halpern's Orašac demography project. Also present are notes and photographs from his field research in the Balkans during the 1950s and 1960s. The collection also reflects his research interests in the Inuit of Alaska and Canada. There is little original material, however, documenting his fieldwork in Laos. Additional materials of interest in the collection include a transcript of an interview Halpern conducted with Conrad Arensberg as well as his notes and syllabi from courses taught by a number of prominent anthropologists, such as Conrad Arensberg, Morton Fried, Alfred Kroeber, and Margaret Mead. The collection also contains a set of prints of Shinnecock Indians that Halpern obtained from Red Thunder Cloud.
Among Kerewsky-Halpern's files are notes from her research on South Slav immigrants in Ontario, her research on oral tradition among peasant communities in Southeastern Europe, as well as her involvement in multiple sclerosis organizations and the Feldenkrais Method.
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:
This collection is organized into 10 series: 1) Correspondence, 1950s-2003; 2) Research, 1953-1996; 3) Writings, 1948-2007; 4) Professional Activities, 1951-1990s; 5) Student Files, 1946-1955, 1968-1979; 6) Teaching Files, 1947-1992; 7) Personal and Biographical Files, 1948-2002; 8) Writings by Others, 1950s-1990s; 9) Photographs, 1942, 1953-1970, 1978, 1997, undated; 10) University of Massachusetts, 1968-1992
Biographical Note: Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern:
Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern was born on December 23, 1931 in Mt. Vernon, New York. Her mother, Rose S. Kerewsky, had worked with physical anthropologist Stanley Garn and coauthored a number of papers on dentition. Kerewsky-Halpern attended Barnard College, where she received a B.A. in Geology and Geography in 1953. She later obtained her M.A. in Linguistics (1974) and Ph.D. in Anthropology (1979) at University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Kerewsky-Halpern married Joel M. Halpern in 1952. In the following year she accompanied him to the field in Orašac, Serbia and assisted him in his research. She was also the illustrator and cartographer for Halpern's monograph A Serbian Village. Over the span of her career, she frequently collaborated with her husband on research projects and coauthored a number of articles. Like her husband, her research focused on peasant communities, specifically on oral traditions and the ethnography of communication. In 1974, she also studied South Slav communities in Ontario.
When she was 44, Kerewsky-Halpern became incapacitated due to multiple sclerosis. Through self-rehabilitation, she was able to regain full motion, but the experience continued to influence her life. Her research interests expanded to include medical anthropology, cross-cultural perspectives on disability, and the anthropology of movement. She also became active in multiple sclerosis associations and became a licensed instructor in the Feldenkrais Method in 1983.
Kerewsky-Halpern and Halpern divorced in 2010.
Sources consulted
[Articles about Barbara K. Halpern], Series 9. Personal, Joel Martin Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Barbara K. Halpern curriculum vitae, Series 9. Personal, Joel Martin Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Clifford, Joyce and Jeremy Smith. 2010. Finding Aid to Joel Martin Halpern Papers, 1939-2009 (Bulk: 1948-2008). http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/ead/mufs001.pdf (accessed December 3, 2012).
Halpern, Joel. 2003. Interview with Joel Halpern [regarding fieldwork in Serbia] conducted by Mirjana Prošić-Dvornić. Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery. Paper 60. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=emeritus_sw (accessed December 3, 2012).
Halpern, Joel. August 2007. Curriculum Vitae. http://works.bepress.com/joel_halpern/cv.pdf (accessed July 6, 2012).
Biographical Note: Joel M. Halpern:
Joel Martin Halpern was born on April 8, 1929 in New York City. He attended University of Michigan, where he obtained his B.A. in History in 1950. He had initially intended to major in chemistry but realized that he wanted to pursue a more "adventurous" field that would allow him to travel. While an undergraduate student, he published articles based on his ethnographic, geological, and archaeological research in Alaska, Canada, and Swedish Lapland.
Halpern decided to continue his studies at Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1956. Conrad Arensberg was his faculty advisor, while Margaret Mead was on his doctoral committee. Halpern was greatly influenced by Philip E. Mosely, the first director of Columbia University's Institute for Russian Studies. Through Mosely, he met the prominent Serbian ethnologist Milenko Filipović, who also served as his mentor. It was due to Filipovíc that Halpern chose to focus his research on a Serbian village for his dissertation.
In 1953, Halpern and his former wife, Barbara Kerewskey-Halpern, conducted ethnographic field research in Orašac, a village in the Sumadija district of central Serbia, at the time part of former Yugoslavia. This research resulted in Halpern's dissertation, Social and Cultural Change in a Serbian Village, for which he was awarded the Ainsley Award from Columbia University. The dissertation was later edited and published as A Serbian Village (1958). Halpern and his wife would return to Orašac numerous times throughout their career. The documentary The Halperns in Orašac, which aired in Yugoslavia in 1986, focuses on the couple's research in Orašac from 1953 to 1986.
In addition to Serbia, Halpern conducted research in Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia. A prolific writer, he published and presented a number of papers on peasant communities, historical demography, kinship, and social change in the Balkans. He also co-edited Among the People: Native Yugoslav Ethnography, Selected Writings of Milenko S. Filipovic (1982) and authored and edited works on and by Jozef Obrebski, the pioneering ethnographer of the Balkans, whose papers Halpern helped deposit at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Halpern also published extensively on Laos. He was one of the first American anthropologists to conduct research in the Southeast Asian country. After receiving his doctorate, he had worked on Area Handbook for Laos (1958) as a Research Associate for the Human Relations Area Files office in Washington, DC (1956). When he accepted a position as a Junior Foreign Service Officer (Foreign Service Reserve) with the Community Development Division of the U.S. International Cooperation Administration, he was stationed in Laos in 1957-1958. In 1959 he returned to the country under the sponsorship of Rand Corporation to study the Lao elite. He returned once again in 1969 as chair of the Mekong Seminar of the Southeast Asia Development Advisor Group to study the socio-economic impact of hydro-electrical dams constructed on the Mekong River.
In his later years, Halpern conducted research on the Inuit in Arviat (formerly known as Eskimo Point) and Frobisher Bay in Canada and immigrant populations in the United States. He was particularly interested in Southeast Asian immigrant communities in New England. He co-edited with Lucy Nguyen Far East Comes Near, a compilation of autobiographical essays by his Southeast Asian refugee students at University of Massachusetts. He also studied Jewish ethnic communities in Western Massachusetts and the urban history of the Bronx.
Halpern taught at UCLA (1958-1963) and Brandeis (1963-1965) before joining the Anthropology faculty at University of Massachusetts Amherst (1967-1996). He was also a visiting professor at Albert Ludwigs-Universitat and Arnold Bergstrasser Institute in Frieberg (1970-1971) and University of Graz (Spring 1993, Spring 1994). In addition, he was a National Academy of Sciences Senior Exchange Scientist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1975) and Serbian Academy of Sciences (1975, 1978).
1929 -- Born April 8, New York, New York
1950 -- Receives B.A. in History from University of Michigan
1952 -- Marries Barbara Kerewsky
1953-1954 -- Conducts fieldwork in Orašac, Serbia for first time
1956 -- Earns Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University
1957-1958 -- Stationed in Laos as a Junior Foreign Service Officer with the Community Development Division of the U.S. International Cooperation Administration
1958-1963 -- Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Los Angeles
1959 -- Returns to Laos to conduct research on the Lao elite under sponsorship from Rand Corporation
1963-1965 -- Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University
1964 -- Director of Brandeis University Summer Field Program in Bosnia
1967 -- Joins Department of Anthropology faculty at University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1970-1971 -- Visiting Professor, Albert Ludwigs-Universitat and Arnold Bergstrasser Institute, Freiburg, Federal Republic of Germany
1976, 1979 -- Research on Jewish Ethnic Communities in Western Massachusetts
1996 -- Retires from University of Massachusetts
2010 -- Divorce from Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern finalized
Related Materials:
The Smithsonian Institution holds additional materials relating to Joel M. Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern. Their correspondence can be found in the Conrad M. Arensberg papers at the National Anthropological Archives. Halpern also donated films and video to the Human Studies Film Archives and a collection of Eskimo dolls (Accession # 409953) to the Anthropology Collections division.
The bulk of Joel M. Halpern's papers are at the Special Collections and University Archives of University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The following is a list of other repositories that hold his papers and photographs:
Joel Martin Halpern Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Joel Martin Halpern Papers, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Joel M. Halpern Papers, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Carl A. Kroch Library, Cornell University Library
Joel Martin Halpern Photograph Collection, Jones Library (Amherst, MA Public Library)
Joel Martin Halpern Southeast Europe Collection, University of Alberta Libraries
Joel Martin Halpern Balkan Archive, University of Bradford
Joel Halpern Collection, University of Graz
Joel M. Halpern Laotian Slide Collection, Department of Special Collections
, University of Wisconsin, Madison
The Halpern, Joel Papers, General/Multiethnic Collection, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota
Provenance:
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Joel Halpern in multiple installments from the 1980s to 2006.
Restrictions:
All except Series 9. Photographs is stored off-site. Advance notice must be given to view off-site materials.
Access to materials containing social security numbers; Halpern's students' graded materials; and manuscripts and grant applications sent to Halpern for review is restricted. Additional materials have also been restricted at Halpern's request.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Please note that some of the materials in the collection are copies made by Joel M. Halpern; the originals are most likely deposited at other archives. For these materials, permission will need to be obtained from the repositories where the originals are held. See Related Collections for a list of repositories.
Life in extreme environments insights in biological capability edited by Guido di Prisco, National Research Council of Italy; Howell G.M. Edwards, University of Bradford; Josef Elster, University of South Bohemia; Ad H.L. Huiskes, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research
Past and present of leprosy : archaeological, historical, paleopathological, and clinical approaches : proceedings of the International Congress on the Evolution and Palaeoepidemiology of the Infectious Diseases 3 (ICEPID), University of Bradford, 26th-31st July 1999 / edited by Charlotte A. Roberts, Mary E. Lewis, K. Manchester
Author:
International Congress on the Evolution and Palaeoepidemiology of the Infectious Diseases (3rd : 1999 : University of Bradford) Search this
Past and present of leprosy : University of Bradford, Department of Archaeological Sciences, July 26-31, 1999 : abstracts / academic coordinators, Dr Charlotte Roberts, Dr György Pálfi, Prof. Olivier Dutour
Title:
Past and present of leprosy : abstracts
Author:
International Congress on the Evolution and Palaeoepidemiology of the Infectious Diseases (3rd : 1999 : University of Bradford) Search this
Abstracts of the 22nd Symposium on Archaeometry : University of Bradford, 30th March-3rd April 1982 / Symposium organizers A. Aspinall, S.E. Warren; Symposium secretary S. Hamnett
Author:
Symposium on Archaeometry (22nd : 1982 : University of Bradford) Search this
Proceedings of the 22nd Symposium on Archaeometry : held at the University of Bradford, Bradford, U.K., 30th March-3rd April 1982 / edited by A. Aspinall and S.E. Warren
Author:
Symposium on Archaeometry (22nd : 1982 : University of Bradford) Search this
