Lewis A. Coser Papers 1914-1996 (bulk 1940-1996) BC.1994.159 http://hdl.handle.net/2345.2/BC1994-159
Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 [email protected] URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents
Summary Information ...... 3 Administrative Information ...... 4 Related Materials ...... 4 Biographic note ...... 5 Scope and Contents ...... 6 Arrangement ...... 6 Collection Inventory ...... 7 I: Correspondence ...... 7 II: Family papers ...... 8 III: French Resistance publications ...... 9 IV: Scholarship ...... 10 V: Service ...... 11
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 2 - Summary Information
Title: Lewis A. Coser papers Collection Identifier: BC.1994.159 Date [inclusive]: 1914-1996 Date [bulk]: 1940-1996 Physical Description 20.75 Linear Feet (39 boxes) Language of the Materials are mostly in English, but also include French and German. Material: Abstract: Lewis A. Coser papers document the personal, political, and professional endeavors of this German-American sociologist primarily through correspondence, but course materials, documents, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, periodicals, photographs, and publishing files are also included. Preferred Citation
Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, Lewis A. Coser papers, BC.1994.159, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 3 - Administrative Information
Publication Information Processed by Rowena Clarke, Lynn Moulton, and Ayoola White in 2016 September. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace.
Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Provenance Donated by Lewis A. Coser in 1994 and 2000.
Restrictions on access Collection is open for research.
Related Materials
Related Materials Rose Laub Coser papers, BC.2000.032, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 4 - Biographic note
German-American sociologist Lewis A. Coser was born as Ludwig Cohen in Berlin on November 27, 1913; the family's surname later changed to Coser. He left Germany for France when Hitler came to power in 1933.
In Paris, Coser studied comparative literature and sociology at the Sorbonne until the advent of World War II. Despite his anti-fascist politics and Jewish religion, he was interned in the south of France due to his German nationality. In 1941, he was granted a visa through the International Relief Association and immigrated to the United States, where he changed his name to Lewis. In 1943, Coser married his immigration case-worker, Rose Laub. They had one daughter, Ellen Coser.
Coser and his wife both received doctorates in sociology from Columbia University. While a student, he lectured at the University of Chicago and co-edited Modern Review, a Leftist publication. Coser's dissertation, directed by "the father of the sociology of science" Robert K. Merton, became the basis for The Functions of Social Conflict (1956), which was revolutionary for its illustration of conflict- generated social cohesion.
In 1951, Coser was appointed Professor at Brandeis University and went on to found the Department of Sociology there. He founded the radical journal Dissent two years later; Dissent became one of the most important and respected venues for social and cultural criticism in the United States. Coser also published Sociological Theory (1957), Sociology through Literature (1963), Men of Ideas (1965), Political Sociology (1967), and Continuities in the Study of Social Conflict (1967).
Coser became Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1968. He published several further books, including: Masters of Sociological Thought (1970), Greedy Organizations (1974), and Refugee Scholars in America: Their Impact and Their Experiences (1984). He served as President of the American Sociological Association, and held fellowships at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and Clare Hall at Cambridge University. In 1982, Coser was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Lewis and Rose Laub Coser both retired from Stony Brook in 1986, and relocated to the Boston area where they taught at Boston College as an adjunct professors. Rose Laub Coser died on August 21, 1994, and Lewis Coser on July 8, 2003, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sources:
"Sociologists Remember Lewis Coser." Footnotes: Newsletter of the American Sociological Association 31, No. 7 (September/ October, 2003).
Martin, Douglas. "Lewis Coser, 89, Sociologist Who Focused on Intellectuals." New York Times, July 12, 2003.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 5 - Scope and Contents
Lewis A. Coser papers document the personal, political, and professional endeavors of a German- American sociologist. The bulk of the collection is correspondence, but course materials, documents, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, periodicals, photographs, and publishing files are also included. Some family letters, photographs, and manuscripts, as well as the French Resistance publications, predate his immigration to the United States in 1941, while the remainder of the collection chronicles his scholarly career as a professor and author. Coser's community involvement in a Quaker organization known as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and his role as founding editor of Dissent magazine are also covered.
Arrangement
Arranged into five series: I. Correspondence; II. Family papers; III. French Resistance publications; IV. Scholarship; and V. Service.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 6 - Collection Inventory
Series I: Correspondence, 1941-1996
Subseries A: General, 1947-1996 Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of this subseries is comprised of Coser's professional correspondence, but it also includes some personal letters from his children, grandchildren, and friends.
1947-1956 box 1 folder 1-7
1956-1960 box 2 folder 1-8
1960-1962 May box 3 folder 1-8
1962 June-1963 October box 4 folder 1-6
1963 November-1965 March box 5 folder 1-7
1965 April-1966 February box 6 folder 1-6
1966 March-1967 March box 7 folder 1-7
1967 June-1968 May box 8 folder 1-7
1968 June-1969 July box 9 folder 1-8
1969 August-1970 September box 10 folder 1-7
1970 October-1972 July box 11 folder 1-9
1972 August-1973 October box 12 folder 1-9
1973 November-1974 September box 13 folder 1-9
1974 October-1975 June box 14 folder 1-9
1975 July-1976 September box 15 folder 1-7
1976 October-1977 August box 16 folder 1-8
1977 September-1978 June box 17 folder 1-7
1978 July-1979 March box 18 folder 1-7
1979 June-1980 August box 19 folder 1-7
1980 September-1981 December box 20 folder 1-8
1982 January-1983 August box 21 folder 1-8
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 7 - 1983 September-1985 March box 22 folder 1-9
1985 April-1986 June box 23 folder 1-8
1986 July-1988 June box 24 folder 1-10
1988 July-1990 September box 25 folder 1-9
1989 April-1994 March box 37 folder 1-12
1991 January-1992 December box 26 folder 1-5
1994 January-1996 May box 38 folder 1-8
Subseries B: Subject, 1941-1975 Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Contents
Correspondence regarding publishing, as well as some foreign-language correspondence.
Arno Press, 1970 box 26 folder 6
Dissent, 1952-1957 box 26 folder 7-10 box 27 box 1-2
Dissent and other correspondence while at the University of box 27 folder 3-4 California Berkeley, 1957-1958
French and German correspondence and typescripts, 1941-1946 box 27 folder 5
French and German correspondence, 1941-1949 box 27 folder 6-7
German correspondence, 1941-1946 box 28 folder 1
Harcourt Brace, 1971 box 28 folder 2
The Idea of Social Structure: Papers in Honor of Robert K. box 28 folder 3 Merton publication correspondence , 1971-1974
Journal of Social Issues, 1971-1972 box 28 folder 4
Masters of Sociological Thought, post-publication box 28 folder 5 correspondence, 1971
Merton, Robert K. , 1968-1970 box 28 folder 6
Mica correspondence , undated box 28 folder 7
Prentice Hall, Inc., 1962-1971 box 28 folder 8-9
Publishing, 1971-1975 box 28 folder 10
Schocken Books, 1971-1974 box 28 folder 11
Series II: Family papers, 1909-circa 1980s
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 8 - Scope and Contents
Legal documents, notebooks, personal correspondence, and photographs from Rose Laub and Lewis Coser; their daughter Ellen Coser; and Rose Laub's parents, Rachel Lisa and Elias Laub. Some correspondence in French, attributed to Elias Laub, contains letters under various names originating from Mexico and addressed to women in New York.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetical by family member.
Coser, Ellen - childhood letters, circa 1950s box 35 folder 1
Coser, Ellen - letters from Rose Laub Coser, 1949-1958 box 35 folder 2
Coser, Rose Laub - death of her mother, Rachel Lisa Laub, 1959 box 35 folder 3-4
Coser, Rose Laub - family correspondence in French, 1926-1929 box 35 folder 5
Coser, Rose Laub - family correspondence in German and box 35 folder 6 English, 1946-1960
Laub Coser family - photographs, circa 1920s-1980 (bulk dates box 34 1976-1981) box 35 folder 8-12
Laub Coser family - real estate, 1947-1962 box 35 folder 7
Laub, Elias and Rachel Lisa - government documents, 1922-1958 box 35 folder 13
Laub, Elias and Rachel Lisa - passports and membership cards, box 36 folder 1 circa 1930s
Laub, Elias - correspondence in French, 1939-1943 box 36 folder 2-5
Laub, Elias - official documents, 1909-1960 box 36 folder 6
Laub family, "Reglement, auf erLAUBnis oder Statut gennanet," box 40 hand-painted spoof proclamation of regulations for residents of Antwerp, possibly by Rose Laub, 1936
Laub, Rachel Lisa - address books, circa 1950s box 36 folder 9
Laub, Rachel Lisa - notebook and journal, circa 1950s box 36 folder 10
Laub, Rachel Lisa - postcards from Elias Laub in German, box 36 folder 7 1914-1927
Laub, Rachel Lisa - publication of Rosa Luxemberg's letters, box 36 folder 8 1924-1959
Series III: French Resistance publications, 1941-1944, 1947 Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 9 - Scope and Contents
Collected by Lewis Coser. Whether he was involved in their authorship or used them for later research is unclear.
Cahiers du Temoignage Chretiens: France Prends Garde de box 28 folder 12 Perdre ton Ame, booklet, 1941 November
Les Cahiers Politique, no. 2 and 5, 1943 July, 1944 January box 28 folder 13
Combat, no. 1, 34, 41, and 53, 1942-1943 box 29 folder 1
Defense de la France, no. 44 and 45, and Programme D'Action, box 39 folder 1 1944 February - April
France D'Abord, no. "Special" and 21, 1942 May, 1943 March box 29 folder 2
Le Franc-Tireur, no. "Special", 8, and 15, 1942 April and June; box 29 folder 3 and 1943 February
L'Insurge, no. 10 and 22, 1942 box 29 folder 4
Jeune Garde, no. 2, 1944 March box 29 folder 5
Libre France, no. 2, 1942 June box 29 folder 6
Libérer et Fédérer, no. 1-2, 9-12, and 15, 1942 July and box 39 folder 2 September, 1943 May - August and October, 1944 April - May
Organe des Forces des Résistance Français Libération, no. 19, box 29 folder 7 1942 November
Le Patriote, no. 4, 1942 December - 1943 January box 29 folder 8
Résistance: Le Nouveau Journal de Paris, year 2, no. 8, 1943 box 39 folder 3 February 17
La Revue Libre, no. 1 and 2, 1943 December - 1944 February box 29 folder 9
Socialist Party Programme, 1947 box 29 folder 10
L'Université Libre, no. 16, 1942 December box 29 folder 11
La Vie Ouvrière, no. 113 and 133, 1942 November 14 and 1943 box 29 folder 12 April 1
Series IV: Scholarship, 1939-1994
Subseries A: Publishing contracts and royalties, 1954-1987
Arno Press - sales records, 1975-1982 box 29 folder 13-14
Basic Books - royalty statements, 1980-1984 box 29 folder 15
Harcourt-Brace, Jovanovich - royalty statements, 1963-1985 box 29 folder 16
Harper and Row - royalty statements, 1969-1974 box 29 folder 17
MacMillan - royalty statements, 1963-1979 box 29 folder 18-19
Prentice Hall - royalty statements, 1963-1984 box 29 folder 20-21
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 10 - Publishing contracts, 1954-1985 box 30 folder 1-2
Royalty records from various publishers, 1980-1987 box 30 folder 3-4
St. Martin's Press - royalty statements, 1964-1982 box 30 folder 5
Subseries B: Teaching materials, 1956-1957, undated
Industrial Sociology course materials, Brandeis University, box 30 folder 6 1956-1957
Political Parties course materials, Brandeis University, circa box 30 folder 7 1950s
Subseries C: Writing and research, 1939-1994 Scope and Contents
Correspondence, manuscripts, and research materials related to Coser's writing projects.
Bibliographic references - notecards, undated box 31 folder 1 box 30 folder 8
The Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth Century Social Thought box 31 folder 2 contributions, 1988-1989
Book reviews, 1939-1940 box 31 folder 3
Bulletin der Internationalen Arbeiterfront Gegen den Krieg, box 31 folder 4-5 1939-1945
Clippings by other authors, 1942-1987 box 31 folder 6-11
"Horatio Alger and the American Worker," Anvil and Student box 31 folder 12 Partisan, 1950 Fall
On Work, Race, and the Sociological Imagination, 1950-1994 box 32 folder 1-7
"Refugee Psychiatrists and Psychoanalysts," analyst sample, box 32 folder 8 1979-1980
Refugee Scholars in America, 1977-1980 box 33 folder 1-2 box 32 folder 9
Unser Tsait, publication of the International Jewish Labor Bund, box 38 folder 9 in Hebrew, 1959 November
Writings under pseudonym Europacus - clippings, 1939-1945 box 33 folder 3
Writings under pseudonyms Louis Clair and Louis S. Rose - box 33 folder 4 clippings, 1943-1944
Series V: Service, 1969-1980
American Friends Service Committee, Community Peace Action box 33 folder 5-6 Program, 1971-1972
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
- Page 11 - American Sociological Association, Committee on Freedom of box 33 folder 7-9 Research and Teaching, 1969-1971 Restrictions on access
Folders 7-9 are closed until the records of the American Sociological Association for this committee are opened.
American Sociological Association, Committee on Public Policy, 1969 August-October Restrictions on access
Folder 10 is closed until the records of the American Sociological Association for this committee are opened.
Lewis A. Coser Papers BC.1994.159
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