http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7z09q827 Online items available Roger M. Keesing Papers Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Copyright 2005 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 [email protected] URL: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/collections/sca/index.html Roger M. Keesing Papers MSS 0427 1 Descriptive Summary Languages: English Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 Title: Roger M. Keesing Papers Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0427 Physical Description: 38.5 Linear feet(46 archives boxes, 21 card file boxes, 11 records cartons, 17 oversize folders) Date (inclusive): 1962-1993 Abstract: Papers of cultural and linguistic anthropologist Roger M. Keesing, who studied the culture, history and language of the Kwaio people of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. The Keesing Papers contain research material generated from his fieldwork with the Kwaio and, to a lesser extent, work in the Himalayan villages of India, overall reflecting his interest in Melanesian languages and cultural conflict caused by colonialism. Materials include correspondence with colleagues, friends, family, and associates; manuscripts of published and unpublished works; ethnographic and linguistic data collected in field notebooks, journals, typescripts, diaries, photographs, and recorded interviews; teaching material; writings of others related to his research interests; and computer analysis of genealogical data from the Kwaio. Restrictions Original sound recordings are restricted. Researchers may refer to transcriptions, or request a listening copy be made in advance. Digital Content Selected images from this collection have been digitized. Items available online Restrictions Letters of recommendation in Box 2, Folder 23 are restricted according to state and federal law until 2050. Audiocassette #71 is restricted by the donor until 2050. Acquisition Information Acquired 2007. Preferred Citation Roger M. Keesing Papers, MSS 427. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. Publication Rights Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection. Biography Roger Martin Keesing, anthropologist and linguist, was born in Hawaii on May 16, 1935, the second child of two anthropologists who had immigrated to the United States from New Zealand in 1928. Keesing received a B.A. degree in social anthropology from Stanford in 1956. He then spent two years with the U.S. Air Force, taking advantage of a posting to Turkey to conduct fieldwork. Deciding to continue his study of anthropology, he began graduate work at Harvard University, obtaining an M.A. in 1963 and a doctoral degree in 1965. His dissertation, Kwaio Marriage and Society, was based on ethnographic fieldwork with the Kwaio, a native people of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. He remained both professionally and personally engaged with the Kwaio throughout his career. He joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1965, becoming head of the anthropology department in 1971. His interest in the peoples of the Pacific region continued, and he served as Acting Director of the Center for South Pacific Studies at U.C. Santa Cruz, 1972-1974. In 1974 Keesing accepted the chair of the anthropology department at the Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra. He was there until 1990, when he returned to North America to teach anthropology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Keesing did fieldwork in the Solomon Islands in the early 1960s, working on his dissertation. He made regular visits over the next two decades, recording ethnographic and linguistic data that would form the basis for numerous publications on the Oceanic languages of the Solomon Islands. His book, Melanisian Pidgen and the Oceanic Substrate (1988), made an important contribution to creole studies, building on his previous work, a Kwaio Dictionary (1975) and Kwaio Grammar (1985). He also carried out field research in Himalayan villages in India in 1978 and 1980-1981, but his most extensive contributions to anthropology are his studies of the language and customs of the Kwaio people. Roger M. Keesing Papers MSS 0427 2 Keesing was able to pose broad theoretical questions and respond to them with detailed research results that reflected the range of his interests: cultural theory, language, social structure, gender relations and the impact of colonial history and development. He published widely, writing more than one hundred articles and ten books. He completely reworked the introductory textbook his father had written, as reflected in the subtitle, Cultural Anthropology: A Contemporary Perspective, which became a successful introductory text. Keesing died in Toronto, May 7, 1993. [Sources: Jolly. M. Roger Martin Keesing: 1935-1993. Australian Journal of Anthropology, v4, n2 (Spring, 1993), 157-161; Macintyre, M. Roger Martin Keesing (1935-93). Oceania, v65, n3 (March, 1995), 193-194. Scope and Content of Collection Papers of cultural and linguistic anthropologist Roger M. Keesing, who studied the culture, history and language of the Kwaio people of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. The Keesing Papers contain research material generated from his fieldwork with the Kwaio and, to a lesser extent, work in the Himalayan villages of India, overall reflecting his interest in Melanesian languages and cultural conflict caused by colonialism. Materials include correspondence with colleagues, friends, family, and associates; manuscripts of published and unpublished works; ethnographic and linguistic data collected in field notebooks, journals, typescripts, diaries, photographs, and recorded interviews; teaching material; writings of others related to his research interests; and computer analysis of genealogical data from the Kwaio. Arranged in thirteen series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS BY KEESING, 4) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 5) SOLOMON ISLANDS - FIELD RESEARCH, 6) SOLOMON ISLANDS - PHOTOGRAPHS, 7) SOLOMON ISLANDS - SOUND RECORDINGS, 8) SUBJECT FILES, 9) CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS, 10) TEACHING MATERIAL, 11) COMPUTER ANALYSIS, 12) INDIA - FIELD RESEARCH, and 13) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES. Subjects and Indexing Terms Solomon Islands Kwaio (Melanesian people) -- Social life and customs Kwaio language Anthropology -- Study and teaching Keesing, Roger M., 1935-1993 -- Archives Strathern, Andrew -- Correspondence Fifi'i, Jonathan, 1921- Akin, David, 1955- -- Correspondence MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL Scope and Content of Series Series 1) MISCELLANEOUS: Annual reports from 1986 to 1992 describing Keesing's research activities, calendar pages from 1963 to 1964, a certificate of alien registration to the Solomon Islands, Keesing's curriculum vitae, newspaper clippings, and photographs of Keesing. Box 1, Folder 1 Annual reports 1986 - 1992 General note Descriptions of Keesing's research activities. Box 1, Folder 2 Autobiographical note, written by Keesing Box 1, Folder 3 Calendar pages 1963 - 1964 Box 1, Folder 4 Certificate of Alien Registration - Solomon Islands 1962 Box 1, Folder 5 Curriculum vitae Box 63, Keesing memorial at the Canadian Anthropological Meetings, Association Canadienne Folder 182 Francaise pour l'Avancement des Sciences, York University 1993 May 8 General Memorial session included a reading of the paper Keesing would have given. Chaired by J. M. Philibert. Introduction by Margaret Critchlow. Box 1, Folder 6 Newspaper clippings Roger M. Keesing Papers MSS 0427 3 MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL Box 1, Folder 7 Photographs of Keesing CORRESPONDENCE Scope and Content of Series Series 2) CORRESPONDENCE: Includes letters from Keesing's colleagues, friends, family, and associates spanning the years 1962 to 1993. David Akin and Jonathan Fifi'i are two major correspondents, as well as various Solomon Island Ministries. There is is a folder titled "Kwaio Correspondents" containing letters from Malaita denizens written in the Kwaio language. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, and then chronologically within folders. Box 1, Folder 8 A - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 9 Acciaioli, Greg 1989 - 1991 Box 1, Folder 10 'Adifaka, John (Jonathan Fifi'i's brother) 1983 - 1990 Box 1, Folder 11 Air Reserve Records Center 1962 Box 1, Folder 12 Akimichi, Tomoya 1976 - 1977 Box 1, Folder 13 Akin, David and Kathleen Gillogly 1984 - 1992 Box 1, Folder 14 Anderson, G. M. 1976 - 1980 Box 1, Folder 15 Australian National University. Research School of Pacific Studies 1974 - 1993 Box 1, Folder 16 B - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 17 Baker, Martin 1978 Box 1, Folder 18 Barth, Fredrick 1990 - 1992 Box 1, Folder 19 Blackman, Margaret B. 1989 - 1991 Box 1, Folder 20 Blust, Bob 1988 - 1989 Box 1, Folder 21 Bocaz, Aura 1990 - 1991 Box 1, Folder 22 Burt, Ben (Museum of Mankind, London) 1974 - 1983 Box 1, Folder 23 C - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 24 Carrier, James 1989 - 1991 Box 1, Folder 25 Clark, Nicholas 1983 Box 1, Folder 26 Craven, Anna 1974 - 1979 Box 1, Folder 27 Crocombe, Ron G. 1990 Box 1, Folder 28 D - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 29 E - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 30 East-West Center 1974 - 1988 Box 1, Folder 31 Ehrlich, Celia 1989 - 1990 Box 1, Folder 32 Encyclopedia of World Cultures 1989 - 1990 Box 1, Folder 33 Evo, Michael 1983 Box 1, Folder 34 F - Miscellaneous Box 1, Folder 35 Feit, Harvey 1990 Box 1, Folder 36 Field Supplies and Expenses 1963 - 1964 Box 1, Folder 37 Fifi'i, Jonathan 1966 - 1989 Box 1, Folder 38 Fifi'i, Seda 1982 - 1990 Box 1, Folder 39 Fox, James 1979