Department of Political Science records
Scope and Content
The Department of Political Science records contains five series of material that illustrate the work that the department has created at the University of Minnesota from 1823 to 1988. This includes historical material, detailing the founding of the department from 1912 to 1972, meeting minutes and memos from 1925 to 1985, as well as, correspondence organized by date and subject. Other material includes papers on the sub-topic committee, “Civil Liberty in the United States” under the Works Project Administration Project (WPA), from 1920 to 1932, and papers involving the department’s inclusion on the Seoul National University of Korea Cooperative Project, from 1957 to 1962. This collection also holds a number of suject files that illustrate topics of related interest and are organized alphabetically.
Dates
- Creation: 1823-1988
Creator
- University of Minnesota. Department of Political Science (Organization)
Language of Materials
English
Use of Materials
Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Copyright
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law Title 17, U.S. Code. Requests to publish should be arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.
Historical Note
As one of the first political science departments in the United States, the University of Minnesota’s Department of Political Science began in 1879. With the help from the President Dr. Wiliam Watts Folwell, the Department of Political Science established its coursework into the foundation of the institution. From the early 20th century, the department worked interdepartmentally, by supplying cross-listed courses to students, such as modern history, economics, political psychology and American government. Through this structure, it was their hope that students would broaden their understanding of political science and it ultimately led to the expansion of graduate and undergraduate workloads.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the Department of Political Science held the Administration Training Center until the Graduate School of Public Affairs was established in 1965. The department also provided informational opportunities to discuss Southeast Asia and American foreign and defense policies. In addition, the department provided aid towards the University of Minnesota’s relationship with the Seoul University in Korea, between 1957 to 1962. With their guidance in public affairs, professors from the department provided assistance in teaching on the subject to Korean instructors at the University of Minnesota, the U assisted in establishing two public administration libraries, as well as, beginning the initial steps in creating a new school of public administration at Seoul National University. Associate director of the University's Public Administration Center, George A. Warp, was directing the public administration program.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Department of Political Science broadened their coursework to extend to interdisciplinary topics such as women’s studies, African and Afro-American studies, as well as environmental studies. Now, in the twenty first century, the department continues to provide rich content to their students as the University continues to shift and grow.
Extent
27.5 Cubic Feet (22 boxes)
Abstract
The Department of Political Science was founded in 1879 and contains departmental, research and project material ranging from 1823 to 1988.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Department Material, 1902-1988,
This series is organized in five separate subseries, including: Historical material, Memorandum and Meeting Minutes, Committee material, Research material and Subject files. Each illustrate a detailed look into the lifespan of the Department of Political Science from 1902 to 1988.
Subseries A: Historical material, 1912-1972,
This subseries contains historical documents and correspondence regarding the steps that the Department of Political Science has taken since its inception. These records range from 1912 to 1972.
Subseries B: Memorandum and Meeting Minutes, 1928-1985,
This subseries contains memos and meeting minutes produced by the Department of Political Science from 1928 to 1985.
Subseries C: Committee material, 1978-1988,
This subseries includes correspondence and working papers of interdepartmental committees within the Department of Political Science, between 1978 to 1988.
Subseries D: Research material, 1940-1952,
This subseries contains notes, working papers and correspondence related to research subjects that were of interest to members of the Department of Political Science, from 1940 to 1952.
Subseries E: Subject files, 1902-1952,
This subseries includes informational material and correspondence related to the Department of Political Science between the years of 1902 to 1952 and is organized alphabetically.
Series 2: Correspondence, 1908-1940,
This series is organized into two subseries, Correspondence by date and Correspondence by subject, that the Department of Political Science produced or engaged with from 1908 to 1940.
Subseries A: General Correspondence, 1908-1940,
This subseries includes general correspondence organized by date and includes interactions between faculty, staff and others regarding engagements and issues related to political science, between 1908 to 1940.
Subseries B: Subject Correspondence, 1907-1946,
This subseries contains individual correspondence between specific organizations or provides insight on specific topics. These files are organized in alphabetical order.
Series 3: The Work Projects Administration (WPA) Project, 1823-1942,
This series contains material related to the sub-project #269, “Civil Liberty in the United States,” under the WPA Project that the Department of Political Science was involved in. Material includes civil liberty case files and the projects’ progress reports, that range between 1823-1942.
Series 4: Seoul National University of Korea Cooperative Project, 1956-1963,
This series is organized into six subseries including: Project material, Correspondence, Budget material, International Cooperation Administration, Library material and Reports.
Subseries A: Project material, 1957-1962,
This subseries includes working papers, training information and staff material created by faculty of the Department of Political Science for the Seoul National University.
Subseries B: Correspondence, 1956-1962,
This subseries includes letters between faculty members within the Department of Political Science teaching at Seoul National University and those at the University of Minnesota.
Subseries C: Budget material, 1957-1963,
This subseries includes financial documents related to expenditures on equipment and international communication.
Subseries D: International Cooperation Administration, 1953-1960,
This subseries includes reports and correspondence of faculty from the Department of Political Science to the International Cooperation Administration.
Subseries E: Library material, 1957-1962,
This subseries includes the working papers, supplies information and correspondence between the Library at Seoul National University and the University of Minnesota.
Subseries F: Reports, 1957-1962,
This subseries includes reports created by faculty of the Department of Political Science on their experience working at Seoul National University.
Series 5: Subject Files, 1931-1971,
This series contains files on related subjects that the Department of Political Science dealt with between 1931 to 1971. Files include reports, council material, reviews, course information and other miscellaneous material.
Source of acquisition
The collection was transferred to University Archives from 1950-2019.
Processing Information
This collection was processed in 2005 and reprocessed in 2019.
Subject
- Allin, Cephas Daniel, 1875-1927 (Person)
- Anderson, William, 1888-1975 (Person)
- Christensen, A.N. (Asher Norman), 1903-1961 (Person)
- Field, Oliver Peter, 1897-1953 (Person)
- Kirkpatrick, E. M. (Evron Maurice), 1911- (Person)
- Lambie, Morris Bryan, 1888- (Person)
- Lippincott, Benjamin E. (Benjamin Evans), 1902- (Person)
- McLaughlin, Charles H. (Person)
- Mills, Lennox A. (Lennox Algernon), 1896-1968 (Person)
- Quigley, Harold S. (Harold Scott), 1889-1968 (Person)
- Schaper, William A., 1869-1955 (Person)
- Short, Lloyd M. (Lloyd Milton), 1897-1981 (Person)
- Sibley, Mulford Q., 1912-1989 (Person)
- Sorauf, Frank J. (Frank Joseph), 1928- (Person)
- Young, Jeremiah Simeon, 1866- (Person)
- American Political Science Association (Organization)
- Sŏul Taehakkyo (Organization)
- United States. Works Progress Administration (Organization)
- Title
- Department of Political Science records, 1823-1988
- Author
- Karen Spilman; Katelyn Morken
- Date
- July 2005; October 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University Archives Collecting Area
