Humanities Council Records
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Abstract
New York University (NYU) formed the Humanities Council in 1976 to offer cross-faculty, interdisciplinary humanities programs in the format of seminars, lectures, colloquia, and other events. Leslie Berlowitz was the Council's director from its creation until she left NYU in 1996, at which point the Council was disbanded. The Humanities Council Records (dated early 1970s-1996) include administrative files, grant applications and reports, and program and project files related to the Council's activities on NYU's campus and in collaboration with other institutions.
Historical Note
New York University created the Humanities Council in 1976 due to concern that college students were eschewing humanities studies in favor of technical and professional education, which was perceived as more valuable in the job market of the time. The Council was preceded by a Presidential Panel on Humanities and primarily aimed to plan humanities-centered, interdisciplinary programming for NYU faculty and students, including promoting humanities studies in NYU's professional schools. Leslie Berlowitz (née Tuttleton, 1944-2020) worked in the Office of Academic Affairs, was a member of the Council from its founding, and headed it until it was disbanded in 1996, at which time she left NYU.
The Humanities Council created interdisciplinary humanities programming for the NYU community, secondary and post-secondary education students in the New York City metro area, and for academics and professionals engaged in humanities work. In 1976, the Council introduced humanities seminars for NYU students, and colloquia for NYU faculty. In the late 1970s it also began planning programming explicitly for students of professional schools, and began sponsoring lectures, conferences, and symposia. Notably, the Council began working with visiting scholars to create the Distinguished Visiting Scholar Lecture Series. In 1979 the Council also began a joint humanities programming project with Rockefeller University. During the 1980s, the Council branched out to developing programming for high school students and educators. Towards the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, the Council focused on larger, multi-year projects that offered a variety of programming centered around a single topic.
The Humanities Council was initially funded by a 1976 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and in 1978 received additional funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The latter was a challenge grant, which matched funds raised by NYU. The NEH challenge grant was renewed in 1983, when the University executed a fundraising campaign to create an endowment fund for the Council. Over its existence the Council also received funding from the Exxon Education Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Pew Memorial Trust, and other granting institutions. In its first decade, the Council received grants that provided more long-term, general funding, but over the course of time grants became more specific and tied to individual programs. In addition to planning programming directly, the Council also provided funds for seminars, lectures, readings, and other events planned by NYU faculty. It did so primarily through the Grant-in-Aid program, which ran from 1980 to 1992.
Arrangement
The records are arranged in five series. All series are arranged chronologically. The series arrangement of the records is as follows:
Series I: Administrative Files, 1976-1996
Series II: NYU Programming, 1976-1995
Series III: Outside Programming, 1977-1993
Series IV: Projects, 1982-1996
Series V: Audiovisual Recordings, 1976-1996
Scope and Contents
The Humanities Council Records (dated early 1970s-1996) include materials related to the founding, administration, funding, and programs of the Council. The majority of the collection is paper records, but each series contains electronic records as well as audiovisual materials. Research files on humanities education, committee records, promotional materials, grant applications and reports, and requests for funding from the Humanities Council document the overall planning and administration of the Council. Different types of programming, including seminars, lectures, symposia, conferences, readings, discussion sessions, exhibitions, and tributes, are documented by correspondence with potential participants; promotional materials including brochures, posters, and fliers; mailing lists; event invitations and scripts; and audiovisual recordings. Later projects, which were often planned in concert with events at other institutions, are also represented by correspondence, planning meeting files, calendars, and promotional materials related to events outside of NYU. Overall, the Humanities Council Records document trends in academic humanities studies during its 20 years of existence. Funding documentation, particularly grant proposals and reports, but also visits from and lectures by representatives of public granting institutions, also show changes in the nature of funds available for this type of programming. Files from individual events provide information on specific topics and subjects. The Council consistently devoted resources to humanities education for professional students across all of its programming, and themes related to the bicentennials of the U.S. Constitution and the French Revolution are explored in all aspects of the Humanities Council's activities.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Oral history transcripts in Subseries III.C are restricted for 75 years from their creation date to maintain the privacy of interviewees. All other materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Humanities Council are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives. Please contact special.collections@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Humanities Council Records; RG 9.5.1; box number; folder number or item identifier; New York University Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials transferred to the University Archives by Leslie Berlowitz in 1984, 1992, and on other unknown dates. Materials were previously split and assigned two call numbers, RG 9.5.1 and RG 9.5.1.1. In 2024 they were reunited under RG 9.5.1.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact New York University Archives at special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted.
An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
Commercially produced bound materials, as well as duplicates of brochures, posters, and reports, were removed from the collection. Student grades from Humanities Council seminars were also removed to protect the privacy of former students.
One floppy disk could not be imaged and was discarded.
Separated Materials
Records created by Leslie Berlowitz in her capacity as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs have been transferred to RG 9.5, the Records of the Office of Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (Leslie Berlowitz). Records related to the Faculty Resouce network have been transferred to RG 9.5.5, the Records of the Faculty Resource Network. New York Insitute of Humanities records were transferred to RG 37.4, Records of the New York Institute for the Humanities.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Paper materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes, and oversized materials were unfolded and placed in appropriately sized folders and flat boxes. All audiovisual media was placed in new boxes and assigned and labeled with unique identifiers. Files were grouped by subject and arranged into series and subseries. Materials were physically brought together when possible, and oversize materials, audiovisual recordings, and electronic records were intellectually integrated into the file lists. Files are listed chronologically within series and subseries. Original folder titles were retained when possible, and assigned by an archivist when necessary.
48 floppy disks were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.