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Collection Overview

Collector:
Tumin, Melvin M. (Melvin Marvin), 1919-1994
Title:
Melvin M. Tumin Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/6d56zw699
Dates:
1942-2007
Size:
5 boxes and 1.6 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-5
Language:
English

Abstract

Melvin Tumin was a professor of sociology and anthropology at Princeton University. Consists of correspondence, articles, papers, and book reviews by Melvin Tumin, including his dissertation research on the ladino and Pokomám Maya population of San Luis Jilotepeque in Eastern Guatemala. The collection is especially notable for Tumin's correspondence with writers Saul Bellow, Iris Murdoch, and Philip Roth.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of correspondence, articles, papers, and book reviews by Melvin Tumin. Included are typed and handwritten letters, typescripts, offprints, journals, and programs, among others. Also included are research notes, photographs, and a draft of Tumin's dissertation, "San Luis Jilotepeque: A Study in Social Relations" (Ph.D. thesis, Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, 1944) as well as a draft of Tumin's last, unpublished book, "Freedom, Fairness and Wealth." The collection is especially notable for Tumin's correspondence with writers Saul Bellow, Iris Murdoch, and Philip Roth.

Collection Creator Biography:

Tumin, Melvin M. (Melvin Marvin), 1919-1994

Melvin Tumin was a professor of sociology and anthropology at Princeton University. Before coming to Princeton in 1947, Tumin served as director of the Mayor's Commission on Race Relations in Detroit. Noted for his research on segregation and desegregation, he was also one of the first to speak up against what Philip Roth, then a writer-in-residence at Princeton, called "blatant patterns of discrimination against Jews" in the university's student clubs. Tumin retired from Princeton in 1989.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Sylvia Tumin in 2011 (AM2011-72, 2011-102). Transferred from Mudd.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Regine Heberlein in 2011. Finding aid written by Regine Heberlein in 2011.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Melvin M. Tumin Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/6d56zw699
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1-5