Guide to the John P. Gillin Papers, 1933-1959 UA.90.F75

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
John P. Gillin Papers
Creator
Gillin, John P. (John Philip)
Collection Number
UA.90.F75
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Date
1933-1959
Abstract
John P. Gillin was an anthropologist and faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. The collection consists mainly photographs of fieldwork locations in North and South America. Manuscripts, reprints, and syllabi are also contained within the collection reflecting Gillin's scholarly and academic career.
Language
English .
Author
ASC Staff. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process on July 9, 2004
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Biography

John Philip Gillin was Dean of the Division of Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. Gillin arrived at the University of Pittsburgh in 1959 and retired in 1972, and is credited as a founder of the Department of Anthropology and its PhD program. Under his tutelage, the Anthropology Department became one of the nation's most distinguished.

Gillin came to Pittsburgh from the University of North Carolina where he was research professor of anthropology until 1959. During his career he was a member of faculty for Duke University, Ohio State University, Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Utah. Gillin was also on the staff of the Peabody Museum at Harvard.

Gillin received B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Wisconsin (1927, 1930) and M.A. and PhD degrees from Harvard (1931,1934).

Gillin's research interest were in cultural anthropology with an emphasis on Latin America. His fieldwork included studies in Algeria, New Mexico, British Guiana, Ecuador, Eastern Peru, Utah, Guatemala, Colombia and Wisconsin.

Gillin was widely published and was a member of the American Anthropological Association, Society for Applied Anthropology (president 1959-60), National Research Council and many others. He was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Kappa Delta, Alpha Kappa Lambda, and Phi Beta Kappa (1966).

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, on August 1, 1907, Gillin was the son of the noted sociologist John Lewis Gillin. He was married to Helen Norgord. They had one son, John Christian Gillin.

Scope and Content Notes

This collection consists mainly of photographs of the various locations and people that were the subject of Gillin's research. There are significant numbers of photographs from British Guiana (Guyana), Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil as well as scattered photos from his world travels. The paper records are mostly manuscripts, reprints and ephemeral publications. There are two films, the 8 mm Fiesta in St. Luis and one 16 mm unidentified film. There is a scrapbook from the 1942 Guatemala Expedition.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

This collection was sent to the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, by Eduardo Lozano, the Latin American bibliographer. These records are the non-book portion of a collection that was sent to the library by Richard Scaglion, Chair of the Anthropology Department, University of Pittsburgh, July 1, 2004.

Previous Citation

John P. Gillin Papers, 1933-1959, UA.90.F75, University Archives, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

John P. Gillin Papers, 1933-1959, UA.90.F75, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by ASC Staff in July 2004. Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Dan Horvath on July 9, 2004. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 4376710.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • University of Pittsburgh. Department of Anthropology -- History

    Personal Names

    • Gillin, John P. (John Philip)

    Geographic Names

    • Latin America -- Description and travel

    Other Subjects

    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Faculty papers
    • Indians of South America
    • Anthropologists -- United States
    • Anthropology -- Research
    • Anthropology -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List

British Guiana photographs (and others)
Containers
box 1, folder 1
Becoming an Anthropologist
Containers
box 1, folder 2
Anthropological point of view and its social implications, Phi Kappa Phi address, June 7, 1937
Containers
box 1, folder 3
Some sign posts for policy
Containers
box 1, folder 4
Componentes del Caracter de la Cultura Latinoamericana Moderna
Containers
box 1, folder 5
Harriet Elliot Social Science forum
Containers
box 1, folder 6
Syllabus in Anthropology
Containers
box 1, folder 7
Science of custom in business, November 16, 1945
Containers
box 1, folder 8
Michael Tarabulski correspondence with Helen Gillin
Containers
box 1, folder 9
Obituary of Gillin from American Anthropologist and Commemorative statement to the Faculty Council of UNC, March 1976
Containers
box 1, folder 10
57 articles, reprints and brochures
Containers
box 1, folder 11
Scrapbook, Guatemala Expedition, 1942
Containers
box 1, folder 13