Description: Edward M. Bruner (1924-2020), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, is a pioneering figure in the field of anthropology. He is especially known for his later research and writing on tourism but he began his academic career studying the Mandan and Hidatsa on the Fort Berthold Reservation and the Batak in Sumatra. He was also a renowned photographer and won several competitions with his photography.
The papers of Edward M. Bruner consist of audiotapes, bibliographies, books, brochures, correspondence, course outlines, documents, genealogies, handbooks, manuals, maps, memoirs, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, newsletters, notes, notices, oral histories, papers, pamphlets, photographs, publications, reports, slides, syllabi, and transcripts relating to his years as an undergraduate and graduate student; his teaching career at Yale University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; his research on the Batak, Indonesia, narrative, Native Americans, New Salem, and tourism; his trips overseas; and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The series also includes transcripts of interviews conducted by Elaine Bruner regarding Batak child rearing practices in the early 1960s and which were never published.
The collection is arranged into 8 series: Series 1, Personal Materials, 1943-2017, organized alphabetically by subject. Series 2, Correspondence, 1942-2016, divided into Personal Correspondence and General Correspondence and organized chronologically thereunder. Series 3, Course Materials, 1954-98, organized by course number; classes Bruner taught at Yale are listed first. Series 4, Conferences, Talks, and Interviews, 1958-2012, organized chronologically. Series 5, University of Illinois Materials, 1963-2015, organized alphabetically by subject. Series 6, Research Materials, 1859-2009, organized into six groups: Batak Materials, Indonesia Materials, Narrative Research Materials, Native American Materials, New Salem Materials, and Tourism Research Materials. Within these groups, subjects are arranged alphabetically. Series 7, Slides, 1957-96, organized alphabetically by subject. Series 8, Published Writings, 1952-2014, organized chronologically.
Related material include the Doris Duke Indian Oral History Program Archives, where Edward M. Bruner was director.