This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Anthony Leeds, anthropologist and university professor. Included are correspondence, field notes, published and unpublished papers, photographs, newspaper and periodical clippings, conference papers, lecture notes, syllabi, critiques of colleague and student work, and personal documents such as calendars, biographical materials, and personal poems.
The materials in this collection reflect Leeds' field work in South America and Portugal, his role as a university professor, and his extensive involvement in various professional organizations. The majority of his anthropological endeavors focused on urban culture, the growth of technology and agriculture in society, and the philosophy behind anthropology and the social sciences. The fieldwork included in this collection is from early in his career, focusing on the study of Cacao agriculture in Brazil and the Yaruro people in Venezuela. The items in this collection document Leeds' various interests and activities.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
This collection is arranged in 7 series: (1) Correspondence, 1950-1989; (2) Research, 1949-1989; (3) Field Work, 1950-1973; (4) University, 1947-1989; (5) Professional Activities, 1951-1988; (6) Personal, 1946-1989; (7) Photo Album, circa 1952
Anthony Leeds was born January 26, 1925 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Because of his parents' strong ties to Europe (both were of Jewish descent, with kin in Germany and England), Leeds spent a fair amount of his childhood in Vienna and Switzerland, where he became fluent in French and German. His father, a businessman and lawyer, died when Leeds was only three years old. Though his family returned to the United States in 1933 due to political unrest in Europe, Leeds continued to be exposed to world cultures and politics through his family. For instance, Leeds' mother was an actor, translator, and psychoanalyst who once studied at Freud's Psychoanalytic Institute in Vienna. His stepfather was not only a sculptor and musician, but also a political activist. This rich familial environment fostered an interest in the social sciences and the arts from a young age.
Leeds also got a taste for rural life when his mother moved to a working farm in Clinton Corners, New York in 1935. For the next nine years Leeds intermittently helped his mother with the farm work and attended a small high school in the area. Of his time spent at Clinton Corners, Leeds felt a strong sense of community which would make a profound influence in his understanding of rural settings as an anthropologist.
Leeds eventually attended Columbia University in New York City and received a B. A. in Anthropology in 1949. He then went directly into the graduate program at Columbia, where his fellow anthropology colleagues included Marvin Harris and Andrew P. Vayda. Some of his favorite professors and later influences were Alfred L. Kroeber, William Duncan Strong, and Karl Polyani. His dissertation was a study of the politics behind cocoa production in the Bahia region of Brazil. Conducted in 1951-1952, Leeds' investigation was one of four in Bahia supervised by Charles Wagley and Brazilian anthropologist Thales de Azevedo. This study led to his dissertation, "Economic Cycles in Brazil: The Persistence of a Total-Cultural Pattern: Cacao and Other Cases," in which Leeds analyzed the topic from a Marxist viewpoint.
After receiving his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 1957, Leeds embarked on his primary career as a university professor. For the next 32 years, Leeds taught at a variety of institutions--first at Hofstra University and City College in New York City, then the University of Texas, and later at Boston University. In between, Leeds found the time to spend two years (1961-63) as the chief of the Program of Urban Development at the Pan-American Union (PAU) in Washington, D.C. He also spent a year (1972-73) at the Latin American centers in England associated with Oxford University and the University of London.
It was during his university years that Leeds focused on urban studies and urban analysis. Though he did conduct a brief study of the Yaruro peoples of Venezuela in 1958, the majority of his field work thereafter concerned urban development and its effects on society as a whole. Leeds made several field trips to Brazil and other areas of South America while working at the University of Texas; he specifically traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Bogota, Lima, and Santiago de Chile to study the cultural and political cultures of squatter settlements. From 1965 to 1966, Leeds received funding from the Social Science Research Council and the Ford Foundation to conduct a study of twelve specific favelas (squatter settlements) in Rio de Janeiro. For this fieldwork, Leeds organized Peace Corps volunteers, local community workers, academics (both foreign and Brazilian), and favela residents to help collect and analyze the data. It was during this trip that Leeds met Elizabeth Plotkin, a Peace Corps community action worker, who would later become Leeds' second wife and one of his most important collaborators. Together they wrote a book in Portuguese titled
In the 1970's Leeds and Plotkin made seven different trips to Portugal to follow different lines of research regarding the area. Leeds specifically researched the labor migration movements from the rural areas to the cities. He later wrote a book on his studies titled
In his later years, Leeds not only took a more active role in various anthropological organizations (specifically those concerning the study of urban development), but he also became an active mentor to many students at Boston University. Leeds supported a variety of graduate student research in anthropology at Boston, as well as student research from other neighboring New England universities. In addition, Leeds began a "Thursday Night Group" that regularly met at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts to discuss a variety of anthropological subjects.
On February 20th, 1989, Leeds died of a heart attack in his Randolph, Vermont farmhouse.
Sources Consulted
Sieber, Timothy R. "The Life of Anthony Leeds: Unity in Diversity." In
Contact the respository for terms of use.
Graded materials of Anthony Leeds' students and grant applications that he reviewed are restricted. His photo album is also restricted due to preservation concerns.
The papers of Anthony Leeds were received partially organized. The processing archivist kept existing groupings and arrangement and organized the collection into seven series. Original folder titles were retained with titles assigned by the archivist placed within square brackets. Restricted materials have been separated and noted in the container list.
Anthony Leeds papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
These papers were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Columbia University's Department of Anthropology.
Anthony Leeds' correspondence and writings can also be found in the Marvin Harris papers at the National Anthropological Archives.
This series contains the bulk of Anthony Leeds' correspondence with anthropologists, graduate students, professors, and other people of interest to his anthropological work. Correspondence can also be found throughout the collection, filed by subject.
Leeds conducted field work in Brazil, Venezuela, Portugal, and various South American cities; therefore a good portion of his correspondence is in Portuguese and Spanish. Those files containing correspondence in a language other than English have been noted.
This series is arranged in 4 sub-series: (1.1) Letters Sent, 1950-1989; (1.2) Letters Received, 1951-1989; (1.3) University Correspondence, 1971-1988; (1.4) Graduate Work Correspondence, 1975-1982
Arranged chronologically.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Includes correspondence with Gregory Bateson, Margaret C. Blaker, and David Bray.
Includes correspondence with Arthur L. Caplan, T. M. Carroll, David Collier, Stephen Conn, and Pat Crooke.
Includes correspondence with Henry Dietz.
Includes correspondence with Marc Edelman.
Includes correspondence with Ricardo Falla, Teresa Garcia Fernandez, Barbara Frankel, and Paul Friedman.
Includes correspondence with William John Hanna and Colin Henfrey.
Includes correspondence with Robert Van Kemper
Includes correspondence with Murray Leaf, Kenneth Little, and Richard A. Lobban.
Includes correspondence with Lita Osmundsen.
Includes correspondence with Ralph Pattisson, Leonard Plotnicov, and Iain Prattis.
Includes correspondence with Gerard Reichel-Dolmatoff and Jack R. Rollwagon.
Includes correspondence with Larry Salmen, William B. Schwab, and John R. Silber.
Includes correspondence with Doug Uzzell
Arranged chronologically.
See also Series 4. University for similar correspondence.
This sub-series contains correspondence and dissertation drafts in regards to the doctoral work of Graduate students at Boston University and neighboring New England universities.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Includes photographs
Leeds took an active interest in urban anthropology, as well as various other anthropological subjects. This series contains personal handwritten notes, lecture notes, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, and grant applications; of note is Leeds' correspondence with Dr. Karl Polyani.
This series also includes a number of index cards with various notes, reference information, and drawings.
Arranged alphabetically until the last 5 folders.
Includes large, printed diagrams
Small notebook included with other documents
Documents relating to Leed's research project with Professor Carolina Beri on Brazilian careers and social structure
Includes Leeds' original folder titled "Ecology Book"
Contains copy of Leeds' "Darwinian and 'Darwinian' Evolution in the Study and Society and Culture"(1973)
Research and correspondence regarding Professor A. L. Kroeber
Research regarding the Margaret Mead/ Derek Freeman controversy
External examination of Ronald Skeldon thesis
Includes Leeds' folder titled "Peace Corps"
Correspondence and research shared with Dr Karl Polyani regarding ports of trade in early societies
Regards Leeds' research project, "A General Systems and Transactional Study of Power in Brazil and Colombia"
See also "Systems Theory" in this series
Relating to Leeds' research with his wife, Elizabeth Leeds, in South Africa
Regards Leeds' research project, "A General Systems and Transactional Study of Power in Brazil and Colombia"
See also "Power" in this series
Most of the documents regard research done by Leeds while teaching at University of Texas- Austin; includes Leeds' folder titled "Texas" as well as large notebook pad
See also Series 3. Field Work, Subseries: Cacao Zone
Notes and bibliographic information
Notes and bibliographic information
Leeds conducted field work in South America and Portugal from the 1950s to the 1980s; his work often focused on the relationship between urban and rural areas. This series concerns two of Leeds' field projects and contains associated handwritten notes, photographs, statistical charts, questionnaires, diary entries, maps, microfilm, notebooks, unpublished manuscripts, drafts, newspaper and magazine clippings, and indexed correspondence.
This series is arranged in 2 sub-series: (3.1) Cacao Zone, 1950-1968; (3.2) Yaruro, 1951-1973
From 1951 to 1952, Leeds conducted field work in the Cacao region of Bahia, Brazil for his dissertation. This sub-series contains all of the notes and data collected by Leeds regarding this trip, as well as his dissertation drafts.
See also Series 2. Research, "Brazil"
Includes photographs, as well as a typed guide to the photographs
Includes oversized graph paper containing statistical charts
Brazilian Federal forms
Topics include prostitution, law, and riddle-telling
The letter dated 1968 concerns publication by the University of Texas. Folder 4 includes photographs.
Notes, graphs, and pamphlets on sanitation issues in the Cacao region
Surveys on sanitation issues
Includes several oversized charts
Consists of handwritten notes, diary entries, maps, and a spiral notebook
Publications with statistical information
Includes Leeds' binder titled "Current Thoughts"
Consists of notes, glossaries, tables, maps and charts
Notebook
Notes on Fazenda; includes notebook of statistics
Indexed by Leeds
See also Series 1. Correspondence
Typed diary entries and research regarding field work
Includes pamphlets and 19th century letters
Genealogical charts
Leeds traveled to Venezuela in 1958 to study the Yaruro people of the southern Llanos; his notes and collected data on the Yaruro are contained in this sub-series.
Notebok, Summer of 1958
Black & white photos
Black & white photos of cultural objects
Includes several folded maps
Two notebooks
Four microfilm rolls of archival documents from the Archivo General de Indias and the Vatican Secret Archives.
"Ideology of the Yaruro Indians in Relation to Socio-Economic Organization - An Analysis of Postulates"
Leeds studied anthropology, both as an undergraduate and a graduate, at Columbia University. He later became a professor of anthropology, teaching at Hofstra University, City College, University of Texas, and Boston University, including a one-year stint at Oxford University and the University of London. This series contains lecture notes, syllabi, exams, correspondence, and notebooks regarding all of Leeds' university endeavors.
This series is arranged in 2 sub-series: (4.1) Student Files, 1947-1952; (4.2) Teaching Files, 1948-1989
This sub-series contains files pertaining to Leeds' undergraduate and graduate work as a student of anthropology at Columbia University.
See also Series 1. Correspondence
Documents relating to Leeds' work as a professor of anthropology are contained in this sub-series.
For related documents, see Series 2. Research and Series 5. Professional Activities, "Papers, drafts, outlines" file.
Restricted until 2063
Leeds' personal notebook containing lecture notes
Restricted until 2054
Mostly correspondence regarding Leeds' Fulbright Fellowship in London
See also Series 1. Correspondence
Includes legal pad with notes attached
Mostly correspondence
See also Series 1. Correspondence
Restricted until 2034
Regarding the college discussion group led by Leeds at Boston University
Leeds was actively involved in several anthropological organizations and publications. This series includes conference pamphlets, conference schedules, notes, grant applications, publication critiques, project proposal critiques, and correspondence pertaining to Leeds' professional activities.
This series is divided into 3 sub-series: (5.1) General, 1951, 1961-1986; (5.2) Society for Urban Anthropology, 1959-1982; (5.3) Critiques and Criticisms, 1960-1989
Arranged alphabetically.
Panel of the International Program for Population Analysis
American Anthropological Association's committee on Research Problems and Ethics
See also "Urban Anthro-- Grant Applications" in Series 5. Professional Activities, Sub-series 5.1 Society for Urban Anthropology
Conference on the diffusion of Freudianism
Miscellaneous organizations
Astoria Motion Picture and Television Foundation
Leeds wrote papers and attended a number of conferences for the Society for Urban Anthropology. This sub-series contains Leeds' documents regarding the organization, as well as lecture notes and syllabi regarding some of the university classes Leeds taught on the subject of urban anthropology.
See also, Series 4, University, "Urban Anthropology Course" and "Urban Anthropology Course: outline, theory" files.
See also "Grant Applications" in Series 5. Professional Activities, Sub-series 5.1 General
Includes several of Leeds' folders titled "Urban." Also contains some syllabi and notes on the Urban Anthropology university classes taught by Leeds.
See also Series 4, University, "Urban Anthropology Course" and "Urban Anthropology Course: outline and theory"
This sub-series contains Leeds' critiques on publications and field work proposals.
Arranged chronologically.
Restricted until 2049
Restricted until 2059
Restricted Until 2069
Restricted until 2069
This series contains all of Anthony Leeds' personal papers, including biographical material, autobiographical material, and his personal calendars; this series also contains a vast amount of poetry written by Leeds.
This series is arranged in 3 sub-series: (6.1) Biographical Files, 1951-1958, 1971-1988; (6.2) Poetry, 1946-1987; (6.3) Calendars, 1966-1989
Arranged alphabetically.
Arranged chronologically.
Arranged chronologically.
Photo album containing prints of Leed's field work in Brazil. The album is in fragile condition and is restricted due to preservation concerns.
Restricted due to preservation concerns