Videotape Research

Object Details

See more items in: Marvin Harris papers; Marvin Harris papers / Series 2: Research

Collection Citation: Marvin Harris papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Scope and Contents: Harris experimented with using videotape recordings as an etic approach to collecting ethnographic data during the 1960s and 1970s. This sub-series mainly contains his research for his National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project "Patterns of Authority and Subordination in Low-Income Urban Domiciles." For the study, video cameras were set up in the homes of two Caucasian and two African American families in New York City for two to four weeks. The families were filmed and monitored 24 hours a day. Harris and his team of assistants reviewed the recordings and coded the families' actions. This sub-series contains research on equipment, NSF proposals, coding sheets, data analysis, and project reports by Harris and Anna Lou Dehavenon. There is also a folder containing notes from a study on Macy's Santa Claus that one of Harris' students conducted for a seminar he taught at Columbia University; the seminar focused on using video cameras for ethnographic research. An open reel tape from the study was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives.

Collection Restrictions: Access to student records (consisting of graded materials and student recommendation letters), grant proposals sent to Harris for review by grant agencies, and part of his faculty recruitment files are restricted until 2081. Series 10. Computer Files are also restricted due to preservation concerns.