Papers of Roger M. Keesing, a cultural and linguistic anthropologist whose area of specialization was the culture history and language of the Kwaio people of the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. The Keesing Papers represent the research and materials generated from his fieldwork with the Kwaio of Malaita, and to a lesser extent, his research in Himalayan villages of India. The papers reflect Keesing's particular interest in Melanesian languages and the cultural conflict caused by colonialism. The papers include correspondence with colleagues, friends, family, and associates; manuscripts of published and unpublished works; ethnographic and linguistic data collected in field notebooks, journals, typescripts, diaries, photographs, and recorded interviews; teaching material; writings of others related to his research interests; and computer analysis of genealogical data from Kwaio. The papers span the period 1962 to 1993. The papers are arranged in thirteen series: 1) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS BY KEESING, 4) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 5) SOLOMON ISLANDS - FIELD RESEARCH, 6) SOLOMON ISLANDS - PHOTOGRAPHS, 7) SOLOMON ISLANDS - AUDIORECORDINGS, 8) SUBJECT FILES, 9) CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS, 10) TEACHING MATERIAL, 11) COMPUTER ANALYSIS MATERIAL, 12) INDIA - FIELD RESEARCH, and 13) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.

Roger Martin Keesing, anthropologist and linguist, was born in Hawaii on May 16, 1935, the second child of two anthropologists who had immigrated to the United States from New Zealand in 1928.

36.7 Linear feet (45 archives boxes, 21 card file boxes, 12 records cartons, 17 oversize folders) 2,982 online items

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.