Guide to the History of Consciousness Board records
Mathew E. Simpson
University of California, Santa Cruz
2013
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz 95064
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: History of Consciousness Board records
Creator:
University of California, Santa Cruz. History of
Consciousness Department
Identifier/Call Number: UA.078
Physical Description:
1 Linear Feet
2 half cartons
Date (inclusive): 1966-1994
Abstract: This small collection contains early
correspondence, essays, articles, and class material related to the History of Consciousness
program at UCSC.
Language of Material:
English .
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by Regents of the University of
California. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that
allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility
of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions.
UCSC Special Collections and Archives can grant permission to publish materials to which it
holds the copyright. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy
on Reproduction and Use.
Preferred Citation
History of Consciousness Board records. UA 78. University Archives, University Library,
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Acquisition Information
Various campus sources.
Administrative History
The History of Consciousness program is an interdisciplinary graduate program in the
humanities with links to the sciences, social sciences, and arts at the University of
California at Santa Cruz.
The program was started in 1966 (the first year of the Santa Cruz campus) by small group
of faculty members, including the American historian Page Smith, philosopher Maurice
Natanson, culture theorist Harry Berger, Jr., and psychology professor Bert Kaplan, who
approached the University of California system-wide Graduate Council with a proposal for a
new type of graduate program for the new campus. According to the founding Chancellor of the
campus, Dean McHenry, they did not consult with him and the program was approved without his
input.
For over a decade, there were no direct faculty appointments to the program and all
faculty teaching in the program was done by members of established Boards of Studies (at the
time, the UC Santa Cruz equivalent of departments). This led to problems in budgeting and
program continuity, and coupled with the innovative interdisciplinary nature of the program,
it also presented challenges in placing History of Consciousness graduates in teaching jobs.
The appointment of Norman O. Brown as Professor of Humanities in 1968 was in part intended
to address some of these concerns.
Historians Hayden White and James Clifford were among the first faculty members directly
appointed to the department. White joined the faculty as Professor of History of
Consciousness and Chair of the Board in July, 1978, having been recruited by then-Chancellor
Angus Taylor to bring stability to the program. Under White's leadership, the program grew
in the early 1980's to become one of the intellectual centers of theoretical innovation in
the humanities and social sciences in the United States.
The History of Consciousness Department currently offers a Ph.D. program that operates at
the intersection of established and emergent disciplines and fields, acquainting students
with leading intellectual trends in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Intellectual
projects are problem based and draw upon diverse theoretical approaches.
[Administrative History excerpted from the History of Consciousness Department website and
Wikipedia entry.]
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains significant material from the early 1970's pertaining to the
running of the program, as well as reviews that were conducted in 1986 and 1994. There are
also brochures and information on class offerings.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Processing Information
Processed by Mathew E. Simpson, April 2013. EAD encoded finding aid by Mathew E.
Simpson.
Related Collections
MS 35 Norman O. Brown Papers.
box 1, folder 1
Letter of Program Approval,
Apr 18,
1966
box 1, folder 2
Graduate Council Subcommittee Review,
May 24,
1968
box 1, folder 3
Articles & Excerpts,
1969-1975,
n.d.
box 1, folder 4
Essays & Notes,
ca. 1970-1973
box 1, folder 5
Class Materials,
1971-1975
box 1, folder 6
Fundraising (3 year Ford Foundation Grant),
1972-1976
box 1, folder 7
Reports & Correspondence,
1971-1976
box 2, folder 4
History of Consciousness Handbook,
1979-1980
box 2, folder 5
Academic Program Review Materials,
1986
box 2, folder 6
"Institute for Reality Studies" Correspondence,
1991
box 2, folder 8
Board Program Review,
Feb 3-4,
1994
box 2, folder 9
Board Program Review, Appendices 1-8,
1994
box 2, folder 10
Board Program Review, Appendices 9-15,
1994
box 2, folder 11
UCSC Catalog Entries (Photocopies),
1966-1994
