Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Mary LeCron Foster papers
- Dates:
- 1934-2001
- Creators:
- Foster, Mary LeCron
- Abstract:
- The papers of linguistic anthropologist Mary LeCron Foster.
- Extent:
- 15 Linear Feet (10 cartons, 16 card-file boxes)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mary LeCron Foster papers, BANC MSS 2012/225, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection documents Mary LeCron's work as a linguistic anthropologist and teacher. It is divided into ten series: Correspondence; Diary and Field Notes; Vocabulary Notes; Writings; Course notes; Research files; Database and indices; Notecards; Audio recordings; and Biographical materials.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Mary LeCron Foster, known as Mickie, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on February 1, 1914. She studied anthropology with Melville Herskovits at Northwestern University, where she received her B.A. degree in 1936. She studied with Ruth Benedict and Franz Boas for one year at Columbia University. After marrying George M. Foster in 1938, the couple settled in Berkeley, California. They conducted anthropological and linguistic field work in the State of Veracruz, Mexico and for many decades in Tzintzuntzán, Michoacán, Mexico. They published a complete grammar of Sierra Popoluca in 1948.
After raising two children, Mickie returned to school, completing a Ph.D. in linguistics at Berkeley in 1965. In 1969, she published a revised version of her dissertation, The Tarascan Language. She taught anthropology and linguistics at the California State University, Hayward (now CSU East Bay) from 1966 to 1974. Beginning in 1975, she was a research associate at Berkeley, specializing in comparative linguistic studies, especially the study and reconstruction of the evolution of human spoken language. Another of her major interests was the anthropological study of peace and conflict.
Mickie Foster died in Berkeley on December 9, 2001.
- Acquisition information:
- The Mary LeCron Foster papers were gifted to the Bancroft Library by Christy Burow in 2012.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Lauren Lassleben and Mimi Loran in 2015.
- Physical location:
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2015-10-05 15:06:32 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. The copyright for unpublished manuscript material in this collection is held by the donor. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mary LeCron Foster papers, BANC MSS 2012/225, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft LibraryBerkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
- Contact:
- 510-642-6481