Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Orrin Edgar Klapp Papers
- Dates:
- 1942-1997
- Creators:
- Klapp, Orrin Edgar
- Extent:
- 0.21 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Orrin Edgar Klapp Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Orrin Edgar Klapp Papers documents the sociologist's career as a professor, naval officer, and professor at San Diego State College from 1949 to 1969. The collection is comprised of information pertaining to the history of the Hydrographic Office during WWII, correspondence to and from Klapp, newspaper clippings, and a handwritten manuscript of his work, A Materialist Metaphysics. Other highlights include manuscripts from Scuttle Butte, a weekly humor magazine edited by Klapp, and the John Simon Gugenheim Fellowship Application form.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Born in 1915, Orrin Edgar Klapp was one of San Diego State College's top sociological researchers and professors. A Chicago native, Klapp received his bachelors, masters, and Doctorate from the University of Chicago in Sociology. At the outbreak of World War II, he left his doctoral program and became a Lieutenant in the US Navy. As a Lieutenant, he worked in the hydrographic office making maps for airplanes and ships.
During his time in the service Klapp started publishing written work. He was the editor of Scuttlebutt, a humor magazine intended to be distributed throughout Klapp's fleet. The publication was discontinued after the humorous albeit irreverent material started to offend other officers.
After his time in the military, Klapp finished his doctoral degree and began teaching Sociology at San Diego State College in 1949. In his twenty years in San Diego, he published several works exploring sociological interaction in San Diego. His first book, Ritual and Cult, was published in 1956. In 1962, he authored his best known work, Heoes, Villains, and Fools, a scholarly investigation about the changing American culture in the 1960's.
Klapp left SDSC in 1969 to pursue another teaching career at the University of Western Ontario. He taught there for an additional 14 years and continued his sociological research during that time. After a struggle with Alzheimer's, Klapp died in 1997.
- Acquisition information:
- Evelyn Klapp
- Accruals:
-
2002-039
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-01-14 15:51:26 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Orrin Edgar Klapp Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
Library and Information Access5500 Campanile DriveSan Diego, CA 92182-8050, US
- Contact:
- (619) 594-6791