Jacobson (Norman) papers, 1949-2002

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Summary

Title:
Norman Jacobson papers
Dates:
1949-2002
Creators:
Jacobson, Norman
Abstract:
The Norman Jacobson papers, 1949-2002, document his professional career as a professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and the University of South Carolina. The bulk of the materials consist of Jacobson's scholarly writings in the field of political science, his popular writings in other genres, and his course materials.
Extent:
Number of containers: 4 cartons, 1 box Linear feet: approximately 5.6
Language:
Collection materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Norman Jacobson Papers, BANC MSS 2006/223, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

The Norman Jacobson papers, 1949-2002, document his professional career as a professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and the University of South Carolina. The bulk of the materials consist of Jacobson's scholarly writings in the field of political science, his popular writings in other genres, and his course materials.

The collection has been divided into five series: Correspondence; Writings; Political Activities; Professional Activities; and Course Materials. Though they were arranged to correspond to these logical series, most of Jacobson's original folders, folder titles, and the original order within each folder were maintained. Jacobson's son, Matt Jacobson, created a preliminary inventory of the collection. His annotations were used to help identify unnamed materials. Researchers should note that the original folder titles are abbreviated descriptions of folder contents. They should consult the more detailed folder titles in the container list for the most accurate descriptions of their contents.

Biographical / historical:

Norman Jacobson was born in New York City on October 15, 1922. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. He graduated from St. John's University in 1946 and received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied with the renowned political theorist Merle Curti, in 1951.

Jacobson had an illustrious career in the Political Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley from 1951 through 1989. Following his retirement, he held the title Professor Emeritus and continued to teach and consult at Berkeley, Stanford University, and the University of South Carolina. Jacobson was the subject of an hour-long television program, "Men Who Teach" in 1969. He was chosen State of California Professor of the Year in 1988 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Jacobson's areas of interest included political theory, the history of ideas, and literature and politics, and he taught a variety of courses in these subjects. He earned a reputation as a dedicated teacher and, in 1965, was one of the founding faculty of the University of California, Berkeley's Experimental College Program. Jacobson has published widely on the topics of European and American political thought from the Renaissance to the present, and on such figures as Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Paine, Lincoln, Dostoevsky, Thoreau, Arendt, Orwell and Camus. His publications include Pride & Solace: The Functions and Limits of Political Theory.

Jacobson served as an alternate member of the U.S. Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in 1955, and as a consultant to Fund for the Republic, an organization dedicated to defending civil rights and civil liberties, from 1957-1958. In addition to teaching political theory, Jacobson was a psychotherapist in the Department of Psychiatry at Cowell Memorial Hospital in Berkeley between 1965 and 1970, and led seminars in the Department of Psychiatry at the U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco in 1970. His interests also extended into the realms of television, film, and theater. Jacobson collaborated on a number of (unproduced) television scripts with fellow political scientist, Eugene Burdick, and a screenplay about John Brown with Robert Peyton. He co-produced the U.S. premieres of two pieces by Bertolt Brecht at UC Berkeley in 1969: the symphony "Primer of War" and the opera "The Measures Taken." Jacobson also co-produced and wrote Report, a short film about teaching and learning at a large American University in the early seventies.

Acquisition information:
The Norman Jacobson Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Norman Jacobson on December 2006.
Processing information:

Processed by Marjorie Bryer in 2007.

Arrangement:

Arranged to the folder level.

Accruals:

No additions are expected.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Note:

Joint copyright with Robert Peyton of the movie scripts included in this collection were transferred to Peyton. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use these specific materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html. Even if copyright is not granted, persons given access to these materials may, unless otherwise stated, make single reference photocopies in lieu of note taking.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding Aid written by Marjorie Bryer
Sponsor:
Funding for processing this collection was provided by Matt Jacobson
Date Prepared:
© 2007
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid generated by Finding Aid author(s) via EAD XPress; markup validated by The Bancroft Library staff using OAC validation tools; Date of source: May 2007

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. Materials in these collections are protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and may not be used without permission of The Bancroft Library. Use may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, licensing terms, and trademarks. 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.

Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Norman Jacobson Papers, BANC MSS 2006/223, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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