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Title: Ivan D. London papers
Date (inclusive): 1934-2005
Collection Number: 83060
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English, Russian and Chinese
Physical Description:
95 manuscript boxes, 2 card file boxes, 1 oversize box, digital media
(42.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, writings, questionnaires, interview transcripts, notes, reports, memoranda, and printed matter relating to
political science, social conditions in the Soviet Union and China, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the psychology of the
Soviet people and émigrés from the Soviet Union, and the study of science, especially psychology, in the Soviet Union. Includes
the papers of Miriam London, wife and collaborator of Ivan D. London.
Creator:
London, Ivan D., 1913-1983
Creator:
London, Miriam
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1983.
[Identification of item], Ivan D. London papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Dr. Ivan London was an American psychologist. He began his career as a mathematician and then switched to psychology, attracted
by the fresh methodological approach of applying mathematics to science.
London joined the Harvard Russian Research Center in 1950 to participate in the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System
(Harvard Emigre Interview Project). Subsequently he joined the faculty at Brooklyn College. There, he and his wife, Miriam,
developed their own academic research group that became the Institute of Political Psychology of Brooklyn College, where they
carried out further research on Russian refugees, interviewing hundreds of refugees. London also taught social psychology
and wrote extensively on the validity of refugee interviewing methods. During the 1960s he continued to interview refugees
and published many articles on the subject. He was a leading expert on Soviet psychology with wide contacts with many Soviet
psychologists.
In 1963, London decided to apply his interviewing method to Chinese refugees. He spent considerable time in Taiwan and Hong
Kong, interviewing refugees and publishing the results. His work with Chinese refugees continued until his death in 1983.
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers document the career of Ivan London, professor of psychology at Brooklyn College. The papers include correspondence,
writings, questionnaires, interview transcripts, notes, reports, memoranda, and printed matter relating to political science,
social conditions in the Soviet Union and China; the Chinese Cultural Revolution; the mindset of the Soviet people and émigrés
from the Soviet Union; and the study of science, especially psychology, in the Soviet Union.
The
Inwood Project on Intercultural Communication (European Group of Harvard University) Records series makes up the main body of the collection. The series is divided into three parts by interview type: A-Schedule (Problem
of Communication between Peoples), B-Schedule (Special Topics Interviews), and D-Schedule (Soviet Psychological Research).
The series consists of interview transcripts, completed questionnaires, reports, and working interview notes, and also includes
Chinese refugees project documents consisting of responses to questionnaires and correspondence.
The
Correspondence series mainly contains London's letters to and from refugees and researchers associated with the Harvard Project on the Soviet
Social System. The
Writings series contains materials written, translated, and edited by London. These represent a variety of topics in sociology and
psychology, including religion, education, and science in the Soviet Union, as well as a contemporary analysis of history
and psychology.
The collection also includes the papers of Miriam London, wife and collaborator of Ivan D. London, including her correspondence
and writings.
Harvard University Russian Research Center interview transcripts, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Alex Inkeles papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online, Harvard College Library
Subjects and Indexing Terms
China -- Emigration and immigration
China -- Social conditions
Science -- Soviet Union
China -- History -- Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976
Soviet Union -- Emigration and immigration
Public opinion -- Soviet Union
Soviet Union -- Social conditions
Psychology -- Soviet Union
Psychology -- China
Public opinion -- China