John Manfredi Papers
One of four young sociologists who joined the faculty at UMass Amherst in the years after the Second World War, John Manfredi carried the entire load of teaching theory from 1948 to 1967. A native of Philadelphia and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (BA 1942), Manfredi came to Amherst after completing an MA at Harvard in 1948, teaching while simultaneously completing his dissertation, “The Relationship of Class-Structured Pathologies to the Contents of Popular Periodical Fiction, 1936-1940” (Harvard, 1951). A specialist in social theory and cultural systems, he taught anthropology for several years and both his research and teaching revolved around the sociology of religion and art. His best know work, The Social Limits of Art, appeared in 1982, three years before his retirement. Manfredi died in February 1993.
Consisting of essays and course notes from his days as a graduate student at Harvard, the John Manfredi collection documents the training and early professional work of a sociologist. Notable among these are materials relating to classes offered by eminent figures such as Talcott Parsons, Carle C. Zimmerman, and P.A. Sorokin.
Background on John Manfredi
One of four young sociologists who joined the faculty at UMass Amherst in the years after the Second World War, John Manfredi carried the entire load of teaching theory from 1948 to 1967. A native of Philadelphia and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (BA 1942), Manfredi came to Amherst after completing his MA at Harvard in 1948, teaching while simultaneously completing a dissertation on “The Relationship of Class-Structured Pathologies to the Contents of Popular Periodical Fiction, 1936-1940” (Harvard, 1951).
A specialist in social theory and cultural systems, Manfredi taught both sociology and anthropology for several years as his interests evolved from a focus on class and social pathology to Italian sociological theory to the sociology of religion and art. A valued mentor and inspiring teacher, he wrote two monographs: Periodical Resources in Italian Sociology (1977) and his best known work, The Social Limits of Art (1982). Manfredi retired from teaching in 1985 and died in February 1993.
Contents of Collection
The John Manfredi collection contains a suite of articles and class essays from his days as a graduate student in sociology at Harvard and his early years on faculty at UMass Amherst. Reflecting his training in theory and his developing interest in the sociology of art, the collection also includes a handful of unpublished works and a particularly interesting set of notes on classes taken by Manfredi in the mid-1940s under eminent figures such as Talcott Parsons, Carle C. Zimmerman, and P.A. Sorokin.
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Course Paper: “Heaven and earth: China and India” (submitted to P.A. Sorokin and Talcott Parsons)
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1944 May 26
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Box 1:1
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Course Paper: “Medieval economic institutions and the problem of security” (submitted to Talcott Parsons and Carle C. Zimmerman)
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1945 Feb. 9
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Box 1:2
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Course Paper: “Work, place, and people: A study in the mechanics of Italian-American maladjustments in the American milieu with special reference to the criteria of the Le Play School” (submitted to P.A. Sorokin)
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1944 May 26
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Box 1:3
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“The Crisis of the church in the mid-century” (talk at St. Anselm’s)
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ca.1958
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Box 1:4
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Diplomas
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1938-1952
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Box 1:5,
O.S. |
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Manfredi’s diplomas from University of Pennsylvania (BA 1942) and Harvard (PhD,. 1951) are housed with oversized materials |
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“A discussion of method in social science” (Honors thesis in Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania)
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1942 May
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Box 1:6
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Dissertation precis: “The relationship of class-structured pathologies to the contents of popular periodical fiction, 1936-1940”
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1950 Sept.
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Box 1:7
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Junior Annals, Class of 1942 (University of Pennsylvania)
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1941
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Box 1:8
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Korson, Henry J. (letter recommending Manfredi for a job)
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1952
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Box 1:9
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Miscellaneous
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1946-1974
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Box 1:10
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Notes and drafts of papers
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ca.1945-1950
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Box 1:11
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Notes on urban sociology
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ca.1951
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Box 1:12
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Request for research help to the Faculty Research Council: “Relationship of demographic instability to the incidence of sectarianism”
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1959 Mar. 11
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Box 1:13
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Retirement
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1985
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Box 1:14
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“The Riesman characterology: a close look” (paper rejected by American Sociological Review
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1958-1959
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Box 1:15
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Saturday Evening Post article (draft)
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ca.1958
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Box 1:16
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“The Social and Cultural Matrix of Art”
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1980
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Box 1:17
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The Social Limits of Art: Correspondence
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1981-1983
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Box 1:18
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“Societal complexity and limited alternatives”
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1954
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Box 1:19
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“Toward a sociology of aesthetics”
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Undated
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Box 1:20
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“The treatment of upward mobility in the Saturday Evening Post” (article rejected by the American Journal of Sociology
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1938-1952
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Box 1:21
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“An urban lower white-collar group: a case study in social pathology and non-economic orientations of behavior”
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1948 July
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Box 1:22
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Vita and letters of support
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1974-1980
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Box 1:23
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Course notes
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1944-1947
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Sociology 13 — Sociology of the Family: course taught by Carle C. Zimmerman
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1944
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Box 2:1
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Sociology IVC — Economics and the Social Structure: course taught by Talcott Parsons
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1944-1945
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Box 2:2
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Sociology III — Social change and social progress: course taught by Carle C. Zimmerman
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1944-1945
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Box 2:3
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Social Pathology: course taught by Robert Freed Bales
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1946
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Box 2:4
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Sociology I 3: course taught by Carle C. Zimmerman
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1946
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Box 2:5
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Sociology 9 — Regional Sociology of the U.S.: course taught by Carle C. Zimmerman
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1946
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Box 2:6
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Social relations Ih: course taught by George C. Homans
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1947
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Box 2:7
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Provenance
Acquired from Lewis Manfredi, 2010.
Processing Information
Processed by Dex Haven, April 2011.
Copyright and Use (More information
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Cite as: John Manfredi Papers (FS 148). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.