Robert E. Brown Southbridge (Mass.) Collection
During the mid-1970s, Robert Brown worked as a fifth grade teacher at the West Street School, Southbridge, Mass., while pursuing a graduate degree in anthropology at UMass Amherst under Joel Halpern. Part of Brown’s research involved conducting oral histories with Southbridge families identified as “ethnic,” including Albanian, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, and Puerto Rican, as well as the only African American family in town at the time. Brown published his work in local newspapers and ultimately in the book, The New New Englanders (Worcester, Mass.: Commonwealth Press, 1980).
The Brown collection includes copies of his newspaper articles, profiles of the families he studied, and apparently complete transcripts of two oral history interviews. Also included are copies of two papers by Brown on Southbridge, possibly for an anthropology class, analyzing the education of Puerto Rican students and the lives of Rumanian Americans.
Background on Robert E. Brown
During the mid-1970s, Robert Brown worked as a fifth grade teacher at the West Street School, Southbridge, Mass., while pursuing a graduate degree in anthropology at UMass Amherst under Joel Halpern. Part of Brown’s research involved conducting oral histories with Southbridge families identified as “ethnic,” including Albanian, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, Puerto Rican, and Vietnamese, as well as the only African American family in town at the time. Brown published his work in local newspapers and ultimately in the book, The New New Englanders (Worcester, Mass.: Commonwealth Press, 1980).
Contents of Collection
The Brown collection includes copies of his newspaper articles, profiles of the families he studied, and apparently complete transcripts of two oral history interviews. Also included are copies of two papers by Brown on Southbridge, possibly for an anthropology class, analyzing the education of Puerto Rican students and the lives of Rumanian Americans.
| Brown, Robert E., Articles on Southbridge ethnic families (Polish, French Canadian, Greek, Albanian, Macedonian-Romanian). All printed in the Sunday Evening News Weekend Magazine | 1976-1977 | ||
| Brown, Robert E., Letter from Robert E. Brown to Richard Martin (UMass Press) | 1977 July 8 | ||
| Brown, Robert E., Profiles of Southbridge ethic families (based on interviews) | ca.1976-1977 | ||
| Brown, Robert E., A study of the relationship between teachers and students of Puerto Rican descent in grades five through eight in the public school system of Southbridge, Massachusetts | 1977 July 8 | ||
| Brown, Robert E., A study of Rumanian-Americans in Southbridge, Massachusetts | ca.1973 | ||
| Brown, Robert E., Transcripts of oral history interviews, Southbridge, Massachusetts | ca.1976 | ||
| Interview with Kostas and Anna Agathangelakis, daughter, and George | ca.1976 | ||
| Interview with Gigli and Rosa Ciovacco, and daughter Anna, age 10 | ca.1976 |
Provenance varied.
Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Aug. 2013.
)Cite as: Robert E. Brown Southbridge (Mass.) Collection (MS 029). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.