Series I. Subject Files, 1950-2015
Scope and Contents
Series I consists of collected publications and clippings, publishing records, teaching and administrative records, professional activities records, and research records, generated and compiled by Chester M. Pierce over the course of his career. Publishing records include writings, manuscripts, reprints, and reports written by Pierce. Teaching and administrative records were generated through Pierce's service at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and include reports, committee records, lectures, syllabi, assignments, handouts; and related collected publications. Professional activities records consist of conference programs, papers, lectures, lecture notes, and related correspondence. Research records include grant applications, research notes, reports, and related correspondence.
Papers cover a wide range of topics related to psychiatry and psychology, frequently concerning: extreme environments; stress and coping; race (racism, cross-cultural psychology, racial group dynamics, Black psychology); socioeconomics (poor communities, mundane environments, classism); sports psychology (coaching, competition); polar regions (behavior, isolation, depression); spaceflight; sleep and sleep disorders (enuresis (bed-wetting), somnambulism (sleep-walking)); healthcare and education access and opportunity (racial and economic aspects); police and incarceration; education (psychiatric, multicultural). Other topics include: child development and psychology; navy and military psychology; drug use and abuse; television (education, violence); disaster and crisis; violence; war and terror; psychiatric and psychological treatment and methods; ageism; sexism; and Greek poetry and mythology. Many of these topics overlap and intersect with each other in the papers.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-2015
Language of Materials
Papers are predominantly in English. Some papers are in Spanish.
The papers include various examples of outdated language, as the collection materials were created over the course of many decades, during which preferred language and terminology changed. Pierce generally used the term 'minority' to refer to people of non-white backgrounds, focusing on but not exclusive to Black individuals. He also frequently used the terms “negro” and “African American” in reference to Black individuals and communities. These terms appear frequently throughout the collection.
Conditions Governing Access
Series I includes student, patient, and personally-identifying information that is restricted for 80 years from the date of record creation, and Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital records that are restricted for 50 years from the date of record creation. The end of the restriction period is noted with each folder.
Extent
8.25 cubic feet (9 records center cartons and 1 flat oversize box)Arrangement
Series I is arranged alphabetically by folder title, disregarding punctuation, and the words "a" and "the". If a folder title starts with a name, the last name was used for alphabetization. Within groups with the same or similar titles, files are arranged chronologically.
Creator
- From the Collection: Pierce, Chester M. (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.