National Anthropological Archives

Guide to the Jerome R. Mintz papers, 1959-1991

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.1998-72
Creators:
Mintz, Jerome R.
Dates:
1960-1992
Languages:
Primarily
English
. Some materials are in
Spanish
and
Yiddish
.
Physical Description:
23 Cubic feet
20 linear feet (49 document boxes) plus 70 sound recordings and 10 floppy disks. Of the total extent, 2.5 inches (1 box) is restricted
Repository:
The Jerome R. Mintz Papers document his career as an educator and ethnographic filmmaker. Mintz's papers relate to his research in Andalusia, Spain, among the Hopi, and on Hasidism. The collection includes audio tapes, correspondence, notes, photographs, publications, and transcriptions. Mitnz's papers also feature course materials from the Jewish studies and anthropology classes he taught at Indiana University.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the professional papers of Jerome Mintz, documenting his work as an anthropologist, filmmaker, and professor. The collection contains his correspondence, research files, writings, photographs, sound recordings, grant applications, teaching files, and floppy disks.
A significant portion of the collection pertains to his work in Spain, particularly his research on the anarchist uprising in Casas Viejas. There are also materials related to his ethnographic films and his collection of song lyrics from carnivals held in Cadiz Province. His research on Hasidic tales and social change is also represented in this collection as well as interviews from his Hopi fieldwork.
His course files as a professor at Indiana University also form a sizable portion of the collection. He taught a wide range of courses within the folklore, Jewish studies, and anthropology department.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Jerome R. Mintz was born on March 29, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He received an A.B. (1952) in Comparative Literature and an M.A. (1955) in English literature from Brooklyn College. In 1961, he earned his Ph.D. in Folklore at Indiana University.
As a doctoral student in 1959, he began studying New York's Hasidic community. He interviewed members of different Hasidic courts and collected and analyzed Hasidic tales. This research formed the basis of his dissertation, which was expanded and published as The Legends of the Hasidim: an Introduction to Hasidic Culture and Oral Tradition in the New World (1968). He also published Hasidic People: A Place in the New World (1992), which is based on his study of social change within the Hasidic community. He received critical acclaim for the book and was honored with the National Jewish Book Award.
Mintz also received international recognition for his work in Andalusia, Spain. In 1965 he began studying Spanish anarchism, focusing on the events surrounding the 1933 uprising in the small rural town of Casas Viejas that resulted in the massacre of innocent villagers. Despite working in Casas Viejas, now Benalup-Casas Viejas, during the reign of Francisco Franco, Mintz was able to gain the trust and friendship of his informants, which included survivors of the failed anarchist uprising. Although much had been written about the event, his book The Anarchists of Casas Viejas (1982) is considered the most comprehensive account and the first to incorporate the perspectives of the campesinos involved. He also published Carnival Song and Society: Gossip, Sexuality, and Creativity in Andalusia (1997) and produced six ethnographic films on tradition and change in rural Andalusia. His films The Shoemaker and Pepe's Family (1980) received first place awards in the Modern Language Association Film Festival, and Romería: Day of the Virgin (1986) was honored by the Society for Visual Anthropology. In 2013, the city council of Benalup-Casas Viejas chose to posthumously honor Mintz for his contributions by renaming the city's cultural center after him.
In addition to his research on the New York Hasidim and Andalusian campesinos, Mintz studied the oral traditions and history of the Hopi in Arizona. In 1962, in between his field work among the Hasidim, Mintz spent the summer on the Hopi reservation recording interviews with Hopi informants. He planned to analyze the ethnographic data, tales, and histories that he collected but ultimately did not publish on the subject.
Mintz spent most of his academic career at Indiana University. He began teaching at the university in 1962 and joined the anthropology faculty in 1966. He retired in 1995.
After a long battle with leukemia, Mintz passed away on November 22, 1997.
Sources Consulted
Bahloul, Joëlle. 1998. Jerome R. Mintz. Anthropology Newsletter, February.
Carnival NEH Grant, Series 4. Grants, Jerome R. Mintz Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
La casa de cultura de Benalup llevará el nombre de Jerome Mintz. Diario de Cadiz, February 2, 2013. http://www.diariodecadiz.es/article/ocio/1450991/la/casa/cultura/ benalup/llevara/nombre/jerome/mintz.html (accessed February 7, 2013).
Grants (APS and IU), Series 4. Grants, Jerome R. Mintz Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1930
Born March 29 in Brooklyn, New York
1952
Earns A.B. from Brooklyn College
1955
Earns M.A. from Brooklyn College
1959-61
Conducts fieldwork in Hasidic community in New York
1961
Earns Ph.D. from Indiana University
1961-62
Instructor, Ohio State University
1995
Retired from Indiana University
1997
Died on November 22
1963
Conducts fieldwork in Hasidic community in New York
1964
Conducts fieldwork in Hasidic community in New York
1965-1966
Conducts fieldwork in Andalusia, Spain
1969-1971
Conducts fieldwork in Andalusia, Spain
1972-1978
Professor of Folklore and Anthropology, Indiana University
1973
Conducts summer fieldwork in Andalusia, Spain
1978
Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University
1980
His films The Shoemaker and Pepe's Family are awarded first place prizes at MLA Film Festival
1993
Received the National Jewish Book Award for Hasidic People: A Place in the New World
1962
Began teaching at Indiana University as an assistant professor
Conducts fieldwork among Hopi on reservation in Northern Arizona

Administration

Author
Lorain Wang
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Betty Mintz, wife of Jerome Mintz, in 2002.
Processing Information
The papers of Jerome Mintz were received partially organized. The processing archivist kept existing groupings and arrangement and organized the collection into 10 series. The collection was rehoused in archival folders and boxes, and some of the photographs were sleeved in archival envelopes and slide protectors. Original folder titles were retained with titles assigned by the archivist placed within square brackets. Restricted materials were separated and replaced with notes indicating original and new locations.
The processing archivist would like to thank Patricia McCloy for her assistance in processing the collection.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Jerome R. Mintz papers are open for research. As part of his research on the Hasidim in New York, Jerome Mintz presented TAT drawings to children and adults. Their responses are restricted. Also restricted are materials containing social security numbers of living individuals and his students' grades. His floppy disks are restricted due to preservation reasons.
Access to the Jerome R. Mintz papers requires an appointment.
Preferred Citation
Jerome R. Mintz papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use. Permission to use his Spanish and Hopi sound recordings must be obtained from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Related Materials
Copies of Mintz's Spanish films and associated photos and sound recordings are at the Human Studies Film Archives. His original Spanish and Hopi sound recordings are at the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University, Bloomington.

More Information

Bibliography

Bibliography
1968 Legends of the Hasidim, An Introduction to Hasidic Culture and Oral Tradition in the New World. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press
1970 translated and edited with Dan Ben-Amos. In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press
1982 The Anarchists of Casas Viejas. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
1992 Hasidic People: A Place in the New World. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
1997 Carnival Song and Society: Gossip, Sexuality, and Creativity in Andalusia. New York: Berg

Filmography

Filmography
1978 The Shoemaker. 16mm, b/w, 34 minutes
1978 Pepe's Family. 16 mm, b/w, 41 minutes
1986 Romería: Day of the Virgin. 16mm, color, 62 minutes
1987 Carnaval de Pueblo. 16mm, color, 65 minutes
1988 The Shepherd's Family. 16mm, b/w, 30 minutes
1988 Perico the Bowlmaker. 16mm, b/w, 30 minutes


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Andalusia (Spain) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anarchism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anthropology -- teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hasidim -- Legends Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carnival -- Spain Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopi Pueblo Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filmmakers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Spaniards Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiotapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jews, Hasidic Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu