Guide to the Morton Klass papers, 1959-1998

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the professional papers of anthropologist Morton Klass (1927-2001) and documents his education; his research in Trinidad, India, and elsewhere; his teaching career at Barnard College and Columbia University; and his professional activities. The collection is comprised of field notes and research materials, correspondence, conference papers and manuscripts, book reviews, lecture notes and syllabi, and audio recordings.

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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in seven series: 1. Biographical; 2. Correspondence; 3. Research; 4. Professional Activities; 5. Writings; 6. Teaching; and 7. Education.

Biographical Note

Morton Klass was an anthropologist whose interests included religion (in particular revitalization, new religious movements, conversion, and altered states), social organization (in particular community structure, and change, caste, and stratification, and marriage rules), ethnicity, race and racism, anthropology of the future, and immigration/emigration. He conducted field research in Trinidad and in West Bengal, India.

Klass was born on June 24, 1927, in Brooklyn, NY to David and Millie Klass. After high school, Klass joined the US Maritime Service and Merchant Marines, serving from 1945 to 1948, first as an oiler in the engine room and then as a purser. In 1948, Klass began freelance writing, primarily science fiction, and was an editor for Popular Publications, Inc. from 1950-1953. During this time, he enrolled in Brooklyn College and majored in anthropology, while continuing to write and sell science fiction short stories. Following graduation in 1955, Klass began graduate studies at Columbia University and in 1957-1958 conducted doctoral fieldwork among a community of East Indian immigrants in Trinidad. He received his PhD in 1959 and his dissertation, titled "Cultural Persistence and Change Among East Indians of Trinidad," was published in 1961 as East Indians in Trinidad.

From 1959-1964, Klass was on the faculty of Bennington College as well as a visiting assistant professor at Columbia University, and in 1965 he joined the faculty of Barnard College at Columbia University as associate professor and chair of the anthropology department. From 1962-1965 Klass was co-principal investigator (With Conrad Arensberg) on the India Project, funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health. Under this project Klass conducted research in West Bengal on the effects of industrialization on communities, community structure, settlement patterns, the caste system, and village-level religion. From this research, Klass published two books: From Field to Factory: Community Structure and Industrialization in West Bengal and Caste: The Emergence of the South Asian Social System.

From 1966-1976 Klass also served as visiting lecturer on South Asia for the Foreign Service Institute, as well as a consultant for various programs and institutions. During this time he wrote (with Hal Hellman) The Kinds of Mankind: An Introduction to Race and Racism, a text for high school students. In 1970 a grant from the Southern Asian Institute of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs supported Klass traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to survey the research possibilities and academic/governmental relationships in efforts to facilitate faculty and student research in the region. In addition to Klass's faculty duties, from 1982-1985 he served as director of the Southern Asian Institute, helping to develop the teaching of South Asian studies as well as research in the region. In 1985 Klass returned to Trinidad to study the new religious movement of Sathya Sai Baba; his research there resulted in the book Singing With Sai Baba: The Politics of Revitalization in Trinidad. Klass's growing interest in the anthropology of religion lead to two books: Ordered Universes: Approaches to the Anthropology of Religion in 1995, and in 1999 with Maxine Wisegrau, Across the Boundaries of Belief: Contemporary Issues in the Anthropology of Religion.

Klass was a popular teacher, well-regarded by his students. He was prolific, writing numerous articles and book chapters in addition to his books. His final book, Mind over Mind: The Anthropology and Psychology of Spirit Possession was published posthumously in 2003. Klass died in 2001.