View XML QR Code

Howard Woolston papers, 1922-1947

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Woolston, Howard Brown, 1876-1961
Title
Howard Woolston papers
Dates
1922-1947 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 cubic ft. (27 boxes)
Collection Number
1400 (Accession No. 1400-001)
Summary
The collection contains original research in the fields of group behavior, urban sociology and prostitution of a former professor of sociology, University of Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access restricted: For terms of access contact repository.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Return to Top

Biographical Note

Regarded as an eminent scholar, teacher and humanist, Professor Howard B. Woolston was one of the ranking sociologists of his day. He was an expert in urban sociology and the sociology of social movements, as well as group behavior, prostitution, and wage investigation.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1876, Woolston received his A.B. from Yale in 1898, and was a fellow at Chicago, receiving his S.T.B. in 1901. He was a Harvard fellow and received his A.M. in 1902, studied in Paris and Berlin the following two years, returning to receive his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1909. He began teaching as an Instructor at City College of New York in 1909, leaving as a professor of sociology and statistics in 1918. Beginning in 1919 he served as Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington, retiring in 1947 as professor emeritus and resident consultant. He served as an investigator for The Bureau of Social Hygiene, and was Assistant Editor of the American Sociological Review from 1938-40. He was decorated in the Order of St. Sava, Serbia, for his relief work during World War I. He was a member of The American Sociological Society and the Pacific Sociological Society.

Return to Top

Content Description

The speeches and writings in the Woolston papers are generally treated as personal papers, with labeled folders for each item. Some speeches and writings are left in the separate sub-groups, as they relate to Woolston’s function in those organizations. The main group of writings contain much of Woolstons’s original research in the fields of group behavior, urban sociology and prostitution. This group provides great insight into the early thinking of American sociologists.

Since Woolston entered the field of sociology at a time when it was gaining recognition as a valid area of study, his papers provide a look at that development. From his early interest and work in settlement houses, Woolston helped pioneer the more scholarly and scientific study of sociology and society, and the use of statistics as a tool in interpreting social data.

Box 20 contains information of the Loyalty Oath Controversy at the University of Washington, in which Woolston was a leader of a group of instructors opposed to the oath. Some papers pertaining to the Canwell Investigations, faculty tenure, the Barnes’ Affair and the Oppenheimer case are included therein.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

 

  • Personal papers

    • Description: Biographical/Historical features
      Container: Box/Folder 1/1-3
    • Description: Incoming letters

      A more detailed handwritten list of correspondents is available in the repository.

      Container: Box/Folder 1/4-9
    • Description: Outgoing letters

      A more detailed handwritten list of correspondents is available in the repository.

      Container: Box/Folder 1/10-11
    • Description: General correspondence

      A more detailed handwritten list of correspondents is available in the repository.

      Container: Box/Folder 1/12-14
    • Description: Correspondence of others
      Container: Box/Folder 1/15
    • Description: Mailing lists, addresses
      Container: Box/Folder 1/16
    • Description: Letters of introduction and recommendation
      Container: Box/Folder 1/17
    • Description: Financial records
      Container: Box/Folder 1/18
    • Description: Legal documents
      Container: Box/Folder 1/19
    • Description: Speeches and writings
      Container: Box/Folder 2/1-9/5
    • Description: Notes
      Container: Box/Folder 9/6-12/31
    • Description: Photographs
      Container: Box/Folder 12/32
    • Description: Clippings
      Container: Box 13
    • Description: Ephemera and miscellany
      Container: Box 14-19
  • Subgroups

    • Description: University of Washington Sociology Department
      Container: Box 20-23
    • Description: United States War Department, Civil Protection School, University of Washington
      Container: Box/Folder 24/1-9
    • Description: College of the City of New York
      Container: Box/Folder 24/10-12
    • Description: American Sociological Society
      Container: Box/Folder 24/13-18
    • Description: Social Science Research Council
      Container: Box/Folder 25/1-6
    • Description: Social Science Research Council, Pacific Coast Regional Committee
      Container: Box/Folder 25/7-9
    • Description: Social Science Research Conference of the Pacific Coast
      Container: Box/Folder 25/10-21
    • Description: Pacific Sociological Society
      Container: Box/Folder 25/22-24
    • Description: Phi Beta Kappa, Washington Chapter
      Container: Box/Folder 25/24-33
    • Description: Alpha Kappa Delta, Washington Chapter
      Container: Box/Folder 25/34-38
    • Description: Washington State Planning Council
      Container: Box/Folder 25/39-43
    • Description: Beta Epsilon, Washington Chapter
      Container: Box/Folder 25/44-46
    • Description: Cleveland Summer Playgrounds Committee
      Container: Box/Folder 25/47-48
    • Description: Diploma, Eastman School of Business
      Container: Tube 26
    • Description: Notes, statistical charts on sociological topics
      Container: Tube 27

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Civil defense
  • Civil defense--United States
  • Human behavior--Research
  • Professional associations--United States
  • Prostitution--Research
  • Sociologists--Washington (State)--Seattle--20th century
  • Sociology teachers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Sociology, Urban--Research
  • Sociology--Societies, etc
  • Sociology--Study and teaching--Washington (State)
  • Sociology--United States--20th century
  • Trade associations--United States

Personal Names

  • Woolston, Howard Brown, 1876-1961--Archives

Corporate Names

  • American Sociological Society
  • Pacific Sociological Society (U.S.)
  • Social Science Research Council (U.S.)
  • United States. War Department. Civil Protection School (University of Washington)
  • University of Washington--Faculty
  • Washington State Planning Council

Geographical Names

  • Washington (State)--Civil defense

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Loading...
Loading...