Roy Rosenzweig papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669

Summary

Extent:
49.5 linear feet (98 boxes; 9,776 electronic files)
Creator:
Roy Rosenzweig
Abstract:
The collection largely documents his research and writing through articles, notes, and correspondence on New York Central Park, Worcester (Massachusetts), labor, and digital humanities work. Although the collection dates from 1934, there are many facsimilies of documents, particularly on Central Park, that contain information prior to 1934.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The collection largely documents his research and writing through articles, notes, and correspondence on New York Central Park, Worcester (Massachusetts), labor, and digital humanities work. In addition, the collection contains almost complete runs of rare history and humanities periodicals such as Radical History Review Newsletter, Historical Methods Newsletter, History Microcomputer Review, Radical Teacher, Cultural Correspondence, and Radical America. His interest and work with oral history is reflected in the Northern Virginia Oral History Project files. Although the collection dates from 1934, there are many facsimilies of documents, particularly on Central Park, that contain information prior to 1934.

Series 1 contains Roy Rosenzweig's academic correspondence from 1969-2007. Much of the series consists of correspondence regarding collaboration, panels, papers, letters of recommendation, awards, research permissions and conferences. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 2 contains books, pamphlets, newsclippings, papers, xeroxes, magazines and other research materials on labor history. This series contains the book Eight Hours for What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1921. In addition to research about labor and leisure, this series contains research about the 1930s such as unemployment and The New Deal and Works Progress Administration (WPA). Topics such as unions, general worker's rights and radicalism also appear in this series. The series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

The largest series in the collection, Series 3 contains magazines, pamphlets, government documents, books, newsclippings, papers, xeroxes and note cards about New York City and Central Park. A large portion of this research focuses on entertainment, public works, budgets, planning, landscape architecture, jobs, crime and events in Central Park and surrounding areas. This research culminated in Rosenzweig's acclaimed 1992 book (with co-author Elizabeth Blackmar) The Park and the People: A History of Central Park. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 4 contains research that culminated in Rosenzweig's 1998 book (with co-author David Thelen) The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life. Survey data regarding demographics, papers, reports, variables, public history, and information and research regarding the ways in which Americans interpret and apply the past is found in this series. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 5 contains pamphlets, guides, papers, articles, xeroxes and magazines about oral history such as oral history interviewing guides, recording guides, plans for oral history courses and the Northern Virginia Oral History Project. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 6 contains information about the Center for History and New Media as well as an array of research which culminated in Rosenzweig's 2006 book (with co-author Daniel Cohen) Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web. In addition to research used for the book, the series contains both guides and ideas for using technology in the classroom and to enhance academic and popular research. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 7 contains CDs, DVDs, cassettes and computer disks used by Rosenzweig both to save writing and for instructional purposes. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 8 contains oversized materials such as photographs, prints, posters and an atlas. Of note in this series is a 1934 photograph of Franklin Roosevelt in leg braces. This series is arranged alphabetically and then by date.

Series 9 consists of three folders of electronic files that date from 1995-2007. The first folder "files archived 2003-2006" contains files on his work at the Center for History and New Media, including digital history projects, grant proposals, and materials for Clio Wired, the digital history course he taught. There is also a folder of attachments that appears to be documents that were attached to email messages. The second folder consists of research and drafts for a book project "The Future of the Past" that was published posthumously. The third file contains "writings," and the files mostly consist of research for publications, both digital and hardcopy, There are also a number of documents on the functioning of the CHNM, including meetings, budgets, and presentations. These files are restricted.

Biographical / historical:

Roy Alan Rosenzweig received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1978. In 1981, Rosenzweig accepted a position in the George Mason University History Department and became one of the most popular professors at the university until his untimely death in 2007. He was a prolific writer, not only in print but also in many other forms of media, such as CD-ROMs, documentary film, and the Internet. In 1994, his strong interest in technology led to his founding of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, widely recognized in the history and humanities fields for producing ground-breaking educational and research communication technologies.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Deborah Kaplan in 2008-2009.
Arrangement:

Organized into eight series.

  • Series 1: Correspondence, 1969-2007
  • Series 2: Labor History, 1960-1990
  • Series 3: The Park and the People, 1980s-1990s
  • Series 4: The Presence of the Past, 1990-1999
  • Series 5: Oral History, 1970-2007
  • Series 6: Digital History, 1988-2007
  • Series 7: Media, 1980s-2007
  • Series 8: Oversize, 1934-1972
  • Series 9: Electronic Files, 1995-2007