Dr. Vamik D. Volkan Papers 1929-2004

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Health Sciences Library
Claude Moore Health Sciences Library
University of Virginia Health System
P.O. Box 800722
1350 Jefferson Park Avenue
Charlottesville, Virginia 22908
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Amanda Greenwood
Phone: (434) 924-0052
Phone: (434) 982-0576
Phone: (434) 924-5444

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

This Collection is divided into his major projects including the Turkish-Greek project, the Estonian project, the Kuwait project, the Georgia project, the Islamic- Western Dialogue, PAKH (Psychotherapeutical Working Group for Persons Affected by the Holocaust) project, the Carter Center project, the Chautauqua project, and CSMHI (Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction). The collection also includes his papers, review articles of his books and papers, newspaper articles, correspondence, information about meetings and conferences he attended, and recommendation letters for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Vamik D. Volkan (born 1932 in Cyprus) is an emeritus professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia. He is also the Senior Erik Scholar at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, an emeritus training and supervising analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Washington, D.C., and a past president of both the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) and the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society. In 1987, he founded the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction (CSMHI) at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and directed the Center until 2002. Throughout the 1990s he served as a member of the Carter Center's International Negotiation Network, headed by former President Jimmy Carter. Currently, he is the president of the American College of Psychoanalysts (ACOPSA), (2009-2010).

For 30 years, Dr. Volkan has been dedicated to carrying out projects in various troubled spots in the world, especially in the Middle East and the former Soviet Union including Greece, Turkey, Estonia, Georgia and Kuwait. He endeavored to bring together ethnic groups in conflict for dialogue while developing new psychopolitical theories about large-group behavior in times of peace and war. Currently, Dr. Volkan is involved in the Islamic-Western Dialogue and PAKH project (Psychotherapeutical Working Group for Persons Affected by the Holocaust). Dr. Volkan published more than 50 books and 400 scientific papers and book chapters, and his work has been translated into many languages. Dr. Volkan was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Acquisition information:
Dr. Vamik Volkan donated his papers to the University of Virginia Health Sciences Library starting in 2007.
Physical description:
The collection consists of 1650 items in 35 Hollinger boxes, 5"x10.5"x15.5", 14.5 linear feet, of processed materials.