Overview
Henry Nelson Goodman (1906-1998) was a Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University from 1968 to 1977. Goodman's records chiefly document his publication of works on epistemology and metaphysics, involvement with Harvard Project Zero, the Harvard Summer Dance Center, the Summer Institute for Arts, and the production of the multi-media dance performance Hockey Seen.
Dates
- Creation: 1943-1979
Researcher Access
Access requires donor permission. Further restrictions apply: Harvard University records are restricted for 50 years. Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Specific restrictions are noted at the folder level.
Extent
5.07 cubic feet (15 document boxes)The Papers of Nelson Goodman, including correspondence, book contracts, royalty statements, manuscripts, news clippings, and memoranda chiefly document the publication of his books The Structure of Appearance,Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols, andFact, Fiction and Forecast. Also chronicled is Goodman's involvement with Harvard Project Zero, the Harvard Dance Center, the Summer Institute for Arts, and the multi-media productionHockey Seen. Included in the collection are letters from Goodman's colleagues asking for his input on articles submitted for publication, invitations to conferences and other speaking engagements, and Goodman's recommendations for colleagues and former students.
Biographical note on Nelson Goodman
Henry Nelson Goodman (1906-1998), a philosopher, wrote extensively on epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of art. Goodman graduated from Harvard University in 1928. While studying at Harvard for a PhD in philosophy in the 1930s, Goodman was director of the Walker-Goodman Art Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. During World War II, he served as a psychologist and psychiatric assistant in rehabilitation in the United States Army. Before joining the Harvard faculty as a Professor of Philosophy in 1968, Goodman was Instructor of Philosophy at Tufts College (1945-1946), Associate Professor (1945-1951) and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania (1951-1964), and Harry Austryn Wolfson Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University (1964-1967). At Harvard, Goodman founded Project Zero in 1968, a research project in artistic cognition and artistic education, and directed the summer dance program at Harvard from 1971 to 1977. Goodman also wrote and produced several films and stage shows, including Hockey Seen, a multi-media dance performance, with his wife, Katherine, in 1972.
Arrangement
Records are organized in four series:
- General correspondence, 1963-1975
- Correspondence and other papers, 1947-1979
- Project papers, circa 1965-1970
- Manuscripts and related correspondence, 1943, 1956-1979
Acquisition Information
The Papers of Nelson Goodman were donated to the Harvard University Archives by Nelson Goodman.
- Accession number: 9140; 1981 March 5
- Accession number: 9146; 1981 March 16
- Accession number: 9147; 1981 March 19
- Accession number: 9152; 1981 March 27
References
- Elgin, Catherine. "Nelson Goodman." In Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Detroit, MI: Macmillan, 2006. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed April 13, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K3446800762/BIC?u=wat&sid=BIC&xid=48a706c4.
- "(Henry) Nelson Goodman." In Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed April 13, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000037995/BIC?u=wat&sid=BIC&xid=2be71ba4.
- "Nelson Goodman." In World of Mathematics. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2006. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed April 13, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K2426100133/BIC?u=wat&sid=BIC&xid=882e6eb1.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2022 September 02.
Processing Information
Papers of Nelson Goodman processed in April 2020 by Dominic P. Grandinetti. Processing included the establishment of a series hierarchy and the creation of this finding aid.
Information for this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories, reference sources, and container management data. The collection was not re-examined.
Original folder titles were retained. Dates and titles supplied by the archivist appear in brackets.
In all respects, the archivist attempted to retain and preserve the original arrangement and existing relationships of the documents as established by Nelson Goodman. Processing and arrangement details of each series are noted at the series level.
- Title
- Goodman, Nelson. Papers of Nelson Goodman, 1943-1979: an inventory
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua30020
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu