Overview
Jerome Seymour Bruner (1915-2016) was an American psychologist and educator whose work on cognitive psychology, learning, and memory in young children influenced the American educational system. He received a PhD from Harvard University in 1941 and was a professor of psychology at Harvard 1952-1972 and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies 1960-1972. The collection contains correspondence, reports, notes, and other materials related to Bruner's professional activities, including research and teaching. It also contains personal papers including correspondence, autobiographical material, scrapbooks, appointment books, and financial records.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1915-1979
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 series or item level. Requires review by archivist.
Extent
82.61 cubic feet (237 containers)The Papers of Jerome Seymour Bruner chiefly contain Bruner's professional correspondence, including some relating to his work as president of American Psychological Association and activities in other societies. Personal papers include correspondence, autobiographical material, scrapbooks, appointment books, and financial records. Research material contains correspondence, notes, reports and publications about his work on cognition, public opinion, and other subjects. Other material includes lectures, notes and papers of students, letters of recommendation, and reports on cognition projects.
Biographical Note on Jerome S. Bruner
Jerome S. Bruner (1915-2016) was an American psychologist and educator whose work on cognitive psychology, learning, and memory in young children influenced the American educational system. Bruner attended Duke University (BA, 1937) and Harvard University (PhD 1941). After serving as an expert on psychological warfare for the United States Army in France during World War II, Bruner returned to Harvard in 1945, becoming professor of psychology (1952). From 1960 to 1972 he also directed the University's Center for Cognitive Studies. He left Harvard to become professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford (1972-1980). He served as president of the American Psychological Association in 1965 and as the chair of the Max Planck Institute’s Scientific Council from 1977 to 1980. Bruner returned to the United States in 1980 to continue his research in developmental psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York City, and at the New York Institute for the Humanities, New York University.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 18 series. The collection follows the arrangement of call numbers given to series upon receipt at the Harvard University Archives.
- Autobiographical papers and papers relating to study and teaching (HUG 4242.3)
- Correspondence, general, 1915-1977 (HUG 4242.5)
- Correspondence Relating to American Psychological Association & Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 1946-1967 (HUG 4242.7)
- Correspondence, 1956-1965 (HUG 4242.9)
- Correspondence Concerning Organizations, 1965-1971 (HUG 4242.10)
- Personal records, [circa 1915-1975]
- Research projects, [circa 1936-1979]
- Course materials (HUG 4242.60)
- Letters of recommendation (HUG 4242.62)
- Reports on cognition projects (HUG 4242.63)
- Cognition project, [March or May] 1957 (HUG 4242.64)
- Correspondence Relating to Laboratory Experiments (HUG 4242.65)
- Correspondence Relating to Lectures and Articles (HUG 4242.70)
- Correspondence Relating to Books (HUG 4242.75)
- Correspondence Relating to Committees (HUG 4242.78)
- Correspondence Relating to Boats and Races (HUG 4242.81)
- Miscellaneous Office Files (HUG 4242.83)
- Reprint request and royalties. Invitations refused (HUG 4242.85)
Acquisition
Acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level. Accessions include accession 08478, gift of Jerome Bruner, received September 20, 1978. Materials lacking acquisition information were likely gifted to the Archives by Jerome Bruner.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2020 October 05.
Processing Information
The finding aid was created by Erin Clauss in May 2020. Information in this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories and container management data. Titles are transcribed from the original box list, except those in square brackets which have been supplied by the archivist. The collection was not re-examined.
- Title
- Bruner, Jerome S. (Jerome Seymour). Papers of Jerome Seymour Bruner, circa 1915-1979 : an inventory
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua39020
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.
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archives_reference@harvard.edu