Healey Library

ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS


Joiner Center for the Study of War & Social Consequences

Collection Descriptions

Table Of Contents:

American Friends Service Committee. Vietnam Curriculum Project

Resource materials, 1966-1987 (bulk, 1966-1976)
2 oversize boxes, 3 cartons

There is little internal documentation about the American Friends Service Committee's Vietnam Curriculum Project or how the project came to collect this material.
The collection is comprised of manuals and other papers about the selective service and military laws, publications from Vietnam and the U.S. about the war (including the National Liberation Front), some papers that may have been used by teachers, and eighteen drawings by Vietnamese children. The drawings were submitted to a contest sponsored by artist Le Van Khoa in conjunction with his "World of Children," a Saigon television program. Le van Khoa donated the pictures to the Committee of Responsibility to assist it in raising funds for its work in Vietnam.

FINDING AIDS: Partial
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTION: JC 2

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Combined Document Exploitation Center. Saigon.


Captured documents from the Vietnam War, 1966-1973
94 ten inch reels of 35 mm microfilm
During the Vietnam War, materials captured by U.S. and allied forces in South Vietnam were forwarded to the Combined Document Exploitation Center (CDEC) in Saigon, where they were microfilmed and analyzed for intelligence purposes. The microfilm was turned over to the National Archives and was declassified in 1979. These reels are copies the Joiner Center purchased.
The approximately 200,000 numbered document sets include personal papers (diaries, photographs, letters, etc.) and organizations' records (policy statements, reports, pamphlets, etc.) that belonged to South and North Vietnamese revolutionaries and others fighting against U.S. forces. Although the captured materials are in Vietnamese, a brief English synopsis, a field report, and sometimes a translation, preface each numbered document set. Five of the reels contain CDEC Bulletins, which were issued daily and include summaries and reports about the captured documents. Material was filmed as it was received from the field; there is no extant index.

FINDING AIDS: Preliminary
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTION: JC 14

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Emerson, Gloria : Photograph Collection


Gloria Emerson
Photograph collection, ca.1970s
40 photographs

Provenance


Gloria Emerson "bequeathed" these photographs to the University of Massachusetts at Boston's William Joiner Center on the Study of War and Social Consequence in the late 1980s. The photographs were given to her by the photographers. The collection was transferred to the University Archives and Special Collections in 1991.

Copyright


The University of Massachusetts at Boston does not own copyright of any of these photographs. The university cannot make copies or lend these images to exhibits off-campus. To do so, individuals must get permission from the photographer(s). Copyright resides with the photographers, who must be credited.

History


New York Times and other photographers gave reporter Gloria Emerson photographs while she was covering the war in Vietnam for the NYT. She selected these black and white prints from her large personal collection.

Scope and Content


These 40 black and white prints were probably taken in the early 1970s, although most are not dated. The photographs are matted and the mats range in size from 12x16 to 16x20 inches. They were exhibited at the University of Massachusetts at Boston in the late 1980s with Emerson's captions. The print number scheme is Emerson's.
The images, by male and female photographers, portray the war in Vietnam: U.S. soldiers, bombing, wounded soldiers and Vietnamese civilians (including Napalm victims), and hospital patients.
There are three finding aids to the photographs, each of which provides similar information but in a different arrangement. The Collection List is the most comprehensive and includes, in print number order, the photographer's name, Emerson's caption title, place where and (sometimes) date when the photograph was taken, size, type (black and white), and the box where the photograph is stored. Researchers interested in particular photographers should consult the Photographer List, which is in alphabetical order by photographer's last name. There is also a Box List (an inventory of which prints are in each of the 2 boxes).
All of this information about these photographs and the other Joiner Center photograph collections is contained in a Paradox database, which may be searched on-line in the department with staff assistance. The title and place fields may serve as a quasi-subject index.

FINDING AIDS: Complete
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTION: JC 13

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Nam and the '60s: A Personal American View


Exhibit photographs, 1962-1982 (bulk, 1962-1975)
269 photographs

Provenance


The Southern Arizona Photographic Workshop sent the "Nam and the '60s" exhibit photographs to the University of Massachusetts at Boston's William Joiner Center on the Study of War and Social Consequence in April 1989. The collection was transferred to the University Archives and Special Collections in 1991.

Copyright


The University of Massachusetts at Boston does not own copyright of any of these photographs. The university cannot make copies or lend these images to exhibits off-campus. To do so, individuals must contact the show's curators, Boyd Nicholl and Dick Amerault of the Southern Arizona Photographic Workshop, or the photographer.

History


In March 1987, Boyd Nicholl and Dick Amerault's exhibit of photographs, entitled "Nam and the '60s: A Personal American View," debuted at St. Lawrence College in Canton, N.Y. Nicholl, an "old hippie," and Amerault, a retired Army sergeant, wanted to bring together people of their generation through photographs by amateur photographers taken of scenes in Vietnam and at home between 1962 and 1975. In 1987-89, the exhibit traveled across the United States, usually in 150, 190, and 250-60 photograph versions. Along with the photographs the exhibit included statements by the photographers about their images. Ninety-three of the photographs were displayed at U.Mass./Boston in the spring of 1988.
The photographers' remarks appear before the inventories of this collection in the notebook in the department. For additional information about the exhibit's creation, effect, contributors, and curators, see the photocopied clippings, which follow the printed version of this introduction. Publicity generated by the curators (including a list of sponsors), a poster, and other material is filed in the archivist's cabinet.

Scope and Content


This collection consists of 269 matted prints used in the "Nam and the '60s" exhibit. The prints are in color and black and white and their mats vary in size from 12x16 to 12x24 inches. Most date from 1962-1975 but there are some taken later (e.g. of the Vietnam Memorial). The images were taken by men and women amateur photographers (soldiers and others) and document the war in Vietnam and, as the publicity stated, the war at home. There are photographs of: U.S. soldier's and U.S. and Vietnamese civilian's daily life (and some death) in Vietnam; Agent Orange effects; peace and other demonstrations, Nixon's inauguration, and the Vietnam Memorial in the United States; and there are some images about race relations.
Six photos taken by Dennis B. McCoy that travelled with the exhibit were returned to the photographer at his request.
There are three finding aids to the photographs, each of which provides similar information but in a different arrangement. The Collection List is the most comprehensive and includes, in print number order, the photographer's name, photograph title, place where and date when the photograph was taken, size, type (black and white or color), and the box where the photograph is stored. Researchers interested in particular photographers should consult the Photographer List, which is in alphabetical order by photographer's last name. There is also a Box List (an inventory of which prints are in each of the 12 boxes), which ends with a list of the missing photographs.
All of this information about these photographs and about the other Joiner Center photograph collections is contained in a Paradox database, which may be searched on-line in the department with staff assistance. The title and place fields may serve as a quasi-subject index.

FINDING AIDS: Complete
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTION: JC 12 Top of Page

Photograph Collections, 1965-1989


60 photographs
Joiner Center collections not described individually on this page consist of images taken by Wendy Watriss, William Short, Philip Jones Griffiths (Magnum Photos), Janice Rogovin, Doug Clifford, Tom Morrissey, and Bob Egan.
The prints are in color and black and white and document Vietnam during the war, and the effects of the war on U.S. veterans, Vietnamese civilians, and their children and families. There are images of: civilians and veterans suffering the effects (mostly long-term) of Agent Orange; the Vietnamese countryside; the Vietnam War memorial; and U.S. soldiers. There are also portraits of male and female veterans, many of whom resisted the war; some provide "before and afters."
Information about these and other Joiner Center photograph collections is contained in a Paradox database, which may be searched on- line in the department with staff assistance. The title and place fields may serve as a quasi-subject index.
COPYRIGHT: The University of Massachusetts at Boston does not own copyright of any of these photographs. The university cannot make copies or lend these images to exhibits off-campus. To do so, individuals must get permission from the photographer(s). Copyright resides with the photographers, who must be credited.

FINDING AIDS: Complete
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTIONS: JC 15 - JC 22

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Hien Duc Tran Photographs, ca.1984-1990


28 photographs, captions

Copyright


The University of Massachusetts at Boston does not own copyright of any of these photographs. The university cannot make copies or lend these images to exhibits off-campus. To do so, individuals must get permission from Hien Duc Tran. Hien Duc Tran owns copyright and must be credited in any exhibit including his work.

Biography


Hien Duc Tran was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. as a refugee at the age of twelve in 1975. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston's American Studies Program in 1987, where he pursued his joint interests in photograph and ethnic studies. He has been chronicling developments in the local Vietnamese community since 1984. In 1989, he returned to Vietnam as a photojournalist, accompanying a delegation of American Vietnam veterans. In 1990, he was a staff photographer with the Cape Cod Times. In August 1990, his exhibit entitled Ngoc I Was, Pearl I Am: An Exhibition of Photographs on the Amerasian Experience in Boston and Vietnam was held at the Boston Public Library. It was sponsored by the Joiner Center in collaboration with the Asian Focus Project of the BPL.

Scope and Content


Collection JC 20 consists of three color prints Hien Duc Tran took in Vietnam in 1989. They are of: Amerasians, a Vietnamese mother of Amerasians, and parts of a bomber. Collection JC 24 consists of 25 matted photographs and almost all of the exhibit captions from Ngoc I Was, Pearl I Am. Six of the exhibit photographs are not part of the collection, although they are described in the inventory. The captions appear to be based on words spoken by the subjects of the images.
Information about this collection and the other Joiner Center photograph collections is contained in a Paradox database, which may be searched on-line in the department with staff assistance. The title and place fields may serve as a quasi-subject index.
FINDING AIDS: Complete
ACCESS: Open
COLLECTION: JC 20, JC 24

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Video and Film Collection, 1945-1993


83 titles (1/2" videocassette and 16 mm film)
This collection consists of fiction films and documentaries that the Joiner Center has collected, purchased, or produced (primarily in videotape format), and videotapes of speakers and events sponsored by the center. Major and independent production companies in the United States, Vietnam, France, and elsewhere, published most of the documentaries and fiction films.
The published films and videos document aspects of several wars, the Vietnam War in particular, including day-to-day experiences of soldiers, the effects of agent orange, veterans, and anti-war movements. They were produced by major and independent production companies in the United States, Vietnam, France, and elsewhere. The videos of speakers and events are unedited; topics include the experiences of minority, women, and other veterans, Amerasians, nurses, and the effects of war, almost solely the Vietnam war. Many are of poetry readings. Most of the material in this collection is available for on-campus classroom use. Many of the published tapes and films are cataloged and described separately in the library's on-line catalog.

FINDING AIDS: Complete
ACCESS: Open


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Other Vietnam Collections in the Department

Listed below are other collections (besides the Joiner Center collections) in the Archives and Special Collections Department that document the Vietnam War.

Boston Common Political Leaflets Collection, 1967-1973
Gold Star Parents for Amnesty : records, 1973-1980
Hunt, David : Audiotapes of interviews with Vietnam Vets, others
Indochina Peace Campaign. Boston Office. : records, 1972-1975
McEldowney, Carol : Hanoi Journal, 1967
New England Free Press : publications, 1868-1981
Norr, Henry : collection, 1965-1980
Sully, François: papers and photographs, 1958-1973
WGBH Educational Foundation, Vietnam Project : records, 1946-1985
Lydia M. Fish : "In Country" Collection, 1989-1992

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