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Brandeis University Archives

This guide will help you discover the University's archival resources and how to use them. From primary sources to Brandeis publications to digitized materials, your archival research starts here.

Contact Me!

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Chloe Gerson
Contact:
Chloe Gerson, Reference and Instruction Archivist
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections, Goldfarb Library
Brandeis University
415 South St.
Waltham, MA 02453

cmorseharding@brandeis.edu
781-736-4657
Website

Materials about Brandeis History

Books about Brandeis University located in both the main library stacks and University Archives:  

Brandeis University: Chapter of its Founding, by Israel Goldstein (1951) ***This book is also available on Hathi Trust (link in catalog record)

A Host at Last, by Abram Sachar (1976; 1977; 1995) ***The 1995 edition is also available in Brandeis OneSearch

From the Beginning: A Picture History of the First Four Decades of Brandeis University, edited by Susan Pasternack (1988) ***This book is also available on the Internet Archive

Building a Campus: An Architectural Celebration of Brandeis University's 50th Anniversary, edited by Gerald Bernstein (1999) ***This book is also available on Hathi Trust (link in catalog record)

Brandeis University at the Beginning, by Stephen J. Whitfield (2010) 

Learning on the Left: Political Profiles of Brandeis University, by Stephen J. Whitfield (2020) ***This book is also available online on Jstor Books

Academia's Golden Age: Universities in Massachusetts: 1945-1970, by Richard M. Freeland (1992)

Strictly by the Book, by Belle Jurkowitz (1998)

 

Books about Brandeis University held in the University Archives only:

Brandeis in the 1980s: the University Comes of Age, by Evelyn Handler (1990)

 

Senior honors theses and papers about Brandeis University held in the University Archives only:  

The Architecture of Brandeis University or "How I Spent My Summer Vacation” by Max Abramovitz, by Michael Hauptman (1971)

Architecture and Planning at Brandeis University by Ann Lorenz (1972)

The Brandeis Challenge: An History of Brandeis University by David Alexander (1979)

The Evolution of Tradition: Brandeis Student Activism and the Vietnam War: 1960 to 1970 by Daniel Ian Weintraub (1984)

Brandeis University in the 1960s: the myth of radicalism: a historical, political perspective by Elizabeth Orange (1988)

From Haven to ’Host’: the Origins of Brandeis University by John Gliedman (1988)

Now and Then and In between: Stories of Brandeis University by Amy Perloff (1993)

Unlocking Doors to the Past and Future: An Architectural and Social Exploration of the Irving and Edyth Usen Castle by Amy Debra Finstein (1998)

The Evolution of College Culture: Brandeis University, a Case Study, by Valerie Beth Kolko (2001)

Massachusetts to Mississippi: Brandeis Student Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement 1960-1964, by Deena Ecker (2004)

Brandeis University's Midlife Identity Crisis: The State of Religion at Brandeis in 2005 Through the Lens of Majority/Minority Dynamics by Leora Koller-Fox (2005)

Double Liminality: Questioning Religious Identity at Brandeis University, by Miriam Von Guggenberg (2010)

Brandeis University's Campus: A Play Between the Traditional and Modern, by Trude Renwick (2010)

 

Resources about Brandeis University held by the University Archives:

Archival Collections

University Periodical collection: A selection of periodicals created by Brandeis students 

University History collection: Items that documents all aspects of the history of the university 

University Photography collection: over 100,000 photographs and negatives documenting the history of the university

University Memorabilia collection: Objects in this collection commemorate university anniversaries, awards, and events, and depict historic campus scenes and buildings

University Alumni collection: This collection contains materials mostly from the Brandeis years of alumni, including ephemera, photographs, and objects

Periodicals and Publications ***some of these periodicals are available online

Brandeis University Yearbook, Archon (1952-present): Information about students, faculty and staff, clubs and organizations

Brandeis Review: Campus publication about all things related to the university, 1982-2005 (Full catalog record)

Brandeis Magazine: Campus publication about all things related to the university, 2006-current (Full catalog record

Brandeis Bulletin (1947-1986): Administrative newsletter for friends of the university about the happenings related to the university; 1947-1970 are available online, while other years are available in print in the archives.

Brandeis University Bulletin (1948/9-current): Also called the "Course Catalog"; Information about the history and mission of the university, university regulations, board of trustees members, faculty and staff, courses offered, programs and departments; the most current years are also available on the Brandeis University Registrar webpage.  For the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences bulletin, please see these available issues.

Student Handbook (scattered issues): Information about the general campus, clubs and organizations, university regulations

 

Online publications, exhibits, and other resources about Brandeis University history:

From the Brandeis Archives: Collection Essays: Archival snippets illuminating the history of Brandeis University

Hard Truth-Telling: The black revolution came to Brandeis in 1969 when students demanded the creation of a black studies department. Ever since, African-American students and faculty have held Brandeis accountable to its ethos of equity and justice [Brandeis Magazine article written by Professor Chad Williams, Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Chair in History; Winter 2018]

Understanding Ford Hall [Heller School]

Brandeis University Honorary Degree Recipients

Brandeis University Gender and Sexuality Center: Voices 

Brandeis University History: videos and films: includes interviews, event footage, and historic Brandeis University films

Brandeis University Alumni Interviews

Brandeis Board of Trustees Charter

Brandeis Honorary Degree Recipients

Remembering Ford and Sydeman Halls and The Student Occupation of Ford Hall

Brandeis at 50: A People's History

History of Master Planning at Brandeis

Building Brandeis: Style and Function of a University

Lynn Goldsmith Papers: The Diary and Papers of a Young Civil Rights Worker

Beginnings of Music at Brandeis: A look at the first decade of the Brandeis Department of Music

Electronic Music at Brandeis

Brandeis University Libraries 50th Anniversary Timeline

Brandeis University National Women's Committee 

Foundations: Establishing Brandeis University

Selected Photographs from the University Archives

Black Space Portal: Black Brandeis, Black History

Black Space Portal: The Occupation of Ford Hall 1969: A Timeline

Black Space Portal: Pearlman Takeover

Black Space Portal: The Cultural is Political: An AAPI Timeline

Intercultural Center: ICC Accessible Timeline

The WGS Program Presents: Queer History at Brandeis

Public Sculpture on Campus

Presidents of Brandeis University

Historical Timeline of Jewish Life at Brandeis

Waltham Group 50th Anniversary Historical Timeline

Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies: WGS Timeline at Brandeis

A History of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Brandeis

Brandeis on Native Lands: a Toolkit for writing a Brandeis campus land acknowledgement (HIST 124B: Universities & Colonialism)

Brandeis at 75: Historical Timeline

Brandeis at 75: A Daring University that is still making history [75th anniversary video]

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--Embracing the World

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--A Support Network Like No Other

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--Coming Full Circle at the Large Hadron Collider

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--An Interdisciplinary Mindset Enriches Science Study

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--Start Me Up

Brandeis: Then, Now, Next--Disability Research for a New Generation

Igniting Change and Inspiring Generations: The Trailblazing Legacy of Pauli Murray