Kenneth E. Read Papers, circa 1950-1985 (MSS 434)

Extent: 0.25 Linear feet (1 archives box)

The papers of anthropologist and professor Kenneth E. Read contain typescript articles and essays based on his field work in Papua New Guinea in the 1940s - 1950s, as well as 1981-1982. Also included are three papers written by patrol officers, during training, at the Australian School of Pacific Administration as part of classes taught by Read.

Kenneth E. Read was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1917. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney in 1939. After serving in the Royal Australian Army during World War II, during which he spent time in New Guinea, Read returned to the University of Sydney where he obtained his MA in Anthropology.

After completing his PhD in Anthropology at the University of London, Read returned to Australia. From 1950-1952 Read worked as a Research Fellow at the Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. During this time, he began research among the Gahuku-Gama people of Goroka District of the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea.

Read went on to become Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the Australian School of Pacific Administration in Sydney (1953-56). He then moved to Seattle, Washington to teach in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington. Throughout his career, Read wrote and published a number of scholarly papers based on his field work in Papua New Guinea. He also published the books The High Valley (1965) and Return to the High Valley (1986), based on his time with the Gahuku.

Read passed away in Seattle on November 13, 1995.

The papers of anthropologist and professor Kenneth E. Read contain original typescripts of work by Read and others. Materials are arranged first with the writings by Read, followed by a small selection of writings by others.

Writings by Read include typescript articles, essays, and surveys. Many of these papers are based on field work compiled while living among the Gahuku-Gama people of Goroka District of the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. One folder of miscellaneous materials includes two agricultural surveys - one detailing yam gardens in Tofmora, the other describing work performed in banana plantations. Works have been arranged alphabetically by title, dates are approximate.

Writings by others include typescript papers written by patrol officers in training at the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA) for classes taught by Read. The folders are arranged alphabetically by author.

Container List

WRITINGS BY READ

Box 1 Folder 1
Developmental Prospects in the Central Highlands of New Guinea, 1951
Box 1 Folder 2
Full Circle: Impressions on Returning to the Guhuku-Gama, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, ca. 1985
Box 1 Folder 3
Leadership and Consensus in a New Guinea Society, 1959
Box 1 Folder 4
Notes on Field Work in the Goroka Valley, undated
Box 1 Folder 5
Political System of the Gahuku-Gama, undated
Box 1 Folder 6
The Political System of the Ngarawapum, 1950
Box 1 Folder 7
Property and Capital in Production, undated
Box 1 Folder 8
Some Aspects of Political Organization in the Markham Valley - Address to the Anthropological Association of New South Wales, undated
Box 1 Folder 9
Miscellaneous surveys & papers, undated

WRITINGS BY OTHERS

Box 1 Folder 10
Aisbett, R. - The Social Structure of the Tanga, undated
Box 1 Folder 11
Carey, Arthur - An Area study of Goroka Sub-District, Eastern Highlands District of New Guinea, with Special Reference to Economic Development, undated
Box 1 Folder 12
Smith, E.V. - Social Structure of Peri/Poinchal Village in the Manus District, undated