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Douglas Haring Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives


Finding aid created by: Ari Spatola
Date: 18 June 2020



Biography

Douglas Gilbert Haring (1894-1970) was an anthropology professor at Syracuse University that specialized in Japanese culture.

Haring was born in Watkins Glen, New York. He received his bachelor's degree from Colgate University in 1914, his Bachelor of Divinity from Rochester Theological Seminary in 1923, his Master of Arts from Columbia University in 1923, and a diploma from the School of Japanese Language and Culture in Tokyo, Japan in 1925. From 1917 to early 1924 Haring was a missionary and teacher in Japan, and returned again later that year to provide earthquake relief following the Great Kantō Earthquake. Haring returned to the United States in 1926, where he then studied for a graduate degree in anthropology at Columbia University but did not finish.

Haring began his career teaching anthropology at Syracuse University in 1927 as an instructor and was promoted to assistant professor in 1928. By 1946, Haring was promoted to full professor. During his time as professor at Syracuse University he developed close relationships with the Japanese and Japanese American students, and was well-respected for his knowledge of the language and customs of the country. He retired in 1962. Haring also trained United States Army and Navy officers for the post-war occupation of Japan at the Civil Affairs Training School at Harvard from 1944 to 1945. In 1952, Haring undertook a year-long research trip visiting Amami Ōshima and the Ryukyu Islands. He was instrumental in Syracuse University acquiring several books, articles, and manuscripts concerning the Ryukyu Islands. During his career, he published several articles, books and textbooks, and English translations of Japanese writings. He received numerous marks of distinction in his career, including honorary degrees from Colgate University and Syracuse University, and the Centennial Medal from Syracuse University.

In his personal life, Haring was married to Ann Harding and they had one daughter, Ruth Ann. Additionally, he was an amateur photographer that occasionally had his work featured in exhibitions.


Scope and Content Note

The Douglas Haring Papers contains academic and biographical materials, correspondence-subject files, photographs, writings, and writings of others. The materials document his life as a Syracuse University professor and his scholarly and personal interest in Japan.

The Academic materials series documents Haring's life as a student, from elementary school through college, as well as his career as a professor. The series is divided into two subseries. The first, Student work and materials, comprises diaries, essays, homework, notes, and projects. The Teaching materials subseries comprises documents related to Haring's time as a college professor and includes course notes and outlines, exams, lecture notes, and syllabi.

The Biographical material series contains clippings, Haring's curriculum vitae, family Bible, family correspondence, home movies, and a scrapbook. There is also ephemera from Haring's time as a student at Colgate – these materials are not located in the academic materials series because they are related to his personal life and are not academic in nature. The clippings are about Haring, his accomplishments, and his connection to Japan. Two home movies show the Harings in Hawaii and visiting Columbia University. The material in this series not only documents Douglas’ life but the Haring family in general. This includes a scrapbook chronicling the Haring family for over a century, beginning in 1854 and ending in 1957. The scrapbook includes awards, clippings, maps, photographs, and programs. A Haring family Bible was printed in 1618 and was first owned by Haring's ancestor, Cornelius Haring. Also included is Haring's daughter Ruth Ann's home instruction work while the Harings were in Japan. Additionally, a large portion of the series is family correspondence, not only between Douglas and relatives, but between other members of the Haring family.

Correspondence-subject files comprises correspondence to Syracuse University colleagues and anthropologists as well as materials relating to a range of subjects and organizations. Materials include clippings, notes, notebooks, printed material, reports, and research (data, interviews, graphs, and surveys). Correspondents include Syracuse University faculty and administrators Floyd Allport, Paul Appleby, Earl H. Bell, Bharati Agehananda, Finla Crawford, George Cressey, Mary Marshall, and Chancellor William Tolley. There is also correspondence and material relating to Japanese American Syracuse University students, including correspondence with Warren Tsuneishi, a Japanese American Syracuse University student enrolled from a Japanese American internment camp and fought in World War II. In their correspondence, Haring and Tsuneishi discuss Tsuneishi's experience at Syracuse University and in the war. Additionally, there is correspondence with anthropologists Margaret Mead, Tōichi Mabuchi, Ruth Benedict, Fumitake Yamashita, and Philip Singer.

There is also material on various organizations and associations, including the American Anthropological Association, American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, American Civil Liberties Union, The Asia Society, and The Society for Applied Anthropology. Please note that the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society folders include documentation of Haring's mission in Japan; these folders are located in this series as opposed to the following series because they also include material about the organization.

Subjects covered in this series include China and religion, particularly Christianity. Some files may include drafts of Haring's articles or correspondence regarding some of his writings.

The Japan series contains materials related to Haring's research and time spent living in Japan, both as a missionary and a researcher. Materials include clippings, film materials, index cards, notes and notebooks, reports, subject files, surveys, and translations. Subject files reflect his interest in Japanese culture, and includes files on art, customs, education, food, history, language, politics, and religion. Materials from his time as a missionary (1917-1926) include account books, correspondence, and notebooks. Additionally, within this series there is a considerable amount of material on Amami Ōshima and the Ryukyu Islands – Haring had a specialized interest in the islands and spent a year there conducting research from 1952 to 1953. Research includes films recorded by Haring that show how the island looked in the early 1950s; an ethnographic survey that gathered data to show how people on the island lived; and interviews with midwives that discuss how they conducted childbirth. There are also files about the reversion of Amami Island to Japan, which happened on December 25, 1953.

The Photographs series includes Haring's photographs of his family, Japan, American landscapes, the Syracuse University campus, and faculty members. The series contains negatives, photo albums, prints, and slides (both plastic and glass lantern slides). Haring was an avid photographer that took photographs of the many places he visited as well as his personal life. Photographs of Japan include Japanese people, landscapes, Tokyo, earthquake damage, Amami Ōshima, the Haring family in their Japanese home and with friends, and religious buildings. Photographs of American landscapes were taken during Haring's travels across the country, and include many photographs of Upstate New York, New England and the Northeast, and a trip out west. There are also photographs of Haring's time as a college student at Colgate University and Columbia University. Photographs of Syracuse University document how the campus looked during the 1940s and 1950s as it was going through tremendous post-war change.

Writings contains Haring's drafts, manuscripts, notes, reprints, and transcripts. His writings include articles, books, book chapters, book reviews of other scholars' books, lectures, scripts, and textbooks. Also included under miscellaneous at the end of the series are his conference papers, obituaries, and poems. The majority of articles and book reviews are typed drafts and reprints; books and textbooks are mainly manuscripts; and scripts are transcripts of a Syracuse-area radio show that Haring wrote and participated in regarding Japan. A large portion of the writings relate to Japan.

Writings of others contains other authors' articles and papers, with book reviews of Haring's works at the end of the series.

This collection contains materials that users may find objectionable due to racist, xenophobic, or otherwise derogatory or harmful content and outdated language, particularly as pertains to possible harmful perspectives of Japan and Japanese people. An attempt has been made to provide content warnings for individual folders in the inventory, but the researcher is advised that these warnings may not reflect all problematic content and outdated language. Original folder titles have been retained and may contain outdated language. The collection is preserved and presented for its historic and research value.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Please note some materials in this collection are restricted in accordance with the Federal Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA).

Because the lantern slides are fragile, they are restricted. Please consult with an archivist to obtain permission to view them.

A film strip regarding Native Americans is restricted for culturally sensitive content.

Access to audiovisual material requires advance notice to produce a use copy.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Related Material

The University Archives has a clipping file on Douglas Haring as well as a portrait file. The Archives also holds materials related to Haring in the George Babcock Cressey Papers,Donn V. Hart Papers, and the Agehananda Bharati Papers.


Selected Search Terms

Names

Agehananda Bharati, Swami, 1923-1991.
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society.
Benedict, Ruth, 1887-1948.
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942.
Cressey, George Babcock, 1896-1963.
Haring, Douglas G. (Douglas Gilbert), 1894-1970.
Hart, Donn V. (Donn Vorhis), 1918-1983.
King, Norman D.
Mabuchi, Tōichi, 1909-1988.
Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978.
Singer, Philip, 1925-
Thurnwald, Richard, 1869-1954.
Tolley, William Pearson, 1900-1996.
Tsuneishi, Warren M. (Warren Michio), 1921-2011.
Yamashita, Fumitake, 1926-
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
United States. -- National Youth Administration.

Subjects

Amami Ōshima (Japan)
Anthropology.
College teaching.
Japanese students.
Missionaries.
Missions.
Ryukyu Islands.
World War, 1939-1945.
Asia -- History.
China.
Japan.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Correspondence.
Data cards.
Film reels.
Index cards.
Lantern slides.
Lecture notes.
Manuscripts for publication.
Maps (documents)
Phonograph records.
Photograph albums.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
Slides (photographs)
Sound recordings.
Video recordings.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Douglas Haring Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ann Haring in 1971 and 1975.


Arrangement

Overall the collection is arranged alphabetically. Individual series may be arranged by last name, organization, class, format, subject, or title.


Table of Contents

Academic materials

Biographical material

Correspondence-subject files

Japan

Photographs

Writings

Writings by others


Inventory