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Harold G. Marcus papers

 Collection
Identifier: UA-17.309

Scope and Content

The Harold G. Marcus papers consist of research notes, drafts, correspondence, and personal papers. Also included are photocopies of reports from American, British and Italian archives, photographs, pamphlets, offprints, and unpublished papers.

It should be noted that Ethiopia does not use the Gregorian calendar.

CAREER RECORD This series includes notes from undergraduate classes and an academic record from Boston University, correspondence and other material relating to Marcus' recruitment by Michigan State University, grant applications (restricted), and Marcus' obituary.

RESEARCH NOTES This series consists of photocopies of reports from American, British and Italian archives and Marcus' field notes. Also included are notes, grant applications, and audio recordings from an Ethiopian Oral History project.

PUBLICATIONS: DRAFTS, & CORRESPONDENCE Included in this series are drafts of articles and books written by Marcus and related correspondence.

TEACHING & LECTURES The TEACHING subseries is comprised of syllabi, course outline, and course related correspondence. The LECTURES subseries contains lectures and talks that Marcus delivered.

COMMITTEE WORK & PROJECTS (CORRESPONDENCE & NOTES) This series includes correspondence and notes regarding committees and projects Marcus worked on, such as Mid-West Universities Consortium for International Activities (MUCIA)-Haile Sellassie I University (HSIU), MSU Art Museum/IES Museum (Ethiopia) Partnership, Ethiopian Studies Committee, and International Conference of Ethiopian Studies.

EDITING FOR MSU PRESS This series consists of manuscripts submitted to MSU Press and North East African Studies and related correspondence.

MANUSCRIPTS, PAMPHLETS & OTHER MATERIALS This series includes published materials and manuscripts about Ethiopia and its neighboring countries written by various authors.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT This series is comprised of Marcus' consultancy work, interviews given, conferences, and emails about Ethiopian politics. Also included are bound volumes from the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, which was formed to arbitrate claims of loss, damage, or injury arising from violations of international humanitarian law during the Eritrea-Ethiopian War (May 1998 to June 2000).

PHOTOGRAPHS & SLIDES Included in this series are photographs of Haile Sellassie I, Ethiopia, and conferences Marcus attended. Also present are 35 mm slides of scenes, events and places in Europe, the United States, Ethiopia and East Africa.

COMPUTER DISKS The computer disks contain backup files of drafts of books, papers, travel journals, articles, 12th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies proceedings and matters regarding their publication, miscellaneous news, lists of Ethiopianists in USA, and correspondence on various matters. The floppy disks contain information from labels, reading notes, correspondence, outlines, course syllabi, recommendations, and program back-ups.

CARD FILES FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY The series Card Files for Bibliography consists of 5"x8" cards used in the compilation of The modern history of Ethiopia and the horn of Africa: a select and annotated bibliography (Hoover Institution Press, 1972). This is especially strong on 19th century travelers' account.

Dates

  • Creation: 1852 - 2007
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1960 - 2003

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research except where restrictions are noted.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Biographical Note

Harold G. Marcus was born on April 8, 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. from Clark University in 1958, a M.A. from Boston University in 1959, and a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1964. Marcus began his teaching career as a visiting assistant professor of history at Haile Selassie I University (now called Addis Ababa University) in Ethiopia. He spent the next five years, from 1963 to 1968, as an assistant professor of history at Howard University. In 1968 he was recruited by Michigan State University, where he stayed for the remainder of his career.

Marcus' scholarship focused on Ethiopian history and politics. He wrote several articles about governmental and internal problems of Africa, as well as books about Emperors Menilek II and Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Marcus died in January 2003 at the age of 66.

Extent

14.5 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from MSU Libraries Special Collections to University Archives and Historical Collections in 2012.

Gift of Cressida Marcus for the estate of Harold G. Marcus to MSU Libraries Special Collections in 2007.

Related Archival Materials

See also Collection of Ethiopian Materials, MSS 196, Special Collections MSU Libraries, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Legal Status

Copyright: Michigan State University except where noted. Property Rights: Michigan State University.

Title
Harold G. Marcus Papers
Status
4 Published And Cataloged
Date
August 2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository

Contact:
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330