RG XXI: Committee on Human Diversity

Historical Note

The Committee on Human Diversity was officially active from 1973-1975, however planning work began in 1971. Initially, the purpose of the Committee was to examine the problem of encouraging research and teaching in human behavioral genetics, however, it expanded more generally into a discussion of human behavioral genetics. Chaired by Bernard Davis with Talcott Parsons as Vice-Chair, each serving for the duration with Christopher Jencks and Ernst Mayr. Work culminated in four separate seminars collectively titled "Human Diversity: Its Causes and Social Significance": "Evolution", October 26-27, 1973; "Genetics", December 14-15, 1973; "Behavioral Genetics", February 15-16, 1974; and "Intelligence and Group Differences", May 10-11, 1974. Proceedings were collected and published as Human Diversity: Its Causes and Social Significance, edited by Bernard Davis and Patricia Flaherty, published by Ballinger Publishing Company in 1976.

Funding was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Scope and Content

The series is contained within the Academy Archives’ Record Group XXI: Academy Projects and Programs. It contains the administrative and project records of the Academy relating to the Committee, from 1970-1976.  About half of the records were created or received from 1973-74, by Bernard Davis and the Executive Office of the John Voss, with a significant contribution from Staff Associate Patricia Flaherty. The other half, created by the same persons relates to the planning period before and summary activity following the seminars. Records primarily include correspondence amongst John Voss and the Committee, with records of planning meetings and individual seminars. Of note is much of the early correspondence and planning meetings exploring the sensitive nature of the subject, as well as the individual summaries of the seminars themselves.

Later Academy project on Evolution and Ethics, aka Sociobiology, put forward by Edward O. Wilson is related in subject, but not institutionally.

Arrangement

Processing for this series utilized MPLP principles, thus minimum preservation steps were taken, and folder titles listed in the finding aid are as they appear on the actual folders. Records were held by the Executive Office of John Voss, including Patricia Flaherty. Original order was generally maintained, groupings of records mostly intact, with chronology instituted. 

This series is arranged into 3 subseries: Subseries 1: Chronology, 1970-1976; Subseries 2: Meetings, 1971-1974; and Subseries 3: Meetings Administration, 1971-1975. These subseries are flat with no corresponding sub-subseries.

Volume

2 records center cartons (2 linear feet).

Preferred Citation

[Item title, date]. Record Group XXI: Academy Projects – Committee on Human Diversity, 1970-1076. Archives, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Subjects

Davis, Bernard D., 1916-1994
Flaherty, Patricia, 1938-
Jencks, Christopher
Mayr, Ernst
Parsons, Talcott, 1902-1979
Voss, John, 1917-
Rockefeller Foundation
Behavior genetics--Study and teaching
Genetics
Human genetics
Nature and nurture