Here are a few collections that SCRC has been hard at work processing in the last few months – all have new, shiny finding aids of their own! Enjoy!
This collection was processed by Amanda Brent.
“Alan Bowne was an American playwright and author. Born in 1945, he was best known for a handful of works, including “Beirut,” “Forty-Deuce,” “Sharon and Billy,” as well as a novel, “Wally Wonderstruck.” Perhaps his most famous and enduring work, “Beirut” is a one-act play that tells the allegorical story of a heterosexual couple dealing with a mysterious disease that ravages dystopian New York. This fictional disease presumably represented the real HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. “Beirut” was eventually adapted into a 1993 television movie, re-titled “Daybreak.” Bowne passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1989 in his Sonoma County home at 44 years old…[the collection] consists of three boxes of materials created over the course of Bowne’s career as a playwright and author. These include play scripts and drafts, short story drafts, screenplays, correspondence, notebooks, photographs, and audio cassettes and one reel-to-reel tape. These materials originate from the 1970s – 1991, with the bulk of the collection originating from the 1980s.”
The George Mason University College of Arts and Sciences records
This finding aid was created by former Processing Student Assistant Jimmy Luong.
“This collection contains items issued and used by the College of Arts and Sciences. These include promotional materials such as brochures, faculty papers, and minutes.”
The George Mason University Initiatives in Educational Transformation records
This finding aid was created by former Processing Student Assistant Jimmy Luong.
“20 boxes of materials from the Initiatives in Educational Transformation (IET) Program. The IET Program is a professional development Master’s degree program for licensed, practicing K-12 public school teachers in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. IET is hosted by the Graduate School of Education, part of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University.”
The George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution records
This finding aid was created by former Processing Student Assistant Jimmy Luong.
“This collection consists of newsletters, working papers, handbooks, bibliographies, academic programs and course syllabi, summaries of proceedings, funding packets, proposal letters, and faculty papers from the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.”
The George Mason University Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study records
This finding aid was created by former Processing Student Assistant Jimmy Luong.
“Six boxes that contain the Steve Diner records (Boxes 4 and 5) which include records such as inquires, board meeting letters, manuals, and reports, as well as old newspaper articles and promotional materials such as pamphlets and brochures from the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study.”
The Cookbooks and cooking pamphlets collection
This collection was processed by Amanda Brent.
“The world of post-World War II America saw the flourishing of the economy and suburban expansion, which in turn brought G.I.s back in the work force and pushed American women from their wartime jobs back into the home. Wartime scarcity juxtaposed with the cornucopia of household goods available post-war, as well as the advent of new homemaking technology, were some of the reasons a societal ideal of the economical, creative, and supportive (to her husband and family) American homemaker was made…[this collection] includes pamphlets, booklets, and other printed materials published by a myriad of American food companies in order to advertise their products to consumers, particularly women homemakers. The majority of the collection originates from the 1950s – 1960s, but includes materials that span the entirety of the 20th century and early 2000s. Topics range from, but are not limited to, the diets of school children, recipes using well-known American food brands such as Kraft, Jell-O, Campbell’s Soups, and 7-Up, and local companies’ yearly cookbooks featuring their employees’ recipes. Other items include pamphlets on “high altitude cooking” and recipes clipped from newspapers.”
Featured image: Cover of Alan Bowne’s personal copy of his play “A Snake in the Vein,” Alan Bowne papers, Box 2, Folder 1, C0319, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media at our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.
