Altbach (Philip G.) Student Movement Collection, 1935-1971
Collections Number:
MS 33
Abstract: Printed materials, including leaflets, position papers, newsletters, reports and other items concerning student movements in India, circa 1935 to 1965, international student organizations, circa 1948 to 1971, and student movements in the United States, circa 1960 to 1969.
The third section of Altbach's papers concerns student activism in the United States, circa 1960 to 1969, particularly the rise of New Left organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society. Some of the material concerns the events surrounding the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago in 1968, and subsequent activities at the University of Chicago, 1968 to 1969.
Though most of the items in this collections are printed or duplicated, the transitory nature of the many organizations documented makes it likely that many of these printed items are unique, or nearly so. The collection also includes some manuscript and typescript materials. The Indian materials were collected by Altbach in the 1960's for his dissertation, Students, Politics and Higher Education in a Developing Area: The Case of Bombay, India, (University of Chicago, 1965). Most ·of the earlier materials date from ca. 1946 to 1951 and concern th_e Bombay Provincial Student Congress, which was affiliated with the All India Student Congress, and the Bombay Student Union, which was affiliated with the All India Student Federation. Also included are materials from the National Union of Students, ca. 1947 to 1964. Much of this material concerns the relationship of the various student groups with larger political bodies within India. Of particular interest is a typescript copy of a letter written by Gandhi in 1941 concerning the role of students in the struggle against British rule of India and copies of correspondence between Jawahalal Nehru. and Ramkrishna Bajaj concerning Bajaj's opposition to the Congress Party candidacy of V.K. Krishna Mennon in 1961.
Materials on the international student movement, circa 1948 to 1971, include internal and external documentation of the National Union of Students and the International Student Conference. Much of these papers concern the political conflicts between and within the "eastern" and "western" aligned organizations and the relationship of United States student groups to organizations felt to be dominated by the Soviet Union.
Topics: Campus Unrest, Social Activism
Terms of Access:
This collection is unprocessed. Permission to use unprocessed materials requires the approval of the University Archivist. Contact University Archives at 716-645-2991 or lib-archives@buffalo.edu for more information.
