Scope and Content Note
The papers of James Wyche Green (1915-2011) span the years 1921-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1941 to 2001. The papers are in English and are organized into the following ten series: Introductory Material, Education and Land Use Study, United States Agency for International Development, Personal Data, Military Service, Post-Government Career, Miscellany, 2021 Addition, National Security Classified Information, and Oversize.
The Introductory Material consists of an index written by Green, listing every item in the first twenty-seven volumes. Green arranged the collection within bound volumes before transfer to the library. Materials were removed from the volumes during processing, but the original arrangement was maintained. Each item is individually numbered within sections. The number corresponds to the item description in the index. Items in the twenty-eighth volume are not included in the index.
The Education and Land Use Study series documents Green’s graduate education in agricultural economics, particularly his focus on rural land use and farmhouse building in Virginia and North Carolina. Materials include his master’s thesis, a report on field research conducted in Middle Grayson County, Virginia; and his doctoral dissertation, a field study of the sociological process of farmhouse building in North Carolina. Journal publications and writings from 1941 to 1954 explore farmhouse planning, location, decisions, and building; rural communities and group actions; and housing aid available to farmers. Other writings include class papers on sociological theory and methodology. Correspondence chiefly concerns Green’s federal employment and appointment as a village advisor in Pakistan. There are scattered certificates and correspondence from Green’s secondary education, including military training at Hargrave Military Academy, Chatham, Virginia.
The largest part of the collection consists of materials from Green’s career as a community advisor to foreign governments for the United States Agency for International Development. From 1954 to 1976, Green was stationed in Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia, Peru, Panama, Washington, D.C., and Yemen. The records document Green’s scholarly interest in agricultural and industrial development, as well as his administrative role within the agency. There are consecutive quarterly reports spanning most of Green’s overseas career. The reports describe major events and problems in personnel, program planning, supplies and equipment, program participants and execution, and training efforts. Some also include a summary of activities, allocation of staff time, and notes on local governments and administrations. Other materials include official publications; travel authorizations; notes and writings concerning training, supplies, health and sanitation, and staff duties; and performance evaluations and appraisals. Personal correspondence consists chiefly of requests for transfers from Green, and inquiries on the availability of university teaching positions for a sabbatical year. There are also some materials from Green’s post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; appointment as professor of rural sociology at Cornell University; and one-year appointment as chair of the sociology department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The Post-Government Career series consists of correspondence, writings, and other materials from Green’s retirement, including his new-found interest in psychotherapy and meditation. Correspondence with political leaders concerns mainly environmental and international issues. There are two published monographs written by Green: a book on integrative meditation and a personal memoir. There are also thirteen meditation journals in spiral-bound notebooks, with almost daily entries by Green from 13 April 1974 to 20 February 2006 detailing Green’s daily life and his practice and teaching of meditation.
Other materials in the collection include personal data, such as applications for employment and training, promotion and performance evaluations, and security investigation data; records from Green’s military service during World War II in France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria, such as recommendations, reports, and transfer orders; and scattered newspaper clippings and photographs.
The 2021 Addition series expands upon the material contained within the original collection by further documenting Green’s military service during World War II through correspondence between him and his first wife, Pearl O’Neal Cornett. This addition also contains slides of family and business trips throughout the world while he was working at the United States Agency for International Development. The addition also greatly expands documention of Green’s post-government service, with items focusing on Green instructing adults in meditation.