Title: William P. Norris Papers, 1880-2017

ID: RG 30/413

Extent: 11.15 Linear Feet

Predominant Dates: 1970-2004

Arrangement

Creators

Administrative/Biographical History

William (“Bill”) Paul Norris (1943-2014) was a professor at Oberlin College for twenty-six years. The son of William Paul and Janis Corbitt Norris, he grew up in Tennessee until the family moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1953. Bill Norris graduated from the University of Arizona with a major in English in 1965. He joined the Peace Corps that year, where he served in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil as a community developer in a favela until 1967. He was sought out by visiting dignitaries to Bahia from the U.S. such as Robert Kennedy, Frank Church and others. His later research on Brazil centered on housing and community organization among the impoverished in Salvador and Sao Paulo and consulted on low-income housing with the Salvador municipal government. He was fluent in Portuguese and gave a number of invited talks in Brazil.

Norris turned toward sociology as a result of his experiences in Brazil, and received his master’s degree in sociology at the University of Florida in 1969. He returned to Salvador to research and write his dissertation on the survival strategies employed by marginal and working-class people in Brazil’s favelas, and received a PhD in sociology at Harvard University in 1977. After teaching briefly as a part-time instructor at Wellesley College and the Massachusetts College of Art, he was a professor at Oberlin College from 1978 until his retirement in 2008. He translated his interest in social justice into research on poverty in Lorain County, Ohio, and on the mixed experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and faculty in higher education.

Chairing Oberlin’s sociology department several times, Norris was elected by his colleagues to major college committees, including the College Faculty Council.

William Norris guided the Lesbian, Gay Men and Bisexual Concerns Committee at Oberlin (Report to the President, 1990). Under his leadership, the committee established many critical parts of Oberlin’s current community—the clause about sexuality in the college’s Affirmative Action statement, domestic partnership benefits, and a tenured position in Sexuality Studies. He also chaired the Special Committee on Multiculturalism and the College Community (Report to the President, 1994). In addition, he chaired the Task Force on Asian American Studies (ad hoc), and the Standing Committee on Pluralism and Equality.

For twenty-five years, Norris taught the social theory course required for sociology majors. He was the founding chair of Oberlin’s Comparative American Studies Program and, with his partner Professor of History Clayton Koppes, received the first alumni award from Oberlin’s Lambda Alumni organization, which serves to facilitate the relationship between the college and its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender alumni.

Norris pioneered teaching and research in queer studies at Oberlin; his sexuality courses, some of the earliest to address lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues were formative for many students in what sometimes seemed a hostile atmosphere.

His publications include “Coping with Poverty in Urban Brazil,” Doing Without: A Survey of Low-Income Blacks, Latinos and Whites in Lorain County, and “Liberal Attitudes and Homophobic Acts: The Paradoxes of Homosexual Experience in a Liberal Institution.”

He served for a number of years on the Boards of the local Urban League chapter, and the Community Action Agency.

Norris married Linda Berman while a graduate student at the University of Florida in the late 1960s. Together they had a daughter, Faryl Janis Norris, before the marriage dissolved. Faryl attended Oberlin and graduated in 1992. William Norris and Clayton Koppes met at Oberlin and were partners for thirty-five years, until Norris’ death in Cleveland in 2014 after a long illness. He was survived by Koppes, his daughter Faryl, his sisters Melissa Filley and Alison Wilson, and two grandchildren.

Sources

“Emeritus Professor William P. Norris, 1943-2014,” Campus News (Oberlin College), April 14, 2014. Accessed June 26, 2019.

Oberlin College Archives, William P. Norris Faculty File (RG 28).

“Remarks Upon the Occasion of Bill’s Retirement Celebration, Oberlin College, 19 April 2008” by Clayton Koppes, William P. Norris Papers.

Biographical statements, William P. Norris Papers.

Author: Salsich, Anne Cuyler; Sparagowski, Becky

Forms of Material (links to similar genres)

Languages of Materials

Administrative Information

Scope and Contents:

The William P. Norris Papers reflect his long career as a professor of sociology at Oberlin College from 1978 to 2008. Beginning with his Peace Corps work in Bahia, Brazil, Norris was deeply engaged with issues of poverty, housing, and economic structures in Brazil, Pittsburgh, and Lorain, Ohio. This is reflected in his writings, talks, professional papers, research project files, and course files. His research files on LGBT issues reflect his activism and advocacy, but his Oberlin committee files better reflect his leadership for LGBT rights. These files were moved to the Various College-Wide Committees record group, as noted in the description for Subgroup VII. Committees and Other Professional Activity. The Papers include minimal correspondence and biographical files.

Subgroup I. Biographical Files, 1962-63, 1965-69, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2005-06, 2008-09, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)

These files comprise diplomas, certificates, awards, curriculum vitae and biographical information, particularly from his retirement celebration in 2008.

Subgroup II. Correspondence, 1968-69, 1973, 1979-95, 1997-2000, 2002-06, n.d. (0.4 l.f.)

Norris had a vibrant professional and personal life, as evidenced by the correspondence he maintained with friends, colleagues, and former students. Some of the material in this subgroup is typed, but the majority consists of handwritten notes, greeting cards, and postcards. The correspondence has been arranged into three series, according to the nature of the correspondents’ relationships to Norris: Series 1. Personal Correspondence; Series 2. Professional Correspondence; Series 3. Student/Alumni Correspondence. In general, the correspondence subgroup is limited.

The student and alumni correspondence in Series 3 speaks to Norris’s popularity as a professor. Many of the notes, cards, and letters are to thank him for providing references. Several of the letters requested advice on careers and further study, and still others were simply to keep in touch. Oberlin College offered a message-delivery service for alumni who were living out of town and wanted to contact their favorite professors, called Obie Grams. Professor Norris received many of these messages, included in this series.

Subgroup III. Appointment Books and Travel Journals, 1991-93, 2005, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)

This subgroup holds a few journals, an appointment book, and loose pages of word translations from Portuguese and Spanish. Two journals hold personal reflections and transcribed poetry and prose. Norris kept two travel journals on trips to China, Costa Rica, Vietnam, and Cambodia from 1991 to 1993.

Subgroup IV. Instructional Files (sampled), 1973, 1975-76, 1978-82, 1986-90, 1994-2005, n.d. (0.8 l.f.) (COPYING RESTRICTIONS)

The voluminous instructional files were sampled (with the exception of student papers) and arranged into four categories: course files, slide shows, student papers and syllabi. The student papers appear to be top papers from Norris’s courses. Course files include readings and his lecture notes. The slide show files do not include the slides.

Subgroup V. Research Project and Subject Files, 1880, 1897, 1904-10, 1935-36, 1961-63, 1965-2006, 2008-09, n.d. (7.35 l.f.) (RESTRICTIONS)

The research materials subgroup holds the bulk of the Norris Papers, over half of the collection. It consists of printed and manuscript material used by Norris to support his research on various topics. Represented here are the materials for three major research projects, as well as subject files and general research. The subgroup has been divided into five series: Series 1. Latin America; Series 2. Pittsburgh Public Health Study; Series 3. Lorain County, Ohio Survey of Low-Income Blacks, Hispanics and Whites; Series 4. General Research, and Series 5. LGBT Issues.

Series 1. Latin America, 1961-63, 1965-66, 1969-95, 2005, n.d (COPYING RESTRICTIONS)

Inspired by his experience in the Peace Corps, Norris conducted research on Bahia, Brazil for his dissertation. His interest in Latin America in general and Brazil in particular continued throughout his career, and he continued to research various aspects of Latin American culture, politics, and demography. Because his research for his dissertation expanded into a career-long researching practice, the topics overlap and the material cross-references itself; therefore, the material has been kept together, although it has been divided into four subseries for ease of reference: Subseries 1. Dissertation; Subseries 2. Bahia, Brazil; Subseries 3. Brazil, General; and Subseries 4. Latin America, General. This is the largest series of research materials and provides a record of Norris’s in-depth research and acute interest in Brazil and Latin America. The material consists of newspaper clippings, academic articles, chapters from books, Norris’s handwritten notes, and press publications. While the material is primarily in English, a significant portion is in Portuguese, particularly newspaper clippings and academic articles.

Series 2. Pittsburgh Public Health Study, 1880, 1935, 1967, 1983-87, n.d.

Materials in Series 2 support a case study done in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Bill Norris and Clayton Koppes regarding public health in industrial cities. This research manifested as a paper in the Journal of Urban History (vol. 11, no. 3, May 1985) titled “Ethnicity, Class, and Mortality in the Industrial City: A Case Study of Typhoid Fever in Pittsburgh, 1890-1910.” Included here are research notes, published articles used for reference, and reviews of their article.

Series 3. Lorain County Survey of Low-Income Blacks, Hispanics and Whites, 1954, 1970-72, 1974-87, 1989-93, 1995-98, n.d. (INTERVIEW MATERIALS RESTRICTED)

The materials in Series 3 relate to surveys Norris conducted regarding socio-economic and racial differences in housing in Lorain County, Ohio. The results of the first survey were used to write Doing Without: A Survey of Urban Low-Income Blacks, Latinos and Whites in Lorain County, available through the Terrell Main Library (HV4011.O3 N67 1989). Materials included here comprise correspondence regarding the project, research proposals, other housing surveys, and notes and drafts of Norris’ project. Additional oral interviews were conducted and recorded on cassette tapes in 1992-93; these were transcribed.

Series 4. Subject Files, 1897, 1904-10, 1936, 1963, 1966-69, 1971-72, 1974-2004, 2006, n.d. (COPYING RESTRICTIONS)

The subject files hold material on a wide range of topics not covered in the other series in this subgroup. These files consist of newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, magazine specials, and academic articles.

Series 5. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Issues, 1968, 1985-96, 1998-2004, n.d. (RESTRICTIONS)

Subject files in this series track trends on LGBT(Q) issues at Oberlin (Subseries 1) and elsewhere (Subseries 2). LGBT was the term used during the period of his papers. See also Subgroup VI. Writings and Talks, and SG VII. Committees and Other Professional Activity for material on Norris’ contributions with regard to LGBT issues at Oberlin College and the U.S. in general.

Subgroup VI. Writings and Talks, 1969-72, 1977-78, 1980-90, 1992-94, 1996-2001 (1.2 l.f.) (COPYING RESTRICTIONS)

Subgroup VI is subdivided into four series: Series 1. Graduate School Papers, Thesis and Dissertation; Series 2. Articles, Manuscripts and Reports; Series 3. Manuscript Evaluations and Book Reviews; and Series 4. Talks and Professional Papers. Series 1 writings primarily concern Brazil. The bulk of Series 2 also predominantly concern Brazil, with some writings on housing and poverty in general, the gay community, and the decline in the industrial economy in Northeast Ohio in the 1980s. Other topics are covered in book and manuscript reviews for publishers. Reports in the series include the results of a comprehensive sociological survey project on low-income Blacks, Latinos and whites in Lorain County, Ohio completed in 1989.

Subgroup VII. Committees and Other Professional Activity, 1961, 1965-67, 1976, 1980-91, 1993-2003 (0.8 l.f.) (RESTRICTIONS)

Committees and Other Professional Activity files are arranged into four series: Series 1. Oberlin College; Series 2. City of Oberlin; Series 3. Grants, Research Status, and Sabbaticals; and Series 4. Other Professional and Advocacy Activity. Files from his service on Oberlin’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Committee, the Standing Committee on Pluralism and Equality, Special Committee on Multiculturalism and College Community, and the Comparative American Studies Program were transferred to the Various College-Wide Committees Record Group (33). The committee files reflect Norris’ leadership and active service to the college and the communities with which he was involved.

Subgroup VIII. Koppes-Norris House, 2007, 2009, 2011-13, 2015, 2017 (0.2 l.f.)

William Norris and his partner Clayton Koppes gifted their house on East College Street in Oberlin to the College in 2011. It was intended as a residence for the Dean of Students and a community space. The house was purchased by Koppes and Norris in 1987, who made substantial improvements to the house and grounds. This small subgroup comprises correspondence, dedication remarks, publicity and ephemera, 344 digital photographs of the dedication and reception on a reference DVD, and President Krislov’s 2012 State of the College Address which references the transfer of the Koppes-Norris house to the college.

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