| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 3767 |
| Title | Dr Adrian Adams, anthropologist, Kounghani, Senegal: correspondence with John Desmond Hargreaves, historian |
| Date | 1976 - 2005 |
| Extent | 3 folders, 2 booklets |
| Creator Name | Adams; Adrian (1945 - 2000); anthropologist
John Desmond Hargreaves (1924 - 2015), historian |
| Administrative History | Adrian Adams was born in 1945 and began her higher education in the University of Dakar where her father was working as an officer of the US State Department. She undertook her doctoral studies at the London School of Economics and in 1971 began a lectureship in social anthropology at Aberdeen University. In 1975 she left for a preliminary study of agriculture in the village of Kounghani in the Senegal valley. In 1979 she left Aberdeen to live, marry and work with her husband Jaabe who was the leader of a Federation of peasant co-operatives devoted to improving farming methods. During the next 21 years her work moved from academic duties to political advocacy on behalf of the Federation, to pioneering literacy and publication of the Soninke language. She died in a road accident not far from Kounghani in 2000.
For further details on Adams's life in Kounghani, see Hargreaves's short biography, 'Adrian Adams in Kounghani: A memoir with letters' (Banchory: Woodend Publishing, 2005) |
| Custodial History | The collection was in the possession of Adams's former colleague at Aberdeen and close personal friend, Professor John Desmond Hargreaves, prior to being gifted to the University. |
| Source | Deposited by Professor JD Hargreaves in 2005. |
| Description | The greatest part of this small collection comprises letters and postcards from Adams, written in Kounghani during the years 1977 through to 2000, to John and Sheila Hargreaves in Banchory, Aberdeenshire. In addition, there are a number of literacy and numeracy booklets in the Soninke language, including 'Duna', Nos. 1-2, 1988 - 1989, as well as off-prints and typescripts of papers by Adrian Adams for the period 1976 - 2000. |
| Appraisal | The collection has been retained in its entirety although two items were transferred to the Local Collection in Special Libraries and Archives: John Hargreaves, 'Adrian Adams in Kounghani: A memoir with letters' (Banchory: Woodend Publishing, 2005), and Adrian Adams, 'Quel Avenir Pour La Vallee ?' (International Institute for Environmental Development, 2000). |
| Accruals | None expected. |
| Arrangement | The correspondence and postcards had been arranged chronologically prior to deposit and this scheme was adopted at the point of cataloguing. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The records are available subject to the signed acceptance of the Department's access conditions. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |
| Publication Note | John Hargreaves, 'Adrian Adams in Kounghani: A memoir with letters' (Banchory: Woodend Publishing, 2005). Based upon the correspondence and other papers listed above. |