| Creator: | Joe Stanley Graham Jr. |
| Title: | Joe Stanley Graham |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1940-1999 |
| Abstract: | Joe Stanley Graham, professor of Anthropology and folklore at Texas A&M University-Kingsville from 1988 until shortly before his death in 1999 lived and worked on ranches in southwest Texas ultimately studying at the University of Texas, Austin with Dr. Amerigo Paredes, a leading folklorist from south Texas. Dr. Graham continued Dr. Paredes work of collecting materials about the rural Mexican and Mexican American communities, the people and their folkways. Hundreds of photographs, interviews, student term papers, and research materials used for museum exhibits have been saved for future researchers of his favored topic. |
| Identification: | A1997-006; A1997-007; A1999-030; A2004-036; A2014-088; A2015-070 |
| Extent: | 51 linear feet, 810 photos 6,861 slides, 194 oral histories, 132 compact disks, 69 negatives |
| Language: | English; Spanish |
| Container: | H-8-5 Box 1 - H-12-2 Box 100, H-12-2 Box 1; Negative File; STAD Photo File; Media File |
| Repository: | South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville |
Joe S. Graham, 1940-1999, a former professor of anthropology and folklore at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, spent his academic career teaching and researching in the areas of folklore and literature, the Mexican American culture and the ranching heritage of south and west Texas. Born in the Big Bend area of west Texas, he graduated from Sul Ross University, did graduate work at Brigham Young University, Utah and received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas-Austin where he studied with Dr. Americo Paredes. Dr. Paredes, well known for his scholarly work in folklore, later said of him “Joe is one of the best students that I have ever taught. ..As a scholar in Folklore, he has already made a name for himself with his field work among Mexican groups in South and West Texas.” While teaching at University of Texas-El Paso, Sul Ross University, Texas A&M-College Stations and ultimately Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and serving as the resident folklorist at the Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio and Humanist-in-Residence at the Food and Fiber National Institute he published seven books, numerous articles in his areas of interests and presented even more papers at national and international professional organizations meetings. He was the principal investigator and exhibit consultant for eleven exhibits for the Institute and for the Connor Museum, Kingsville. He received grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Texas Committee for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Texas Society of Architects, the Texas Historical Commission, American Association of State and Local History, the Meadows Foundation and from the Universities with which he was associated. He described his research as a study of Hispanic material culture in the old Spanish Province of Nuevo Santander, developing a major collection of artifacts, photographs and slides and taped interviews for the Conner Museum. He felt he had extensively documented the built environment of the region, including architecture, corrals, entranceways to ranches, earthen dams, rural cemeteries, etc. He spent almost fourteen months in intensive, fulltime fieldwork in Northeastern Chihuahua, Mexico and in West Texas, documenting folk architecture, foodways, agricultural practices and lime kilns. He collected, for his dissertation, extensive data on the folk medical system of West Texas Mexican Americans.
The collection of materials includes personal and professional correspondence, research notes on his projects, oral history tapes from subjects talking about his research interests, photographs and negatives of people and places in south and west Texas. The collection contains 51 linear feet, 810 photos; 6,861 slides, 194 oral histories, 132 compact disks, and 69 negatives. The collection includes the work of many of his students including papers presented by students, or published by students, and many oral history tapes in English and Spanish done by both Dr. Graham and/or his students. Negatives for A2004-036 are unprocessed and stored in the negative cabinet.
The Joe Stanley Graham Jr. Collection is divided into seven series: Series I: Personal Papers Sub Series A: Papers/Correspondence Sub Series B: Ephemera Series II: Correspondence Series III: Professional Papers Sub Series A: Joe S. Graham’s Papers Sub Series B: Students and Colleagues’ Papers Sub Series C: Surveys Sub Series D: Research Data Sub Series E: Notes/Interviews Sub Series F: Events Sub Series G: Departmental Documents Series IV: Printed Materials Series V: Newspapers Series VI: Mulit-Media Sub Series A: Video Cassettes / Movie Films Sub Series B: Audio Cassettes Sub Series C: Computer Disks Series VII: Graphic Materials Sub Series A: Slides Sub Series B: Rolls Sub Series C: Negatives Series VIII: Photos Sub Series A: Hecho a Mano en Tejas (Handmade in Texas) Sub Series B: Art Among Us/ Arte Entre Nosotros – Mexican American Folk Art in San Antonio Sub Series C: The Mexican- American Quilting Traditions of Laredo, San Ygnacio and Zapata Sub Series D: Vaquero Folk Arts and Crafts in South Texas Sub Series Sub Series E: Costume as Cultural Resistance and Affirmation- The Case of a South Texas Community Sub Series Sub Series F: Coronas para los Muertos – The Fine Art of Making Paper Flowers Sub Series G: Homages in Clay – The Figural Ceramics of José Varela Sub Series H: Miguel Acosta, Instrumentista Sub Series I: The Piñata-Making Tradition in Laredo Sub Series J: Tejano Saddlemakers and the Running W Saddle Shop Sub Series K: Texas-Mexican Religious Folk Art in Robstown, Texas Sub Series L: Mexican-American Yard Art in Kingsville Sub Series M: Grutas in the Spanish Southwest Sub Series N: Mexican-American Roadside Crosses in Starr County Sub Series O: The Jacal in South Texas – The Origins and Forms of a Folk House Sub Series P: Randado – The Built Environment of a Texas-Mexican Ranch Sub Series Q: El Rancho in South Texas Continuity and Change from 1750 Sub Series R: Las Albercas Ranch Sub Series S: Cooking Traditions Sub Series T: Redford, Texas Sub Series U: Presidio-Ojinaga (1980-1981) Sub Series V: Tejano Folk Art and Craft Exhibit Sub Series W: Ranching Heritage Festival Sub Series X: Sixth International Congress of Traditional and Folk Medicine Sub Series Y: People Sub Series Z: Postcards and Buildings
| Access: | Open for Research |
| Rights Statment: | Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A& M University-Kingsville. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. |
Persons
Organizations
Geographical Names
Subjects
Preferred Citation
Joe Stanley Graham Jr. Collection, A1997-006.XXXX; A1997-007.XXXX; A1999-030.XXXX; A2004-036.XXXX; A2014-088.XXXX; A2015-070.XXXX, South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Acquisitions
A1997-006 – Joe and Mikki Graham A1997-007 – Joe Graham A1999-030 – Joe Graham A2004-036 – Mikki Graham De Lara A2014-088 – Unknown A2015-070 – Jonathan Plant
Proccessing Information
Cecilia Aros Hunter processed the first three accessions, the processor for A2004-036 is unknown, A2004-036 processed by Matthew Tallant. Lori Atkins and Matthew Tallant updated the Finding guide in 2015.