Interview with Clayborne Carson : Stanford Urban Studies at 50 Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this oral history, Clayborne Carson, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History, Emeritus, details his involvement in Stanford’s Urban Studies Program during its early years. He recalls finding community among the faculty committee and discusses his teaching efforts for the program, including creating a course on the physical development of the city; hosting overnight field trips to San Francisco to introduce students to the twenty- four hour nature of urban life; and incorporating an investigation of Palo Alto into his one of his courses. Carson also shares memories of St. Clair Drake and offers insights into the program’s connections to his own research, situating Martin Luther King, Jr. within the history of Black American migration to urban regions. Finally, he reflects on Stanford’s shift in focus toward computer science and recounts his own professional trajectory from computer programming to history.
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 1 audio file; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | August 18, 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Carson, Clayborne, 1944- | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Carson, Clayborne, 1944- | |
| Interviewer | Kahan, Michael | |
| Interviewer | Meurice, Nova | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Carson, Clayborne, 1944- |
|---|---|
| Subject | Cities and towns > Study and teaching |
| Subject | College teachers |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical profile | Clayborne Carson has devoted most of his professional life to the study of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the movements King inspired. Since receiving his doctorate from UCLA in 1975, Dr. Carson has taught at Stanford University, where he is Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History (Emeritus). In 1985 the late Coretta Scott King invited Dr. Carson to direct a long-term project to edit and publish the authoritative edition of her late husband’s speeches, sermons, correspondence, publications, and unpublished writings. Under Carson’s direction, the King Papers Project has produced seven volumes of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2005 Carson founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute to endow and expand the educational outreach of the King Papers Project. Although he is completing his final year directing the King Institute, he will continue his research and teaching as a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. In June 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Carson to serve on the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid |
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| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/yy691hh5046 |
| Location | SC1580 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Urban Studies at 50
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