University of Chicago. Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations

Formally established in 1960, the Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations was a group of faculty from several social sciences departments, all of whom had an interest in the problems of developing countries. In their own departments, many of these faculty members specialized in the study of Asian and African societies. In the committee, these faculty members explored inter-disciplinary approaches to problems shared by new nations. The committee's activities were supported largely through grants from major foundations. Founding faculty members included Edward Shils, Clifford Geertz, McKim Marriott, Lloyd A. Fallers, Morris Janowitz, Manning Nash, and Max Rheinstein. The committee dissolved in the mid-1970s, following the departure of key faculty members. The committee did not award degrees, but supported graduate and post-doctoral study through a fellowship program. The committee's intellectual activities centered on weekly seminars, in which faculty and fellows of the committee discussed and presented research on broad topics. The committee also organized interdisciplinary conferences, and hosted public lectures by visiting scholars and dignitaries.

Formally established in 1960, the Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations was a group of faculty from several social sciences departments, all of whom had an interest in the problems of developing countries. In their own departments, many of these faculty members specialized in the study of Asian and African societies. In the committee, these faculty members explored inter-disciplinary approaches to problems shared by new nations. The committee's activities were supported largely through grants from major foundations.

Founding faculty members included Edward Shils, Clifford Geertz, McKim Marriott, Lloyd A. Fallers, Morris Janowitz, Manning Nash, and Max Rheinstein. While the membership was originally intended to be kept relatively small, the committee more than doubled in size over the next ten years, and included many of the university's leading faculty in anthropology, history, law, and education. The scope of the committee's interest also expanded to include studies of developing nations worldwide, issues of imperialism and colonialism, and broader research in the comparative development of societies. The committee dissolved in the mid-1970s, following the departure of key faculty members.

The committee did not award degrees, but supported graduate and post-doctoral study through a fellowship program. Fellows worked closely with committee members while conducting advanced study in comparative analysis of developing nations.

The committee's intellectual activities centered on weekly seminars, in which faculty and fellows of the committee discussed and presented research on broad topics. The committee also organized interdisciplinary conferences, and hosted public lectures by visiting scholars and dignitaries.