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A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Amanda Ferrara

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Sinor, Denis

Collection No.
C434

Extent
23 cubic feet (23 boxes)

Language
Materials are in English

Abstract
Denis Sinor was a faculty member of Indiana University in the Uralic and Altaic Program (now the Department of Central Eurasian Studies) from 1962 to 2011. Sinor founded the Department of Uralic and Altaic Studies in 1965 and the Asian Studies Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies (now the Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies [RIFIAS]), both of which he served as director for until his retirement from IU in 1986. He was active in many organizations during his tenure at Indiana University, most significantly the Journal of Asian History (JAH), Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and National Defense Education Act (NDEA). This collection consists of Sinor’s correspondence with various organizations, IU, and personal contacts.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

Biographical Note

Denis Sinor was born in Hungary (now Cluj, Romania) on April 17, 1916. He was educated in Hungary, Switzerland, and France in Altaic linguistics. Between 1939 and 1948, he received several fellowships in Hungary and France, where he held various teaching and research assignments.

During World War II, Sinor served in the French army as a member of the French Resistance and later in the Free French Forces in the postwar occupation of Germany. Post-war, Sinor moved to England where is obtained an MA from Cambridge University (1948). He was appointed to its Faculty of Oriental Studies and taught there for fourteen years until 1962. During that time, Sinor wrote History of Hungary and more than 100 articles and reviews on the linguistics and histories of Inner Asia.

Sinor came to the United States and Indiana University (IU) in 1962 as a visiting professor. Soon thereafter, he was appointed to the head of the Uralic and Altaic program (renamed: Central Eurasian Studies [CEUS]) and was the Chairman from 1963-1981. In 1975, Sinor was elevated to Distinguished Professor, Indiana University’s highest academic rank, and subsequently Distinguished Professor Emeritus upon retirement from teaching in 1986.

In 1963, he created the National Defense Education Uralic and Altaic Language and Area Center (renamed: Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center [IAUNRC] in 1981) and served as the Director for this organization from 1963-1988. From 1965 to 1967, Sinor was the Chairman for the Asian Studies Research Institute (renamed: Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies [SRIFIAS] in 2006). His work in these many organizations helped define the term “Central Eurasia” for the academic world.

Sinor’s body of work includes 8 authored books, 14 edited books, and over 160 articles in Hungarian, French, English, and German, all of which have received numerous recognition and have been translated into other languages. He served as editor of the Journal of Asian History (JAH) since its inception in 1967, and also for the Indiana University Uralic and Altaic Series (over 174 volumes) and the Indiana University Oriental Series. Sinor was a major figure in establishing the Permanent International Altaistic Conference’s headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana beginning in 1962.

Denis Sinor received many honors within and outside of the United States. Some groups include the American Oriental Society and the Oriental Institute of the Russian Academy of Science. He was named a member of the IU President’s Circle in 2005, was a member of the French and Hungarian Academies, and was the twice holder of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1968, 1981). The President of the Republic of Hungary awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary to Professor Sinor (2006) and the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain has established a medal named after him.

Sinor traveled extensively in Asia, including Afghanistan, Chinese Turkestan, Soviet Central Asia, Northern Pakistan, Siberia, and Inner and Outer Mongolia. His personal life saw him married to Jacqueline Fauçon, Irene Montjoye, and subsequently to Eugenia (Jean) Trinajstic.He had two children, Christophe (who predeceased his father) and Sophie Berman, a scholar of philosophy. Denis Sinor passed away on January 12, 2011.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into three series: Correspondence, Indiana University, and Professional activities.

Scope and Content Note

The Denis Sinor papers are organized into three series: Correspondence (1939-2005), Indiana University, (1950-2008), and Professional activities (1939-2008).

Materials in the Correspondence series include letters, emails, and postcards to and from Denis Sinor relating to a variety of subjects including his personal, family, and professional life. The first sub-series as arranged by Sinor by correspondent primarily represents written interactions with Indiana University faculty. The second sub-series consists of broad, general correspondence to and from Sinor.

Materials in the Indiana University series include notes, correspondence, and newspaper clippings, all of which document the role Sinor had in promoting the importance of Central Eurasian studies throughout campus and abroad. Some organizations represented in this series are the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (IAUNRC), a group that provides education, training, and programs for those interested in Central Eurasian Studies created by Sinor in 1962; the Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies (SRIFIAS), an organization created by Sinor in 1967 to supports scholarly research in all aspects of Inner Asian studies; and the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, one of the world's leading centers of academic expertise on Central Eurasia, reorganized by Sinor in 1965.

Materials in the Professional activities series include letters, emails, and postcards, to and from Denis Sinor relating to the many professional groups in which he was active. Some organizations represented in this series include the Journal of Asian History (JAH), which studies the regions of East, South, South-East and Central Asia before 1900, edited by Sinor until 2011; the Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC), an informal gathering of scholars interested in Altaic and Central Eurasian studies, to which Sinor was Secretary-General several times reelected; and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), an organization that strives to build networks among nations through conventions, public, international outreach, and publications, the latter to which Sinor contributed. The PIAC materials consist of general correspondence, lists of participants, updates to contact lists, RSVPs to conferences (typically labelled "Yesses" or "Nos), newsletters, and variations of circulars.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Sinor, Denis--Archives
  • Sinor, Denis--Correspondence
  • Indiana University. Department of Uralic and Altaic Studies--Faculty--Archives
  • Indiana University. Asian Studies Research Institute--Faculty--Archives
• • Topics
  • Ural-Altaic peoples--Study and teaching (Higher)--Indiana--Bloomington--History--Sources
  • Eurasia--Study and teaching (Higher)--Indiana--Bloomington--History--Sources

Separated Material

Materials have been removed for preservation from Box 1, Series: Correspondence, Sub-series: Arranged by Correspondent, Folder: Ashtor, Professor E.

Note: A floppy disk is included in Box 18, Series: Professional Activities, sub-series: PIAC, Folder: 2001-2nd Circular.

Photographs Pulled: Nine (9) photographs have been removed and transferred to the Archives Photograph Collection. Two (2) photographs were removed from Box 1, Series: Indiana University, Sub-series: Arranged by Correspondent, Folder: Kormendi, Ferenc. Seven (7) photographs were removed from Box 3, Series: Correspondence, Sub-series: General, “H” (2 of 3), from Denis Sinor to Mr. Stephen Huzianyi, 19 Nov. 1979.

Two (2) Photographs removed: 1.) 3 x 4.5”, man in suit sitting on stool, taped on cardboard backing 2.) 7 x 9”, bearded man in suit sitting on table with three items in front of him, “With kind regards from Dr Otto T. Rlaithy” on front

Seven (7) Photographs removed: 1.) 3 x 5”, skyline of city, bridge, and water, “Budapest 2961/21” on back 2.) 3 x 5”, bookshelf, “Part of my library 7-27-79 6270/0A” on back 3.) 3 x 5”, A man in a suit in front of a building, “Peter Harras 8-1954 /36” on back 4.) 3 x 5”, Two men in suits in front of a building, “Aug. 1954 #34/028” 5.) 3 x 5”, A man and woman in traditional clothing in front of a car, “8-22-1937 #116” on back 6.) 3 x 5”, A group of 6 children in traditional clothing, “Part of J??? Dancing Group 8-1-1937 #157” on back 7.) 3 x 5”, A group of 14 people in traditional clothing, “Part of ?eruoi Dancing group (I was member of this group) Also Secretary, + scwtz 8-1-1937 #156” on back

Contact the Archives Photographs Curator for additional information.

Related Material

Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in IU ScholarWorks: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/

Administrative Information

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