PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BOULDING FILES

This paper draws upon research for my dissertation, which is a history of the general systems movement, focusing specifically on the Society for General Systems Research. In the dissertation I examine the backg rounds of the individual founders of the Society in order to understan d the influences that led them to establish the Society and to clarify their intentions in doing so. In this paper I discuss Kenneth Bouldin g's interdisciplinary social science seminars at the University of Mic higan as background for his work at the Center for Advanced Study in t he Behavioral Sciences at Stanford during its opening year (1954-55), where the idea for the Society was developed and realized. I also disc uss the role of the Ford Foundation in establishing the Center and pro moting interdisciplinary work in the behavioral sciences during the po stwar era. An understanding of this context may enhance appreciation f or the significance of Boulding's contribution to the systems movement .