The collection contains Sherman's notes from his coursework and studies at Amherst College and Cornell University; field notes for and drafts of his book Rice, Rupees and Ritual: Economy and Society Among the Samosir Batak of Sumatra (1990); the text of published articles and public lectures; and extensive background and lecture notes related to the anthropology courses he taught.

This collection is organized into eight series:

• 1. Undergraduate notebooks
• 2. Research notebooks and other research materials
• 3. Dissertation
• 4. Teaching files
• 5. Lecture materials, writings, and correspondence
• 6. Rice, Rupees and Ritual (book)
• 7. Personal correspondence
• 8. Photographs

The collection has not been processed beyond a rough box-level sorting. The papers are organized loosely into eight series.