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Collection Overview

Creator:
Princeton university, Department of English
Title:
Department of English Records
Repository:
Princeton University Archives
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dr26xx379
Dates:
1872-2017
Size:
34 boxes and 1 websites
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-34
Language:
English

Abstract

The papers of Princeton University's English Department document the many varied aspects of one of Princeton's largest academic departments. With some writings that pre-date the Department's formal establishment in 1904, the collection includes faculty meeting and sub-committee minutes; faculty personnel papers and correspondence; the papers of many prominent faculty members, which include class lectures, syllabi, and original scholarship; records of departmental majors; student work; and scrapbooks of publicity and memorabilia about the Department, its faculty, staff, and students, both undergraduate and graduate.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The Papers of Princeton University's English Department document the many varied aspects of one of Princeton's largest academic departments. With some writings that pre-date the Department's formal establishment in 1904, the collection includes faculty meeting and sub-committee minutes; faculty personnel papers and correspondence; the papers of many prominent faculty members, which include class lectures, syllabi, and original scholarship; records of departmental majors; student work; general and topical English examinations; and scrapbooks of publicity and memorabilia about the Department, its faculty, staff, and students, both undergraduate and graduate.

Collection Creator Biography:

Princeton university, Department of English

The English Department of Princeton University was founded by University President Woodrow Wilson in 1904. Although courses in English and American literature had been offered at Princeton since as early as 1864, the Department flourished after Wilson's appointment of seven distinguished Preceptors of English in 1905. Since that time, Princeton has remained one of the top English faculties in the nation, recognized especially for its combined emphases on scholarship and teaching. Through the twentieth century the Department has been noted for its contributions to philology, literary history, American Studies, literary theory, and most recently, feminist scholarship and theory. Graduate study has been a major component of the Department's life since the foundation of the Graduate School (1901), and English has always remained one of the University's most popular undergraduate concentrations.

Collection History

Acquisition:

The provenance of the Department's papers is varied. Official meeting minutes, personnel and correspondence files, and Department scrapbooks were the property of the Department. These series retain the form and organization in which they were kept by the Department. Papers of individual faculty members which were left either to the Department or to colleagues and came with this material have been transferred to the Manuscripts Unit, Special Collections, at Firestone Library.

Appraisal

Appraisal has been conducted according to Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library guidelines.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Peter E. McCullough in March, 1991. Finding aid written by Peter E. McCullough in March, 1991. Additions processed by Christie Peterson with assistance from Eleanor Wright '14 between November 2010 and January 2011.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Materials older than 30 years that do not pertain to student academic performance or discipline, trustee issues, or faculty personnel matters are open. Minutes of the Faculty in Series 1: Departmental, Faculty and Committee Minutes are restricted for 50 years. All files in Series 3: Faculty Personnel Files are closed until 100 years after the person's year of birth or 5 years after the person's year of death, whichever is longer. All files in Series 4: Departmental Major Cards and some files in Series 10: Faculty Members' Files are closed until 100 years after the person's year of birth or 5 years after the person's year of death, whichever is longer.

Restrictions beyond 30 years are noted in the relevant series or subseries descriptions and in the folder list.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.

For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Department of English Records; Princeton University Archives, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dr26xx379
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-34

Find More

Other Finding Aids

Full text searching of the English Department archived website is available through the Archive-It interface.

Subject Terms:
Universities and colleges -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- Departments.
Genre Terms:
Clippings.
Correspondence
Minutes.
Notebooks.
Scrapbooks.
Web sites.
Names:
Princeton University. Students.