Department of English Records, 1912-[ongoing]
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Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Laura Cutter. 2003-06-09
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
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Department of English Records
Smith College. Dept. of English.
Biographical History for: Department of English Records
Historical Note The first professor of English at Smith was L. Clark Seelye, who was also the college's first President. The third President, William Neilson was also an English professor. Seelye's early curriculum emphasized elocution and foreign languages as tools for better understanding English. His dual responsibilities as professor and President led him to share teaching duties with Heloise Hersey in 1878. In its early days, the English department had trouble attracting and keeping a full staff, and as a result was quite transitory and disorganized. Many instructors were young women who taught only a few years before resigning their positions to get married. The most prominent and influential English professor was Mary Augusta Jordan, who taught from 1884 to 1921. Kate Sanborn (1880-83) was also well-known. Early areas of study in the department included Rhetoric, Old English, Composition, and Literature, and writing requirements tried to guarantee that every student be able to competently express herself in written English. In 1893, student demands for a college magazine resulted in the creation of the Smith College Monthly. Beginning in 1904, the faculty adopted an official course of study that required students to write four long papers, one each year. This requirement continued, despite students' unhappiness, until 1916, when the college adopted the major-minor system, with distributed electives and no yearly papers. The Committee on Special Assistance in Written English was created in 1921 to provide one-on-one instruction to those students deficient in writing. The professors believed that "no girl should be able to graduate from Smith without the ability to write a clear, grammatical English sentence, properly punctuated and spelled." In the 1930s, course offerings were divided into Composition, Language, Literature, and Types; in the 1940s, areas were consolidated into two sections: Language and Literature, and Composition. In the 1950s English 11 became a requirement for first-year students. Important professors during these years include Mary Ellen Chase (1926-54) and Elizabeth Drew (1946-61). The school year 1970-71 brought the introduction of the ENG 120 course, composed of various colloquia in literature. In 1975-76 course offerings were rearranged into 100 level (introductory classes), 200 level (intermediate classes), and 300 level (advanced seminars). In 1996-97 a college-wide requirement was instituted, requiring that every student take a writing intensive course within her first year. Many English courses (especially 120 colloquia) were subsequently designated as fulfilling the "writing intensive" requirement. September 1997 marked the opening of the Poetry Center, which brings many prominent poets to campus each year to give readings.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The English Department records, 1915-1998, contain materials describing the history and work of the department. Types of materials include course syllabi, correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, photographs, handbooks, and assorted typescripts and fliers. Meeting minutes from 1912 to 1920 and 1941 to 1979 provide a look at the administration of the department, while the scope of the academic material can be discovered through the numerous syllabi.
English literature--Study and teaching (Higher)--Massachusetts--Northampton.
lcsh
Smith College--History--Sources.
Committees - curriculum 1929-42
Committees - departmental 1927-47
Committees - library 1918-56
Constitution and by-laws 1920, 1933
Correspondence 1915-40
Curriculum 1918-34
General and miscellaneous
Graduate studies 1927-42
History 1925
Honors - departmental 1922-80
Honors - general 1931-42
Honors - special 1919-39
Majors 1937-39
Newsletter 1995-98
Photographs 1946-57, 1981-88
Poetry Center 1998-
Prizes 1918-41
Prizes 1953-59
Programs 1916
Writing - remedial programs 1951-52, 1972-86
Courses - ENG 11
Courses - ENG 11 Handbooks
Courses - ENG 12-13
Courses - ENG 14
Courses - ENG 16-19
Courses - ENG 21-24
Courses - ENG 25-28
Courses - ENG 30-36
Courses - ENG 37-39
Courses - ENG 40-48
Courses - ENG 111-120
Courses - ENG 201
Courses - ENG 207-218
Courses - ENG 220-291
Courses - ENG 309-310
Courses - ENG 311-319
Courses - ENG 321-327
Courses - ENG 328-416
Courses - Lyric Poetry
Courses - Miscellaneous
Minutes, Jan.1912-Jan. 1919 1912-19
Minutes, Jan. 1919-May 1920 1919-20
Minutes 1941-42
Minutes 1942-43
Minutes 1943-44
Minutes 1944-45
Minutes 1945-46
Minutes 1946-47
Minutes 1947-48
Minutes 1948-49
Minutes 1949-50
Minutes 1950-51
Minutes 1951-52
Minutes 1952-53
Minutes 1953-54
Minutes 1954-55
Minutes 1955-56
Minutes 1956-57
Correspondence re: Sylvia Plath hiring 1956-57
Minutes 1957-58
Minutes 1958-59
Minutes 1959-60
Minutes 1960-61
Minutes 1961-62
Minutes 1962-63
Minutes 1963-64
Minutes 1964-65
Minutes 1965-66
Minutes 1966-67
Minutes 1967-68
Minutes 1968-69
Minutes 1969-70
Minutes 1970-71
Minutes 1971-72
Minutes 1972-73
Minutes 1973-74
Minutes 1974-75
Minutes 1975-76
Minutes (incomplete) 1976-77
Minutes (incomplete) 1977-78
Minutes 1978-79