Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 24 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], James A. Fox papers (SC1516). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The contents of this collection include course materials, lecture notes, research files, publications, and audiovisisual media relating to Fox's work on Pre-Colombian Central and South American languages. A signifcant portion of the materials, including flash cards and audio recordings, are primarily related to spoken Quiche and Quichua.
- Biographical / historical:
-
James A. Fox (1944-2019) was an associate professor of anthropology at Stanford University, specializing in historical linguistics and the indigenous languages of Central America. Fox was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in Hardin, Montana. Fox earned his Bachelor of Arts in German from Brigham Young University in 1969. He got a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1970. He earned another master's and his doctorate in linguistics from the University of Chicago in 1974 and in 1978.
At Stanford, Fox has led nearly six dozen trips to locations around the world, including Guatemala, Easter Island and Norway, through the Stanford Alumni Association's Travel Study Program. He received the 2016 Richard W. Lyman Award, which recognizes faculty for their "extraordinary service" to the alumni association programs.
Among Fox's achievements are his decipherments of ancient Mayan written texts, which became the first pre-Columbian records that scholars could read and understand. He also conducted extensive linguistic fieldwork in Guatemala and Mexico, including a study of Ayapa Zoque, a nearly extinct language spoken by a handful of people in the state of Tabasco in Mexico.
- Physical location:
- Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36-48 hours in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/spc
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
- Terms of access:
-
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], James A. Fox papers (SC1516). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Stanford University Archives, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6064, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022