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Broesamle (John) Suddenly A Giant: A History of CSUN
Collection
UAC.SAG
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: John Broesamle
Suddenly A Giant: A History of CSUN
Collection
Creator:
Broesamle, John J.
Identifier/Call Number: UAC.SAG
Extent:
6.89 linear feet
Extent:
29.7 Gigabytes
Date (inclusive): 1956-1993
Abstract: John Broesamle was a distinguished
Professor of History at California State University Northridge (CSUN) for over three
decades, beginning his career at San Fernando Valley State College in 1968 and retiring from
CSUN in 1998. At that time, CSUN commissioned Dr. Broesamle to write the history of the
university, the first to appear in published form. The collection consists predominantly of
articles, correspondence, and newspaper clippings from the
Daily
Sundial
and other related campus publications used in researching and writing,
Suddenly A Giant: A History of CSUN.
Language of Material: English
John Broesamle was a distinguished Professor of History at California State University
Northridge for over three decades, from 1968 until his retirement in 1998. Dr. Broesamle
received his B.A. degree in 1964 from University of the Pacific, his M.A. and PhD from New
York's Columbia University. Dr. Broesamle specialized in United States 20th Century
political history, and published several books, including
William
Gibbs McAdoo: A Passion for Change, 1863-1917,
Reform and Reaction in Twentieth Century American Politics, as
well as writing a crime novel,
Exile to Murder, published under
the pseudonym Jack Donovan.
In 1988, California State University, Northridge commissioned Broesamle to write a history
of the university, the first to appear in published form. Dr. Broesamle took on the
challenge, and concentrated on the use of primary sources from the University Archives as
well as the personal papers of former University administrators, faculty and alumni for the
writing of his book. He also conducted interviews with over forty past and current
administrators, faculty members, and alumni to help compose the framework of
Suddenly A Giant.
Though the author himself acknowledges his book did not encompass the whole of important
faculty, administrators, and student leaders involved with the history of the university,
his careful selection of interviewees made sure the book and its contents would be
representative of the university's illustrious history, with numerous perspectives. Dr.
Broesamle also took great caution to ensure the oral histories would be presented unabridged
in his book, eliminating any editing liberties that might have altered the authenticity of
its recorded history.
In 1993, he published
Suddenly A Giant: A History of California
State University Northridge
through the University's Santa Susana Press. Dr.
Broesamle's book is today considered the definitive writing on the history of California
State University Northridge.
The
John Broesamle 'Suddenly A Giant: A History of CSUN'
Collection
consists predominantly of articles, correspondence, and newspaper
clippings from the
Daily Sundial and other related campus
publications. Numerous photographs, speeches, memoranda, yearbooks, and CSUN fact books were
utilized in Mr. Broesamle's research. Other material in the collection includes forty oral
history interviews on cassette recordings and in digital file format, as well as transcribed
interviews. The collection has been divided into five series:
Research
Material, Chapters 1-5
(circa 1950-1992),
Topical
Files
(1958-1992),
Alphabetical
Files
(1970-1991),
Correspondence, Interview Notes and Release
Forms
(1956-1992), and
Oral Histories and Photographic
Agreements
(1977, 1989-1991).
Series I,
Research Material, Chapters 1-5, contains articles,
newspaper clippings, college bulletins, interview notes, memorandums and minutes from
faculty and senate meetings, as well as the papers on anti-war activities at SFVSC and
general notes. The files are arranged in chronological order by decade, beginning with the
1950s and ending with the 1990's, with correspondence in chronological order in the chapters
as found in the book.
Series II,
Topical Files, contains articles, newspaper
clippings, college bulletins, interview minutes, memorandums and minutes from faculty and
senate. The files are arranged in alphabetically by subject.
Series III,
Alphabetical Files, contains articles, newspaper
clippings, college bulletins, interview minutes, memorandums and minutes fromCSUN faculty
and senate. The files are arranged in alphabetical order.
Series IV,
Correspondence, Interview Notes, and Release Forms,
contains memorandums and newspaper clippings arranged in chronological order. It also
contains correspondence and interview notes from 1992, grouped with their corresponding Oral
History Agreements and Photographic Agreements.
Series V,
Oral Histories and Photographic Agreements, includes
legal agreements, correspondence notes, and oral history audio recordings. Materials are
arranged alphabetically by last name and are physically separated by format.
Series I: Research Material, Chapters 1-5, circa 1950-1992
Series II: Topical Files, 1958-1992
Series III: Alphabetical Files, 1970-1991
Series IV: Correspondence, Interview Notes, and Release Forms, 1956-1992
Series V: Oral Histories and Photographic Agreements, 1977, 1989-1991
Digital reproductions of items in Series V are available electronically as a part of the
John Broesamle Interviews
project.
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
John Broesamle. 1995.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Audiovisual materials