Guide to the Conference in the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature Records MS.L.011
Processed by Eddie Yeghiayan
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2004
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Conference in the study of twentieth-century literature records
Creator:
Conference in the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature
Identifier/Call Number: MS.L.011
Physical Description:
2.2 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1961-1967
Abstract: This collection documents in only a partial manner the activities of the Conference, which was held annually for 7 years in
East Lansing, Michigan, to promote scholarship and teaching of contemporary literature and was attended by several prominent
founding UCI faculty members. The collection consists primarily of manuscripts of papers presented, audio recordings of the
discussion sessions, and transcriptions of those audio tapes. In addition, it includes published proceedings (1961-1963),
programs, correspondence, and lists of participants.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
Collection is open for research. Access to original audio recordings is restricted; copies are made for researcher use.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Preferred Citation
Conference in the study of twentieth-century literature records. MS-L011. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine
Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Carl Hartman, 1977
Processing Information
Processed by Eddie Yeghiayan in 2000-2001.
Organizational History
University during 1962-1969 before he moved to the University of California at Irvine and, at some point, the chairman of
the committee on Arrangements for the Conference, and the principal editor. The mark of his editing is evident throughout
the records. Several of the particpants, including Hazard Adams, Murray Krieger and Stephen Shapiro also came to Irvine in
the 1960s.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection documents in only a partial manner the activities of the Conference, which was held annually for 7 years in
East Lansing, Michigan, to promote scholarship and teaching of contemporary literature and was attended by several prominent
founding UCI faculty members. The collection consists primarily of manuscripts of papers presented, audio recordings of the
discussion sessions, and transcriptions of those audio tapes. In addition, it includes published proceedings (1961-1963),
programs, correspondence, and lists of participants.
Papers were at first presented to the Conference, though later in the history of the Conference they were distributed prior
to the event and the sessions were devoted entirely to their discussion. Proceedings for only the 1961-1963 sessions were
published and sent to all registrants. Sessions were tape recorded and a text -- heavily edited and condensed by Carl Hartman
and the authors -- of the discussions were printed in the proceedings. There are relatively complete Conference files for
the 1st (1961), and 4th (1964)-7th (1967) sessions. There are manuscripts and transcriptions for the 1st (1961) session and
none for 2nd (1962) and 3rd (1963), and no audiotapes for these early sessions (1961-1963) or transcriptions for 1962-1963.
For the years 1964-1967, when the proceedings were not published, there is full coverage of papers, correspondence, audiotapes,
and transcriptions.
Arrangement
The Conference in the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature is arranged in two series.
- Series 1. Conference session files, 1961-1967
- Series 2. Audio recordings, 1964-1967
Conference session files Series 1.
1961-1967
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of summaries of annual Conference sessions and discussions, manuscripts of papers presented or submitted
for the Conference, transcriptions of audio recordings of presentations and the ensuing discussion, published proceedings,
and correspondence, programs, and other material relating to each annual session of the Conference.
Arrangement
This series is organized chronologically by the date of each session and the order of the presentations and discussions for
the 2-3 day duration of each conference session.
box 1, folder 1-12
First session (1961 May 4-6), "Conference in modern literature"
box 1, folder 1
Program and participants,
1961
box 1, folder 2-5
"Form and circumstance: a study of the study of modern literature," transcript of presentation by Frederick J. Hoffman and
ensuing discussion,
1961.
Physical Description: 4 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
Scope and Contents note
Includes transcripts of comments by Hoffman, Roy Harvey Pearce, and Donald Hall.
box 1, folder 6
"Bibliographical and textual studies of twentieth-century writers, transcript of presentation by James B. Merriwether and
ensuing discussion,
1961
box 1, folder 7
"Synchronic present: the academic future of modern literature in America," transcript of presentation by Walter J. Ong and
ensuing discussion,
1961
box 1, folder 8
"Literary theory," transcript of presentation by Murray Krieger and ensuing discussion,
1961
box 1, folder 9
"Historical relations," transcipt of presentation by Herbert Weisinger and ensuing discussion,
1961
box 1, folder 10-11
"Some remarks on programs for graduate students in the field of recent literature," transcript of presentation by Clarence
Gohdes, and ensuing discussion,
1961.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
Scope and Contents note
Includes transcripts of comments by Philip Young and Maurice Young.
box 1, folder 12
Approaches to the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature: Proceedings of the Conference in the Study of Twentieth Century Literature,
First Session
(East Lansing: Michigan State University),
1961
box 1, folder 13-14
Second session (1962 May 3-5), "Study of the living writer"
box 1, folder 13
Program and participants,
1962
box 1, folder 14
Approaches to the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature: Proceedings of the Conference in the Study of Twentieth Century Literature,
Second Session
(East Lansing: Michigan State University),
1962
box 1, folder 15-17
Third session (1963 May 17-18), "Four questions of method"
box 1, folder 15
Program and participants,
1963
box 1, folder 16
Correspondence relating to Albert Cooks' paper, "Generality: an open book,"
1962-1964.
Scope and Contents note
Includes a letter by John B. Vickery intended as an article, but never published in the
Proceedings, commenting on Cook's paper.
box 1, folder 17
Approaches to the Study of Twentieth-Century Literature: Proceedings of the Conference in the Study of Twentieth Century Literature,
Third Session
(East Lansing: Michigan State University),
1963
box 1, folder 18-20, box 2, folder 1-7
Fourth session (1964 May 1-2), "The study of twentieth-century literature"
box 1, folder 18
Program and participants,
1964
box 1, folder 19
Correspondence from Alan Swallow intended as an article but never published,
1964
box 1, folder 20, box 2, folder 1-3
box 1, folder 20
"The mysteries of identity: a theme in modern literature," annotated drafts and offprint of a presentation by Robert Langbaum,
1964-1965
box 2, folder 1
"Twentieth-century romanticism," transcript of and correspondence and notes relating to a presentation by Robert Langbaum,
1964
box 2, folder 2-3
"Literary criticism and aesthetics," transcript of a presentation by Eliseo Vivas and ensuing discussion, draft, and correspondence,
1964.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 2, folder 4
"Death of a novel and/or the disappearing audience," draft of a paper by Jarvis Thurston,
1964
box 2, folder 5
"Fiction and the twentieth-century audience," transcript of a presentation by Jarvis Thurston and ensuing discussion,
1964
box 2, folder 6-7
"Return to Cambridge," transcript of presentation by Martin Green and ensuing discussion, draft, and correspondence,
1964
box 2, folder 8-17
Fifth session (1965 April 30-May 1), "W.B. Yeats"
box 2, folder 9
Correspondence with participants,
1965
box 2, folder 10-11
"Yeats and the beginnings of the Irish literary movement," transcript of a presentation by Thomas Flanagan and ensuring discussion,
and draft,
1965.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 2, folder 12
"Voices in a desolate place," draft of a paper by Thomas R. Whitaker and related correspondence,
1965
box 2, folder 13
"Thematic questions reflected in some of the later plays," transcript of a presentation by Thomas R. Whitaker and ensuing
discussion,
1965
box 2, folder 14-15
"Editing the Yeats variorums," transcript of a presentation by Russell K. Alspach and ensuing discussion, and drafts,
1965.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 2, folder 16
"Yeats and the love lyric," drafts of a paper by Thomas Parkinson,
circa 1965
box 2, folder 17
"Yeats as a writer of love poetry," transcript of a presentation by Thomas Parkinson and ensuing discussion,
1965
box 3, folder 1-11
Sixth session (1966 April 29-30), "Problems of interpretation: psychology, aesthetics, meaning"
box 3, folder 2
Correspondence with participants,
1966-1967
box 3, folder 3-4
"Fiction as a source of biography," transcript of a presentation by Alan A. and Sue Smart Stone and ensuing discussion, and
draft,
1966.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 5-6
"Psychoanalytic perspectives on the modern novel," transcript of a presentation by Stephen A. Shapiro and ensuring discussion,
and draft,
1966.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 7-8
"Moving from aesthetic meaning to interpretive statement," transcript of a presentation by Carl R. Hausman and ensuing discussion,
and draft,
1966.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 9
"What is an approach?", draft of a paper by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.,
circa 1966
box 3, folder 10
"Relationships in a general theory of interpretation," transcript of a presentation by E.D. Hirsch, Jr. and ensuing discussion,
1966
box 3, folder 11
Summaries of sessions and participants from 1961-1966 and correspondence relating to proceedings from earlier sessions,
1966
box 3, folder 12-20
Seventh session (1967 April 28-29), "Literature, criticism, and contemporary experience"
box 3, folder 12
Program and participants,
1967
box 3, folder 13-14
"Criticism and literature in the one-dimensional age," transcript of a presentation by Arthur Efron and ensuing discussion,
and draft,
1967.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 15-16
"The reasonable man and his unreasonable caves," transcript of a presentation by Albert Lebowitz and ensuing discussion, and
draft,
1967.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 17-18
"The cloud of certainties," transcript of a presentation by R.V. Cassill and ensuing discussion, and draft,
1967.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 19-20
"Althea: the tenth muse in the twentieth century," transcript of a presentation by Irvin Ehrenpreis and ensuing discussion,
and draft,
1967.
Physical Description: 2 folders.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 3, folder 21
"Literature and anti-politics," draft of a paper by George P. Elliott unassociated with any Conference session,
circa 1961-circa 1967
Audio recordings Series 2.
1964-1967
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series consists of 31 7.5 inch reel-to-reel, mono, full track, audio tapes of the conference sessions for 1964-1967.
Arrangement
This series is organized chronologically.
Access Note
Access to original audio recordings is restricted. Use copies of each audio recording must be made prior to researcher use
of the recordings. 48 hours advance notice is required in order to create use copies, which will then become a permanent part
of the collection. Contact Special Collections and Archives for further information.
box 4
First session, "Conference in modern literature, "
1961 May 4-6.
Physical Description: 10 reels.
General Physical Description note: no content
box 4
Second session, "Study of the living writer, "
1962 May 3-5
box 4
Third session, "Four questions of method, "
1963 May 17-18
box 4
Fourth session, "The study of twentieth-century literature,"
1964 May 1-2
box 4
Fifth session, "W.B. Yeats,"
1965 April 30-May 1
box 4
Sixth session, "Problems of interpretation: psychology, aesthetics, meaning,"
1966 April 29-30
box 4
Seventh session, "Literature, criticism, and contemporary experience,"
1967 April 28-29
