Register of the Roderick Scott papers

Finding aid prepared by Supriya Wronkiewicz
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2010
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Roderick Scott papers
Date (inclusive): 1916-1967
Collection Number: 72002
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 3 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder (1.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The papers include correspondence, reports, newsletters, writings, photographs, and memorabilia from both Scott and his wife, Agnes Kelley Scott, relating to missionary activity and Christian education in China. Also includes materials generated by and about Fukien Christian University (FCU), where Scott spent almost thirty years of his life.
Creator: Scott, Roderick, 1885-1971
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1972.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Roderick Scott papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical Note

1885 Born, Auburn, New York
1902 Graduated from Haverford School, Haverford, Pennsylvania
1906 Bachelor of Arts, Haverford College
1907 Master of Arts, Haverford College
1908 Master of Arts, Harvard University
1908-1909 Instructor in English, Bowdoin College
1909-1913 Assistant professor of English, Earlham College
1913-1914 Secretary in the Foreign Student YMCA, Petrograd, Russia
1914-1915 Secretary of the city YMCA, Vincennes, Indiana
1915-1916 Assistant professor in English, Oberlin College
1916 Appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to build a new Christian college in Fuzhou, China
1916-1923 Professor of English, Fukien Christian University (FCU), Fuzhou, China
1919-1920, 1921-1925 Acting president, FCU
1920-1930 Dean, FCU
1922-1923 Graduate student, Columbia University
1922-1923, 1930-1931 Graduate student, Union Theological Seminary
1925-1940 Professor of philosophy, FCU
1930 Author, The Seeker Finds
1933 Author, A Logic for Living
1940 Honorary Doctor of Divinity, Pacific School of Religion
1940-1949 Professor of western culture, FCU
1946 Doctor of Philosophy in Chinese philosophy, University of Southern California
1947-1949 Associate dean, FCU
Circa 1950-1957 Professor of philosophy, Olivet College, Michigan
1954 Author, Fukien Christian University
1971 Died, Claremont, California

Scope and Content of Collection

The papers include correspondence, reports, newsletters, writings, photographs, and memorabilia from both Scott and his wife, Agnes Kelley Scott relating to missionary activity and Christian education in China. Also includes materials generated by and about Fukien Christian University (FCU), where Scott spent almost thirty years of his life.
The papers as a whole offer a perspective on the social conditions in China during very turbulent times, including World War II and the Chinese civil war in 1949. "[The papers] document the rise of anti-foreigner sentiment in the 1920s, the debates over the Sinicization of western institutions in the years that followed, the solidarity displayed by foreign missionaries toward the Chinese" at such a volatile time.
Source:
Bauer, Brad. "Wading into the stream of Chinese life: the life and missionary career of Roderick Scott in China, 1916-1949." Journal of Modern Chinese History, 3:1, 71-88.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into 6 series: Correspondence, Fukien Christian University (FCU) file, Speeches and writings, Subject file, Photographs, and Memorabilia

Related Materials

Roderick Scott (Series 15), American Missionaries and Educators in China Collection, Special Collections, Honnold Mudd Library, Claremont University Consortium, Claremont, CA

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Missions -- China
Missionaries
Education -- China
Universities and colleges -- China
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
Fujian xie he da xue

 

Correspondence 1916-1967

Scope and Contents note

Includes letters to and from Roderick Scott and his wife Agnes Kelley Scott, as well as newsletters and reports they created. Arranged by format
box 1, folder 1-2

Newsletters and reports 1927-1952

box 1, folder 3-6

Letters and postcards 1916, 1926-1967

 

Fukien Christian University (FCU) file 1920s-1956

Scope and Contents note

Consists of documents regarding FCU alumni, correspondence, newsletters, published materials and reports. Arranged according to document type. See also Speeches and Writings, Photographs, and Memorabilia
box 1, folder 7

Alumni lists and related documents circa 1926-1952

box 1, folder 8

Correspondence 1928-1949

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence not directly to or from Roderick Scott
box 1, folder 9

F.C.U. News 1930, 1934, 1937

box 1, folder 10

Newsletters 1951-1956

box 1, folder 11

Published booklets and pamphlets 1920s-1941

box 1, folder 12

Reports 1926-1933

box 1, folder 13

Miscellany undated

 

Speeches and writings 1931-1965, undated

Scope and Contents note

Comprised of Roderick Scott's essays, presentations, and other forms of writing, as well as his doctoral thesis from the University of Southern California. Arranged chronologically.
box 2, folder 1

"Detailed Account of the Affair of the Revolt of the 'Sek-Siong Party,'" 1927 March

box 2, folder 2

"Narrative of part of journey of A. & R. Scott," 1931 December-1932 January

box 2, folder 3

Sermons translated into Chinese 1932-1940s, undated

box 2, folder 4

"Not My Country and Not My People" from The Chinese Recorder 1936 December

box 2, folder 5

"Advance Through Storm: Address to the Prudential Committee of the American Board," 1945 April 10

box 2, folder 6

"The Personalistic Insights in Ancient Chinese Philosophy," circa 1946

box 2, folder 7-9

The Personalistic Insights in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, dissertation for the University of Southern California 1946 June

box 2, folder 10

"An ... Student 'Movement' in China," 1947-1948

box 2, folder 11

"Sermon on Hope," 1948 May 2

box 2, folder 12

"Christianity for this Day in China" seminar notes 1949 September 17

Scope and Contents note

Scott made a presentation
box 2, folder 13

The United Nations and the Missionary Movement 1950 April

box 2, folder 14

Fukien Christian University, paperbound book 1954

box 2, folder 15

"Memories of Doctor C.M.L. Sites," 1960 September

box 2, folder 16

What I Have Learned, or My New Theology circa 1965

box 2, folder 17

"Little Essays on the Chinese Classics," undated

box 2, folder 18

"On Understanding China: What About China?" undated

box 2, folder 19

"Tehism and Christianity," undated

 

Subject file 1926-1962

Scope and Contents note

Consists of articles, reports, memoranda, and other materials collected by Scott. The bulk of the materials relate to Christian education and missionary work in China. Arranged alphabetically by title or topic.
box 2, folder 20

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions bulletins and memorandum 1941-1943, 1950

box 2, folder 21

The Chinese Recorder 1926-1933

Scope and Contents note

Bound copy consisting of excerpts from the publication
box 3, folder 1

Christians and Christian education in China file 1939-1962

box 3, folder 2

"Former Richmond Resident Describes Chinese Events" article from The Richmond Sun-Telegram featuring Agnes Scott 1927 August 22

box 3, folder 3

"The Moral Point of View of Chang Tsai" by Siu-chi Huang 1971 April

Scope and Contents note

Reprinted from Philosophy East & West, Volume 21, number 2. Huang graduated from FCU in 1936
box 3, folder 4

New Educational Buildings in War-Torn China by Ching-jun Lin 1938 October 15

Scope and Contents note

Translation of an address given at the dedication of the Orlinda Childs Pierce Memorial School
box 3, folder 5

The Perfections of God According to Doctor Karl Barth, thesis by Peter (Ping K'ang) Hsieh, for FCU 1943

box 3, folder 6

Religious Education Fellowships excerpts 1947, 1948

box 3, folder 7

"Science, Scientists and Politics" by Theodore Hsi-en Chen 1961

Scope and Contents note

Reprinted from Sciences in Communist China American Association for the Advancement of Science. Chen graduated from FCU in 1922
box 3, folder 8

Miscellany 1947, 1972

 

Photographs 1927-circa 1933

Scope and Contents note

Consists of group photographs of the faculty of Fukien Christian University (FCU).
box 3, folder 9

FCU faculty group images 1927-circa 1933

 

Memorabilia 1924, undated

Scope and Contents note

Consists of a postcard, a silk screen painting with a letter to Roderick, posters and other papers.
box 3, folder 10

Postcard undated

box 3, folder 11

Identification cards and booklets undated

box 3, folder 12

FCU promotional publication 1924

drawer PP12

Letter and painting from a student to Roderick Scott on a piece of silk 1924

drawer PP12

2 certificates of achievement undated

Scope and Contents note

In Chinese
drawer PP12

Proclamation undated