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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 60.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 10,000 items) |
Abstract | The collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other materials of the married couple John Wesley Dixon, Jr., (1919-2004), a white faculty member of the Religion Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose chiief scholarly interest was the interdisciplinary field of religion and art, and Vivian Slagle Dixon (1919-2007), a white author with research interestes in eldercare, grief, and museum education. John Wesley Dixon's correspondence concerns academic and scholarly matters, such as the publication of various works, presentations he made, teaching, and his work with graduate students. There also are letters and other items related to his efforts to organize faculty opposition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the war in Vietnam, his efforts to improve race relations on campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his ideas about religious faith and higher education. His writings are chiefly published and unpublished essays concerning various dimensions of religion and art and issues in higher education. Materials relating to Vivian Slagle Dixon document her early life and education at Blackstone College for Girls, family, friendships, settling of the Slagle estate, and her research and writing. Materials include correspondence, school publications, travel diaries, journals, and writings. There are also photographs, including travel snapshots and portraits. |
Creator | Dixon, John W.
Dixon, Vivian Slagle. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English. |
Processed by: Gina Overcash, 1988; Laura Knodel, 2004; Meaghan Alston and Nancy Kaiser, 2022
Encoded by: Linda Sellars, 2004
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, 2022
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
John Wesley Dixon, Jr., was born in Richmond, Va., on 18 August 1919. In 1941, he graduated from Emory and Henry College with a B.A. in history and English. He studied history at the University of Bristol, England, 1938-1939, and at Columbia University in the summer of 1950. In 1953, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the interdepartmental program called the Committee on Social Thought.
Dixon was an instructor at Michigan State University, 1950-1952. He taught at Emory University, 1952-1957; Dickinson College, 1957-1960; and Florida Presbyterian College, 1960-1963. From 1963 until his retirement in the 1980s he was a member of the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a professor of religion and art. While on a leave of absence from Emory University, he served as the executive director of the Faculty Christian Fellowship of the National Council of Churches.
John Wesley Dixon authored numerous works, including Form and Reality: Art as Communication (1957), Nature and Grace in Art (1964), Art and the Theological Imagination (1976), and The Physiology of Faith: A Theory of Theological Relativity (1979).
Vivian Ardelia Slagle Dixon was born in Rural Retreat, Virginia, on 18 July 1919. She earned a diploma from Blackstone College for Girls in 1939 and later went on to graduate from Emory and Henry College in 1941. She married John W. Dixon Jr. In 1943. In 1971 she earned her Master of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Vivian Slagle Dixon was an avid artist and writer. She authored manuscripts on numerous topics including family finances, geneology, museum education, and grief: A Model for the Selection of Common Stocks and other unpublished works, including "Life's Endings: The Experience of Grief," "Growing Up Country," and a project on the Capitol dome. She also was instrumental in establishing the elder care ministry at Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church.
John Wesley Dixon died in 2004 and Vivian Slagle Dixon in 2007.
Back to TopThe collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other materials of the married couple John Wesley Dixon, Jr., (1919- ), a white faculty member of the Religion Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose chiief scholarly interest was the interdisciplinary field of religion and art, and Vivian Slagle Dixon, a white author with research interestes in eldercare, grief, and museum education. John Wesley Dixon's correspondence concerns academic and scholarly matters, such as the publication of various works, presentations he made, teaching, and his work with graduate students. There also are letters and other items related to his efforts to organize faculty opposition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to the war in Vietnam, his efforts to improve race relations on campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his ideas about religious faith and higher education. His writings are chiefly published and unpublished essays concerning various dimensions of religion and art and issues in higher education. Materials relating to Vivian Slagle Dixon document her early life and education, family, friendships, settling of the Slagle estate, and her research and writing. Materials include correspondence, school publications, travel diaries, journals, and writings. There are also photographs, including travel snapshots and portraits.
Back to TopCorrespondence of John W. Dixon with colleagues and faculty members at various colleges and universities. Original folder labels have been maintained.
Articles and essays, some presumably unpublished, written by John W. Dixon. Topics include art, religion and theology, and colleges and universities.
Folder 1-6
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6 |
Formal and academic correspondence |
Folder 7-11
Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10Folder 11 |
Formal correspondence |
Folder 12 |
Formal and private letters and memos |
Folder 13-14
Folder 13Folder 14 |
Personal and formal correspondence |
Folder 15-18
Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18 |
Miscellaneous correspondence |
Folder 19 |
Personal letters |
Folder 20-21
Folder 20Folder 21 |
Politics: Personal letters and materials relating to the University (UNC-Chapel Hill) |
Folder 22-36
Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36 |
Writings |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 99583
CLOSED pending screening for student records.
Correspondence, teaching materials, writings, and student papers from John W. Dixon's years as a professor at Religion Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Correspondence documents departmental affairs and Dixon's work with graduate students. Also included are syllabi and other materials from classes taught by Dixon, and writings by Dixon and others.
Box 3 |
Correspondence, writings, and teaching materials, 1971-1987 |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101813
Personal and professional correspondence, writing, teaching materials, speeches, from John W. Dixon Jr.'s early life and career to his years as a professor in the Religion Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and beyond. Personal correspondence stretches from the 1930s to the 2000s, the bulk being from the 1930s and 1940s between his mother and wife Vivian Slagle Dixon. Professional correspondence documents his work and departmental affairs at multiple universities in addition to UNC-Chapel Hill. Writings include multiple articles and essays on art and religion and editorial material for his books on the topic. Also included are syllabi and other classroom material and speeches and writings in opposition to the war in Vietnam.
Box 29 |
Personal correspondence, 1930s-1940s |
Box 30 |
Personal correspondence, 1940s |
Box 31 |
Personal correspondence, 1940s-1990s |
Box 32 |
Personal correspondence, 1990s-2000s |
EducationSchool souvenirs from Emory and Henry College. |
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Writers Digest short story writing course |
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Box 33 |
Army records |
Graduate school admission and work |
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Early professional career and Florida Presbyterian College |
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News clippings |
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Professional correspondence |
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Box 34 |
Anti-war speeches, writings, and correspondenceIncludes a signed letter from Noam Chomsky. |
Nature of Grace in Art and Art and Theological Imagination reviews and editorial material |
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Box 35-36
Box 35Box 36 |
Writings on art and religion |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101813
Educational material, correspondence, writing projects, and other items from Vivian Slagle Dixon. Educational material includes notes and assignments from Blackstone College for Girls, Emory and Henry College, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in addition to school newspapers and newsletters. There is a scrapbook for Blackstone College for Girls. Personal correspondence spans from the 1930s to the 2000s with the majority from the 1930s and 1940s between her parents and husband John W. Dixon Jr. There are drafts and research material for numerous writing projects including "Life's Endings: The Experience of Grief" and "Growing up Country."
Box 4 |
Early life and educationSchool material for grade school, high school and (Rural Retreat High School '37, Blackstone College for Girls, Emory and Henry College '41). Documents include: report cards, achievement certificates, diploma, The Onyx (Blackstone College publication), Emory and Henry Yearbook, Phi Beta Kapa certificate, notes, and exams. |
Box 5 |
Early life and educationIncludes The Cabbage Patch (Rural Retreat High School Newspaper) and The White Topper (Emory and Henry College Newspaper. Vivian wrote for both papers and John Dixon served as editor at some point during their time in school. |
Correspondence, 1930s |
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Box 6-7
Box 6Box 7 |
Correspondence, 1930s |
Box 8 |
Correspondence, 1930s-1940sAn extensive correspondence between Vivian Slagle and John Dixon Jr. begins during his time in militar service, before and after their marriage. |
Box 9-17
Box 9Box 10Box 11Box 12Box 13Box 14Box 15Box 16Box 17 |
Correspondence, 1940sBox 11 includes a folder with employment inquiries illustrates struggles during this time. |
Box 18 |
Correspondence, 1940s-1950s |
Box 19-20
Box 19Box 20 |
Correspondence, 1950s-1960s |
Box 21 |
Correspondence, 1970s-2000s |
Box 22 |
Personal papers, 1940s-2000sTopics include: wedding to John W. Dixon Jr., art exhibition. |
Journals |
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Travel diaries |
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Graduate school thesis and other work |
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Box 23-24
Box 23Box 24 |
EldercareSlagle helped to found the Chapel of the Cross eldercare ministry. |
Box 24 |
Slagle estate material |
Videotape VT-4510/1 |
Vivian Dixon Interview |
Box 25 |
Writing projectsUnpublished manuscript "Life's Endings: The Experience of Grief" and "Growing Up Country" genealogy project and research. |
Box 26 |
Writing projectsMuseum education project |
Box 27-28
Box 27Box 28 |
Writing projectsCapitol Dome guide drafts and research material. |
Oversize Volume SV-4510/1-2
SV-4510/1SV-4510/2 |
Scrapbook, 1938-1939Correspondence, ephemera, photographs collected at Blackstone Girls College. Includes annotations. |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101813
Box 37-38
Box 37Box 38 |
Family correspondence and miscellaneous, 1940s-2000s |
Box 39 |
Family correspondence |
Travel journals |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 101813
Image Box IB-4510/1 |
Photographs, 1940sBlack-and-white photographic prints Many are snapshots of Vivian S. Dixon and include images of wedding color photographs (circa 1980s) European travels |
Phtographs, 1980sColor photographic prints snapshots European travel. |
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Image Box IB-4510/2 |
Photography class notebook |
John W. Dixon portraits (headshots) |
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Vivian Slagle graduation |
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Henry Slagle and Mamie Slagle portrait |