Department of English and Comparative Literature of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1914-2014

Has Online Content

Some materials from this collection are available online.
Show only online content

Access restrictions

Some materials from this collection have restrictions.
See restrictions

Summary

Creator:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of English and Comparative Literature.
Abstract:

Instruction in English language and literature dates to the founding of the university. The Department of English was so named by the university's Board of Trustees in 1901. It began to take on its modern form during the chairmanship of Edwin A. Greenlaw (1914-1925). Under Greenlaw, a freshman composition program and an honors program were organized, courses in speech were expanded, new courses in drama and playwriting were developed, and a comparative literature curriculum was offered. A number of these courses later formed the basis for new departments. Studies in Philology, the university's longest-running journal, was first published in 1906 by the Philological Club. Though it has never been officially recognized as a program of the Department of English, its editors have always been members of the department; and thus its records are among those of the department. In 2006, the Department of English absorbed the Curriculum in Comparative Literature, forming the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Records include correspondence and other files relating to the administration of and programs in the Department of English and, later, the Department of English and Comparative Literature; also editors' correspondence and financial records of the journal, Studies in Philology. The Addition of May 2014 contains photographs of UNC-Chapel Hill Honors Presentation and Reception for the Department of English and Comparative Literature awards on 25 April 2014.

Extent:
10000 items (13.5 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

The Department of English traces its origins to the earliest days of the university. Both the Samuel E. McCorkle (1792) and the William R. Davie (1795) "Plans of Education" included instruction in English grammar and literature. Through the first century of the university's history, this instruction was supplied by faculty members whose positions were variously titled Professor of Languages, Professor of Rhetoric and Logic, Professor of English Literature and History, or Professor of Moral Philosophy and English Literature. Throughout the period, English instruction was closely aligned with that of languages, especially classical ones, and the curriculum reflected a pronounced philosophical perspective. Emphasis on rhetoric was a constant theme.

With the reopening of the university in 1875, a School of English Language and Literature was included in the new College of Literature. The next quarter of a century was marked by significant diversification of undergraduate courses, increases in teaching staff, and the initiation of a formal graduate program. In the twentieth century, the university and the Department of English, so named by the Board of Trustees in 1901, continued to expand. Departmental activities included the Shakspere Club, founded in 1886, and the Philological Club, established in 1892. In 1906, the Philological Club began publication of Studies in Philology. The late 1880s witnessed the awarding of the first graduate degrees to a student of the department--both to Stephen B. Weeks--the A.M. in 1887 and the Ph.D. in 1888.

The years 1914-1925, marking the tenure of Edwin A. Greenlaw as department chairman, were ones in which foundations were laid for the modern Department of English. A program of freshman composition was organized, courses in speech were expanded, and an honors program was inaugurated. A comparative literature curriculum also was offered. Courses in drama and play-writing were developed under Frederick H. Koch. Under Louis Graves, the department offered a certificate course in journalism. From these beginnings, other programs developed: the Speech Division (granted departmental status in July 1977), the Curriculum in Comparative Literature (1934), the Department of Dramatic Art (1936), the Carolina Playmakers (1918), and the School of Journalism (1926). In addition, the influence of the Department of English upon general university administration, the Division of Academic Affairs, the Graduate School, and the development of the general faculty has been significant. Members of the department have served as President of the University (Edward Kidder Graham, 1913-1918), Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (Edward Kidder Graham, 1909-1913, and James F. Royster, 1922-1925), Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (Clifford P. Lyons, 1951-1953; C. Hugh Holman, 1953-1955; and James R. Gaskin, 1972-1978), Provost (C. Hugh Holman, 1966-1968), Dean of the Graduate School (C. Alphonso Smith, 1903-1909; Edwin A. Greenlaw, 1919-1925; James F. Royster, 1925-1929; and C. Hugh Holman, 1963-1966), and chairmen of faculty standing and special committees too numerous to mention. A more detailed history of the department can be found in Dougald MacMillan's English at Chapel Hill, 1795-1969.

In 2006, the Department of English absorded the Curriculum in Comparative Literature, forming the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Names of the department chairs and their tenures are as follows:

Date Event
1901-1909
C. Alphonso Smith
1909-1914
Edward Kidder Graham
1914-1925
Edwin Almiron Greenlaw
1925-1930
James Finch Royster
1930
Howard Mumford Jones, Acting
1930-1945
George Raleigh Coffman
1945-1946
Administrative Committee
1946-1952
Clifford P. Lyons
1952-1958
William Dougald MacMillan
1958-1963
C. Hugh Holman
1963-1966
George M. Harper
1966-1971
C. Carroll Hollis
1971-1972
James R. Gaskin
1972-1978
William R. Harmon
1978-1981
James R. Gaskin
1981-1991
Joseph M. Flora
1991-1996
Laurence Avery
1996-1997
Darryl J. Gless
1997-2001
William L. Andrews
2001-2007
James P. Thompson
2007-2008
Bland Simpson, Acting
2008-
Beverly W. Taylor
Scope and content:

Records include correspondence and other files relating to the administration of and programs in the Department of English and, later, the Department of English and Comparative Literature; also editors' correspondence and financial records of the journal, Studies in Philology. The Addition of May 2014 contains photographs of UNC-Chapel Hill Honors Presentation and Reception for the Department of English and Comparative Literature awards on 25 April 2014.

Acquisition information:

Received from the Department of English and, later the Department of English and Comparative Literature, 1982-2010 and earlier. Received from the Department of English and Comparative Literature in May 2014 (RT 20140512.2). Addition received from George Lensing in December 2018 (RT 20181212.4).

Processing information:

Processed by: University Archives Staff, 1983-2010; Anne Ligon Harding and Amelia W. Holmes, February 2015; Jennifer Coggins and Laura Smith, December 2018

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, October 2020

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed materials for access can be a lengthy process.

Restrictions to use:

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Department of English and Comparative Literature of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records #40081, University Archives, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu