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Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture Records

Notifications

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]3401 Market Street, Suite 210, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
UPB 160
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center
Extent:
7 cubic feet
Language:
English
Date:
1970-1994 (inclusive) and 1983-1994 (bulk)
Abstract:
The Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture was founded in 1987 with these major objectives: to "generate and promote scholarship about the Black Diaspora", "to provide space and facilities for writers, artists, and academics" to promote interdisciplinary research in black literature and culture, "to bring results of academic research to public attention," and "to assist the inner City schools with specialists' expertise." This collection documents the operations of the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture since its founding in 1987.

The Center was founded in 1987 with these major objectives: to "generate and promote scholarship about the Black Diaspora", "to provide space and facilities for writers, artists, and academics" to promote interdisciplinary research in black literature and culture, "to bring results of academic research to public attention," and "to assist the inner City schools with specialists' expertise." Houston A. Baker, Jr., a Penn faculty of the English Department since 1974 and Director of Afro-American Studies at Penn from 1974 to 1977, was appointed its first Director.

Since its opening, the Center has hosted seminars by renowned critics, organized presentations by visiting scholars, housed Rockefeller Fellows, and initiated publication of series of black literature and culture. The University of Pennsylvania, the William Penn Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Xerox Foundation have provided the funding to the Center.

This collection documents the operations of the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture since its founding in 1987. It includes following major subjects and groups: the Afro-American Studies at Penn, a file of conferences the Center Director attended up to 1990, a file of course offerings and recruitment of the English Department, General Correspondence of the Center, files of graduate students that worked with Professor Baker as well as lectures by Baker, the Minority Presence Development Program at Penn, a National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar of 1985, the Program for Assessing and Revitalizing the Social Sciences, a 1987 "Retreat for the Study of Afro-American Literature: an Agenda for the 1990s," files of the Rockefeller Foundation Residency Fellowship Program from 1986 to 1994, files of a Scholars of the Next Generation Series, a 1989 Summer Program for Teachers, and a file of correspondence between the Center and various departments of the University of Pennsylvania.

The collection has been arranged alphabetically by subject.

Transferred to the University Archives in 1999.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center
Finding Aid Author
Theresa R. Snyder, revised by Kaiyi Chen
Finding Aid Date
1992, 2010

Collection Inventory

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Afro-American Literary Study at Penn, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 1
Abington Friends School, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 2
Advisory Board meeting, 1990 April 3, minutes and agenda.
Box 1 Folder 3
Advisory Board meeting, Correspondence, member nomination, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 4
Afro-American Literary Study at Penn, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 5
1989.
Box 1 Folder 6
Curriculum Development Program, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 7
Faculty Coordinating Committee, 1986-1987.
Box 1 Folder 8
Report, 1985-1987.
Box 1 Folder 9
Summer Institute, 1988-1989.
Box 1 Folder 10
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1985.
Box 1 Folder 11
Annual Report, 1987-1988.
Box 1 Folder 12
Annual Report, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 13
Baldwin, James, memorial service, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 14
Black Music Research Journal, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 15
Black Resources Center Director search, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 16
Board of Directors, Correspondence, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 17
Brochure material, 1988-1989.
Box 1 Folder 18
Calendar, 1985-1987.
Box 1 Folder 19
California Black Faculty and Staff Association, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 20
Grand Opening, 1987.
Box 1 Folder 21
Initial correspondence with the University of Pennsylvania administration, 1987-1989.
Box 1 Folder 22
Press release about its establishment, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 23
Proposals, 1986-1987.
Box 1 Folder 24
Colgate University, Invitation to Houston Baker for teaching in spring 1991.
Box 1 Folder 25
College Language Association, Convention, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 26
Advisory Board meeting, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 27
Conference Planning Committee meeting, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 28
Correspondence, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 29
Planning session at William and Mary, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 30
1988-1990.
Box 1 Folder 31
Corridos Contest (University of Arizona), 1990.
Box 1 Folder 32
Iowa College, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 33
Madison Center, "Restoring American Education," 1989.
Box 1 Folder 34
National Council of Teachers of English, Summer Institutes, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 35
National Museum of American History, 1986-1987.
Box 1 Folder 36
Radford University, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 37
University of Michigan, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 38
Williams College, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 39
Applications, 1988 (1).
Box 1 Folder 40
Applications, 1988 (2).
Box 1 Folder 41
Applications, 1988 (3).
Box 1 Folder 42
Core faculty, Curriculum and research interest.
Box 1 Folder 43
Dana Foundation Program on Preparing Minorities for Academic Careers (Duke University), Selection Committee, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 44
De Prospo, Richard, "Practicing Theory Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory," 1988.
Box 1 Folder 45
Discussion Group, Moore, Carlos, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 46
Distinguished Lecture Series, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 47
DuBois Institute Working Group, 1989-1990.
Box 1 Folder 48
American Literature senior position search, 1987.
Box 1 Folder 49
Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 50
Courses 111, 299, and 998, 1988-1989.
Box 1 Folder 51
Courses 299, 514, 569, 1987.
Box 1 Folder 52
Course 570, 1986 and 1988.
Box 1 Folder 53
Course 770, 1988-1989.
Box 1 Folder 54
Course 998, 1988-1989.
Box 1 Folder 55
Course description and Field Examination, 1987.
Box 1 Folder 56
Course offerings, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 57
Evaluation Committee, 1986.
Box 1 Folder 58
Graduate Student Recruitment, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 59
Junior hiring, 1987.
Box 1 Folder 60
Recruiting, 1988-1990.
Box 1 Folder 61
Senior hiring, 1987-1989.
Box 1 Folder 62
Tenure and teaching, 1988.
Box 1 Folder 63
Equipment, 1986-1988.
Box 1 Folder 64
Equipment, 1989.
Box 1 Folder 65
Evaluation of Teaching Fellows, 1988.
Box 2 Folder 1
Brown University, Pembroke Center, 1988-1989.
Box 2 Folder 2
University of California, Santa Cruz, 1988.
Box 2 Folder 3
University of Guyana, 1987.
Box 2 Folder 4
Ford Foundation, Center for the Study of Black Literture and Culture proposal and Foundation staff site visit, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 5
Ford Foundation Project in Southern Studies, 1986.
Box 2 Folder 6
1985-1989.
Box 2 Folder 7
1991 January.
Box 2 Folder 8
1991 February.
Box 2 Folder 9
1991 March.
Box 2 Folder 10
1991 April.
Box 2 Folder 11
1991 May.
Box 2 Folder 12
1991 June.
Box 2 Folder 13
1991 August.
Box 2 Folder 14
1991 September.
Box 2 Folder 15
1991 October.
Box 2 Folder 16
1991 November.
Box 2 Folder 17
1991 December.
Box 2 Folder 18
George Mason University, Employment opportunity, 1979-1988.
Box 2 Folder 19
Germantown Friends School, "Visions/Re-visions," 1988.
Box 2 Folder 20
Golden Legacy Magazine Series, 1983-1988.
Box 2 Folder 21
Graduate Assistant, Recruitment, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 22
A-H.
Box 2 Folder 23
Al.
Box 2 Folder 24
Ba, 1988-1989.
Box 2 Folder 25
Br, 1988-1989.
Box 2 Folder 26
El, Fontaine Fellowships, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 27
Kin.
Box 2 Folder 28
Kinn.
Box 2 Folder 29
List, and "flow chart," n.d.
Box 2 Folder 30
Pe, dissertation proposal, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 31
Ro, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 32
Sc, dissertation proposal, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 33
Ta, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 34
Wi, 1988-1990.
Box 2 Folder 35
Harvard University, English Institute, Board of Supervisors, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 36
Greenfield Intercultural Center , Advisory Board nomination, 1987.
Box 2 Folder 37
Greenfield Professorship, 1984-1985.
Box 2 Folder 38
Greenfield Professorship, 1986, 1988.
Box 2 Folder 39
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Fellows Archive Survey, 1987-1988.
Box 2 Folder 40
Honorary degree nominations, 1989-1990.
Box 2 Folder 41
Publicity, 1988-1989.
Box 2 Folder 42
Howard University, Alumni Award recipients, 1985.
Box 2 Folder 43
Independent study candidates, 1989-1990.
Box 2 Folder 44
Institute for the Study of Black Literature and Culture (ISBLAC), Proposal and support from Xerox Foundation, 1986-1989.
Box 2 Folder 45
Interviews, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 46
Journals, Miscellaneous, 1986-1989.
Box 2 Folder 47
Journals, Obsidian II (Black Literature in Review), 1988.
Box 2 Folder 48
Journals, Social Identity and Culture, n.d.
Box 2 Folder 49
1986-1987.
Box 2 Folder 50
1987.
Box 2 Folder 51
1988.
Box 2 Folder 52
1988.
Box 2 Folder 53
1988.
Box 2 Folder 54
1989.
Box 2 Folder 55
1989.
Box 2 Folder 56
1990.
Box 2 Folder 57
1990.
Box 2 Folder 58
Albright College and Amherst College, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 59
Baruch College, 1987; Beaver College, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 60
Berea College, 1988.
Box 2 Folder 61
Brown University and Bucknell University, 1987-1988.
Box 2 Folder 62
CLA (College Language Association) convention, 1988.
Box 2 Folder 63
Columbia University and Colgate University, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 64
Dillard University (New Orleans), 1988.
Box 2 Folder 65
Dobbins High School Alumni Association, 1987.
Box 2 Folder 66
Eighth Annual African Literature Conference, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 67
English Institute, The, 1989.
Box 2 Folder 68
Fairfield University, 1986-1987.
Box 2 Folder 69
Florida Endowment Fund, 1990.
Box 3 Folder 1
Florida State University, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 2
Glassboro State College, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 3
Jesus College, Oxford, 1988-1989.
Box 3 Folder 4
Penn institutions, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 5
Poetry Project, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 6
Prairie View A and M University, 1989-1990.
Box 3 Folder 7
Rutgers University, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 8
The Mail on Sunday, London, 1990.
Box 3 Folder 9
UCLA, 1988-1989.
Box 3 Folder 10
University of Arizona, 1988-1990.
Box 3 Folder 11
University of California, Santa Barbara, 1986.
Box 3 Folder 12
University of Kentucky, 1987.
Box 3 Folder 13
University of Michigan, 1986.
Box 3 Folder 14
University of Mississippi, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 15
University of Tel Aviv, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 16
University of Wisconsin, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 17
Virginia Polytechnic, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 18
Whitney Humanities Center, 1987.
Box 3 Folder 19
Woodrow Wilson Foundation, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 20
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 21
Lloyd Richards Dinner, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 22
MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States) convention, 1989-1990.
Box 3 Folder 23
1987.
Box 3 Folder 24
1989-1990.
Box 3 Folder 25
Report, 1990.
Box 3 Folder 26
Minority Presence Development, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 27
Minority Presence Development Fund, 1986-1989.
Box 3 Folder 28
Minority Traineeship in Race and Public Policy, Proposal, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 29
1988.
Box 3 Folder 30
Constitution, amendments, 1988.
Box 8 Folder 1
Convention, 1987, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 31
Executive Council, 1990.
Box 3 Folder 32
Nominating Committee, 1989-1990.
Box 3 Folder 33
Responsibility for Literacy, 1990.
Box 3 Folder 34
Moonstone, Inc., 1987-1990.
Box 3 Folder 35
Mudimbe, V. Y., 1988.
Box 3 Folder 36
Nassau Fund Faculty Advisory Committee, 1987.
Box 3 Folder 37
National Endowment for the Humanities, Seminar proposal and correspondence, 1984-1986.
Box 3 Folder 38
Ba.
Box 3 Folder 39
Bo.
Box 3 Folder 40
Ho.
Box 3 Folder 41
Li.
Box 3 Folder 42
Ma.
Box 3 Folder 43
Mi.
Box 3 Folder 44
Recommendations for participants.
Box 3 Folder 45
Ro.
Box 3 Folder 46
St.
Box 3 Folder 47
Yo.
Box 3 Folder 48
National Humanities Center, 1987-1989.
Box 3 Folder 49
National Humanities Center, Applications, 1987.
Box 3 Folder 50
New Directions Lecture Series, The, 1989-1990.
Box 3 Folder 51
New York Times, Book review by Houston Baker, 1987.
Box 3 Folder 52
Miscellaneous, 1970-1989.
Box 3 Folder 53
Penn journals, 1985-1988.
Box 3 Folder 54
Philadelphia Inquirer, 1987-1989.
Box 3 Folder 55
Oxford Center for African Studies, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 56
Papers by Houston A. Baker, Jr. and Mae G. Henderson, n.d.
Box 3 Folder 57
1987-1988.
Box 3 Folder 58
1990-1991.
Box 3 Folder 59
Administrative information, 1987-1988.
Box 3 Folder 60
Afro-American Intellectual History and Thought seminar, 1988-1989.
Box 3 Folder 61
Afro-American Intellectual History and Thought seminar, participants, 1988-1991.
Box 3 Folder 62
Financial information, 1988.
Box 3 Folder 63
Kennedy, Randall, 1989.
Box 3 Folder 64
Seminar, etc., 1987-1988.
Box 3 Folder 65
Visiting lecturers, 1987-1988.
Box 3 Folder 66
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education's Commission on History, Citizenship and Values, 1988-1989.
Box 4 Folder 1
Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Celebration of Black Writing workshop, 1988.
Box 4 Folder 2
Poet's House, 1989-1990.
Box 4 Folder 3
University of Chicago Press, 1986-1990 (1).
Box 4 Folder 4
University of Chicago Press, 1986-1990 (2).
Box 4 Folder 5
University of Wisconsin Press, 1987-1988.
Box 4 Folder 6
Reference letters by Houston A. Baker, Jr., Eagleton, Terence F., 1990.
Box 4 Folder 7
Correspondence, 1989-1990.
Box 4 Folder 8
Reimbursement.
Box 4 Folder 9
Correspondence with the School District of Philadelphia, 1986.
Box 4 Folder 10
Participant list.
Box 4 Folder 11
Participants and their presentations.
Box 4 Folder 12
Participants correspondence, 1987-1988.
Box 4 Folder 13
Participants' file, G-K.
Box 4 Folder 14
Participants' file, L-Q.
Box 4 Folder 15
Participants' file, R-Z.
Box 4 Folder 16
Afterword.
Box 4 Folder 17
Andrews, William L., and Genevieve Fabre.
Box 4 Folder 18
Benston, Kimberly W., Stephen E. Henderson, and Cheryl A. Wall.
Box 4 Folder 19
Correspondence, 1989.
Box 4 Folder 20
Gates, Henry Louis, etc.
Box 4 Folder 21
Introduction, by Houston Baker and Patricia Redmond.
Box 4 Folder 22
McDowell, Deborah.
Box 4 Folder 23
McKay, Nellie.
Box 4 Folder 24
Rampersad, Arnold, Michael Fabre, and Robert G. O'Meally.
Box 4 Folder 25
Traylor, Eleanor W.
Box 4 Folder 26
Yarborough, Richard.
Box 4 Folder 27
Appendix to proposal, A-F, 1986-1988.
Box 4 Folder 28
Application requests and inquiries, 1988.
Box 4 Folder 29
Application requests, 1988-1989.
Box 8 Folder 2
Application requests, 1989.
Box 8 Folder 3
Application requests, 1989-1990.
Box 8 Folder 4
Application requests and inquiries, 1989-1991.
Box 8 Folder 5
Correspondence, 1989.
Box 4 Folder 30
Proposal, with correspondence, 1986-1988.
Box 4 Folder 31
Questionnaire and correpondence, 1988.
Box 4 Folder 32
Bi.
Box 8 Folder 6
Cha.
Box 4 Folder 33
Co.
Box 4 Folder 34
Coop.
Box 4 Folder 35
Di (I).
Box 4 Folder 36
Di (II).
Box 4 Folder 37
Ec.
Box 4 Folder 38
Eli.
Box 4 Folder 39
Fat.
Box 4 Folder 40
Hen.
Box 4 Folder 41
Jac.
Box 4 Folder 42
Las.
Box 4 Folder 43
Mo.
Box 4 Folder 44
Ob.
Box 8 Folder 7
Ok.
Box 4 Folder 45
Re.
Box 4 Folder 46
Th.
Box 4 Folder 47
Ts.
Box 4 Folder 48
Ad.
Box 4 Folder 49
Al.
Box 8 Folder 8
An.
Box 4 Folder 50
Any.
Box 4 Folder 51
Applicants asking for extension.
Box 8 Folder 9
Ba.
Box 4 Folder 52
Bo.
Box 4 Folder 53
Br.
Box 4 Folder 54
Ch.
Box 4 Folder 55
De (I).
Box 5 Folder 1
De (II).
Box 5 Folder 2
Wat.
Box 5 Folder 3
Bl.
Box 5 Folder 4
Da.
Box 8 Folder 10
Ga.
Box 5 Folder 5
Gl.
Box 5 Folder 6
Nw.
Box 5 Folder 7
Og.
Box 5 Folder 8
On.
Box 5 Folder 9
Pe.
Box 5 Folder 10
Ro.
Box 5 Folder 11
St.
Box 5 Folder 12
Wa.
Box 5 Folder 13
Az (I).
Box 5 Folder 14
Az(II).
Box 5 Folder 15
Ba.
Box 5 Folder 16
Co.
Box 5 Folder 17
Dan.
Box 5 Folder 18
Dat.
Box 5 Folder 19
Eb.
Box 5 Folder 20
Gi.
Box 5 Folder 21
He.
Box 5 Folder 22
Incomplete applications.
Box 5 Folder 23
Ki.
Box 5 Folder 24
Lak.
Box 5 Folder 25
Law.
Box 5 Folder 26
Ma.
Box 5 Folder 27
Mc.
Box 5 Folder 28
Mi.
Box 5 Folder 29
Mo.
Box 5 Folder 30
N.
Box 5 Folder 31
Ok.
Box 5 Folder 32
Rog (I).
Box 5 Folder 33
Rog (II).
Box 5 Folder 34
Sm.
Box 5 Folder 35
Um.
Box 5 Folder 36
Wa.
Box 5 Folder 37
Az.
Box 5 Folder 38
Ba.
Box 8 Folder 11
Fl.
Box 5 Folder 39
Incomplete applications.
Box 5 Folder 40
La.
Box 5 Folder 41
Le.
Box 6 Folder 1
Na.
Box 6 Folder 2
Pa.
Box 6 Folder 3
Pod.
Box 6 Folder 4
Por.
Box 6 Folder 5
Tr.
Box 6 Folder 6
Ba.
Box 6 Folder 7
Ca.
Box 6 Folder 8
Col.
Box 6 Folder 9
Con.
Box 6 Folder 10
Coo.
Box 6 Folder 11
Cop.
Box 6 Folder 12
Da.
Box 6 Folder 13
Di.
Box 6 Folder 14
Gu.
Box 6 Folder 15
Hal.
Box 6 Folder 16
Haz.
Box 6 Folder 17
Hi.
Box 6 Folder 18
Ja.
Box 6 Folder 19
Je.
Box 6 Folder 20
Kei.
Box 6 Folder 21
Key.
Box 6 Folder 22
La.
Box 6 Folder 23
Mc.
Box 6 Folder 24
O.
Box 6 Folder 25
Ob.
Box 8 Folder 12
Og.
Box 6 Folder 26
Oh.
Box 8 Folder 13
Re.
Box 6 Folder 27
To.
Box 6 Folder 28
Tu.
Box 6 Folder 29
Um.
Box 6 Folder 30
Vi.
Box 6 Folder 31
Wa.
Box 6 Folder 32
Yo.
Box 6 Folder 33
Announcement.
Box 6 Folder 34
participants, Blount, Marcellous.
Box 6 Folder 35
participants, Fuss, Diana.
Box 6 Folder 36
participants, Grewal, Inderpal.
Box 6 Folder 37
Applicant list and correspondence.
Box 6 Folder 38
Applicants (1).
Box 6 Folder 39
Applicants (2).
Box 6 Folder 40
Application form.
Box 6 Folder 41
Correspondence.
Box 6 Folder 42
Dinner Meeting.
Box 6 Folder 43
Evaluation and report.
Box 6 Folder 44
Lesson plan.
Box 6 Folder 45
Schedule, reading list, etc.
Box 7 Folder 1
University of Chicago Press, Black Literature and Culture Series, 1989.
Box 7 Folder 2
Black Presence Steering Committee, 1986.
Box 7 Folder 3
Black Presence Steering Committee, 1988.
Box 7 Folder 4
Black standing faculty, 1988-1989.
Box 7 Folder 5
Center for Cultural Study, 1986, 1989.
Box 7 Folder 6
Committee on Amendments to the Constitution, 1988.
Box 7 Folder 7
English Department, correspondence, 1988-1989.
Box 7 Folder 8
Graduate and Professional Study Opportunities for Minority Students, 1988.
Box 7 Folder 9
Miscellaneous, 1988-1989.
Box 7 Folder 10
School of Arts and Sciences, Dean's Search Committee, 1985-1988.
Box 7 Folder 11
School of Arts and Sciences, faculty meeting, 1989 October.
Box 7 Folder 12
University Council Ad Hoc Committee on South Africa, 1981 report.
Box 7 Folder 13
Ursinus College, Convocation, 1990.
Box 7 Folder 14
USSR correspondence, 1983.
Box 7 Folder 15
A-C.
Box 7 Folder 16
G-N.
Box 7 Folder 17
O-W.
Box 7 Folder 18
Visiting lecturers and scholars.
Box 7 Folder 19
Williams College colloquium, 1989-1990.
Box 7 Folder 20
Worldnet dialogue, 1989.
Box 7 Folder 21

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