Frank McConnell Towne Papers

Frank McConnell Towne Papers, 1938-1978

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Towne, Frank McConnell
Title: Frank McConnell Towne Papers
Dates: 1938-1978 (inclusive)
19381978
Quantity: 3 containers., (3 linear feet of shelf space.), (6200 items.)
Collection Number: Cage 399
Summary: Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, drafts, class and research notes, and other papers concerning teaching, research, and departmental administration.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research use.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Frank McConnell Towne was born on January 8, 1913, at Fullerton, California. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1935, his M.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1941, and his Ph.D. from the same institution in 1949, Aside from a stint in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945, Dr. Towne has principally taught English and Humanities at various colleges and universities at home and abroad. From 1936 to 1940 he was an instructor at Athens College, Alabama, and from 1940 to 1941 he was a Teaching Assistant at the University of California at Los Angeles, returning here as an instructor in the extension division from 1946 to 1947. Dr. Towne was a Professor in the Department of English at Washington State University from 1947 to 1978, serving as chairman from 1968 to 1970; during that time he was also a Visiting Associate Professor at Columbia University, New York, 1953-1954, and a Fulbright lecturer at the University of Salonika, Greece, 1957-1958, and at the University of Athens, Greece, 1958-1959. His major teaching interests have been the History of Literary Criticism and the Humanities, He retired as Professor Emeritus from the Department of English in June 1978.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Frank McConnell Towne consist of four series: Teaching Materials, Subject File, Departmental Material, and Dissertation Notes.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 399, Frank McConnell Towne Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Teaching Materials are arranged alphabetically by discipline (e.g., English, French, etc.) and numerically by class number; they date from 1946 to 1978 and consist of class notes, syllabi, copies of exams, assignments, clippings, some correspondence, and a few term papers.

The alphabetically arranged Subject File dates from 1938 to 1978, although most of the material is subsequent to 1952; it consists of reprints of articles, rough drafts of articles and speeches, manuscripts, addresses, bibliographies, reviews, dittoes, lectures, memos, letters, copies of exams, typewritten quotations, and some clippings.

The Departmental Material dates from 1950 to 1978 and contains his records as a member of the English faculty at Washington State University; alphabetically arranged, it consists of minutes, meeting agendas, memos, program proposals, program reviews, correspondence, conference material, flyers, addresses, reports, typescripts, manuscripts, and copies of exams, as well as some clippings-, dittoes, and reprints.

The undated Dissertation Notes consist of a bundle of papers (notes, references, bibliographies, rough drafts, lists, typewritten copies of poems, some correspondence, quotes, summaries of books and articles, and some manuscript pages) concerning Dr. Towne's dissertation which was entitled Active Life and Contemplative Life: A Study of Patterns for Living in Medieval England (UCLA, 1949). The notes are subdivided within the bundle by alphabetically listed general subject headings within which references are also alphabetically arranged; material other than the specific references of bibliographies are inserted randomly without any apparent system.

Acquisition Information

The Frank McConnell Towne Papers were donated to the Washington State University Libraries in June 1978 by Dr. Towne (78-26).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series 1: Teaching Material, 1946-1978Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	English 1A: Composition (UCLA) 1	1948
1	2	English 1B: Composition (UCLA) 19	1948
1	3	English 8: Introduction to Literature 105	1948-1953
1	4	English 101: Composition 34	1950-1960
1	5	English 101: Honors Composition 15	1956-1957
1	6	English 102: Composition 50	1948-1960
1	7	English 108: Introduction to Literature 15	1955-1973
1	8	English 109: Old English & Medieval Literature 22	1948-1951
1	9	English 119: Word Derivation 8	1948-1949
1	10	English 198: Honors Composition 38	1961-1964
1	11	English 199: Composition & Literature Honors 49	1968-1976
1	12	English 225: Advanced Composition 25	1964
1	13	English 304: Shakespeare 88	1949-1961
1	14	English 308: Literary Criticism 77	1965-1970
1	15	English 401: Advanced Composition 44	1965-1972
1	16	English 407: Early Drama 130	1948-1957
1	17	English 410: English- Drama 4	1977
1	18	English 433: Renaissance Literature 120	1951-1956
1	19	English 436: Age of Johnson 12	undated
1	20	English 445: Greek & Roman Masterpieces 67	1963-1964
1	21	English 446: European Literature 80	1956-1967
1	22	English 537: The Poetic Mind and Its Modes 7	1963
1	23	English 537: Modes of Poetry 34	1963
1	24	English 551: Madness in Literature 4	1970-1971
1	25	English 547: Literary Criticism 250	1960-1978
1	26	English 548: Critical Writing 4	1976-1977
1	27	English 548: Literary Criticism (Novel) 110	1962-1976
1	28	English 548: Critical Approaches to Poetry 25	1967
1	29	English 548: The Fictive 120	1974-1975
1	30	English 548: Critical Approaches to Drama 25	1968
1	31	English 561: Seminar in Comedy 35	1974-1975
1	32	English 591: Philosophical Poetry 70	1946-1971
1	33	French 451: Twentieth-Century Literature 60	1966-1968
1	34	Humanities Al: Introduction (Columbia) 35	1952-1955
1	35	Humanities 101: Introduction 250	1952-1967
1	36	Humanities 102: Introduction (Spokane) 25	1952
1	37	Humanities 345: General (Central Washington State College) 80	1963
1	38	University Honors 330: Western Civilization 70	1971-1977
1	39	University Honors 350: Eastern Civilization 200	1953-1971

Series 2: Subject File, 1938-1978Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	40	American Literature (University of Athens) 33	1958-1959
1	41	Bhagavad-Gita 7	undated
1	42	Chandler, Raymond 4	undated
1	43	Duras, Marguerite 120	1969-1976
1	44	Edison, E.R. 4	undated
1	45	Literary Criticism 45	1938-1972
1	46	Literature, General (Greece) 45	1957-1959
1	47	Methods of Literary Study 30	1952
2	48	Nineteen-Twenties 2	undated
2	49	Novel, The 150	1969-1972
2	50	Poetry as Philosophic Context 36	undated
2	51	Reprint 1	1950
2	52	Ricardou: "L'Or du Scarabee 10	1976
2	53	Shakespeare 50	undated
2	54	Woolf, Virginia, The Waves 30	undated

Series 3: Departmental Meterial, 1950-1978Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
2	55	American Studies Program 80	1970-1978
2	56	AAUP 1	1973
2	57	Association of Departments of English 30	1968
2	58	Calendar 2	1970
2	59	Central Washington State College Correspondence 23	1963-1964
2	60	Classics Program 12	1977
2	61	Committee for the Arts & Humanities of the Graduate School 31	1967-1969
2	62	Committees 13	1969-1973
2	63	Course Offerings: Undergraduate & Humanities 5	1975-1976
2	64	Curriculum Advisory Program 20	1960-1963
2	65	Doctor of Arts Degree 2	1970
2	66	Educational Policies Committee 15	1961-1972
2	67	Educational Policy & Theory 3	1967
2	68	English Department: Miscellaneous 200	1960-1973
2	69	English Major: Advising 6	1970
2	70	English Major: Program 2	1966-1967
2	71	ESQ 6	1971-1972
2	72	Faculty Forum 4	undated
2	73	Foreign Language Exam 25	1963-1971
2	74	Grading Practices Committee 8	1972
2	75	Graduate Faculty 2	1950-1965
2	76	Graduate Faculty Business 30	1958-1975
2	77	Graduate Faculty Meetings 26	1970-1974
2	78	Graduate Program 70	1963-1975
2	79	Graduate School Announcements 4	1973
2	80	Graduate Studies Bulletin 15	1969-1974
2	81-83	Graduate Studies Committee 360	1971-1978
2	84	Honors Program 30	1960-1970
2	85	Honors: Summer Reading 40	1972-1977
2	86	Humanistic Studies, Center of 30	1965-1966
2	87	Humanistic Studies, Council of 25	1966-1968
2	88	Humanities Program 10	1961-1966
2	89	Library 11	1966-1973
2	90	Library Advisory Committee 25	1963-1973
2	91	Literary Studies Program 100	1963-1978
2	92	M.A. Exams 6	1970-1974
2	93	M.A. Review Committee 5	1977-1978
2	94	Meetings 40	1971-1977
3	95	Ph.D. Exams 60	1970-1972
3	96	Ph.D. in English 80	1961-1970
3	97	Phi Beta Kappa 11	1961-1970
3	98	Promotion & Tenure Criteria 30	1974-1975
3	99	Public Schools Relations Committee 2	1971
3	100	Research, College Committee on 20	1956-1970
3	101	Resident Instructional Staff 2	1975
3	102	Sciences & Arts 4	1971-1976
3	103	South Asian Language & Literature Program 2	1970
3	104	Ten-Year Planning Suggestions 14	1966-1975
3	105	University Faculty Meetings 21	1969-1975
3	106	University Publications Subcommittee 6	1972-1973
3	107	Washington Commission for the Humanities 15	1973-1975
3	108	WSU Senate 1	1972
3	109	Writing Courses Committee 75	1972-1976

Series 4: Dissertation Notes, ca 1946-1949Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
3	110	Dissertation Notes 1,700	undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

English literature -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Washington (State) -- Pullman

Personal Names

Towne, Frank McConnell, 1913- --Archives (creator)

Corporate Names

Washington State University -- Faculty -- Archives.
Washington State University. Dept. of English.

Archives West Finding Aid

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