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Records of the Department of Religion

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/17/2

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The Records of the Department of Religion fill sixteen and one-half boxes, spanning the years 1953 to 2004. The bulk of the records dates from the 1990s, with student work and courses during those years especially well-represented. The records are divided into eight subseries: Administrative Records; Correspondence; Visiting Professors; Lectures and Conferences; Faculty Appointments; Courses; Student Work; and Program Review.

Administrative records files span the dates 1972 to 1999 and document the day-to-day operations and structure of the department during those years. Records include annual reports; departmental brochures; class tabulations and course enrollment reports; correspondence regarding the Department's name change; a departmental fact sheet; Department handbooks; a student petition protesting changes in the Department; and materials relating to policies and requirements for majors. These files are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically within each folder.

Correspondence files span the dates 1969 to 2001 and are divided into five categories: Inter- Department Correspondence; College of Arts and Sciences Correspondence; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Correspondence; University Correspondence; and Subject Correspondence. These files include both ingoing and outgoing correspondence as well as agendas and minutes from various Department and University meetings. Also included is correspondence regarding faculty positions in Hinduism, Islam and African religions; and correspondence regarding the joint program between Northwestern and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. These files are arranged alphabetically within each category and then chronologically within each folder.

Visiting professor files span the dates 1972 to 1985 and contain correspondence and records regarding visiting professors in the Department. These files are arranged alphabetically by surname and chronologically within each folder.

Lectures and conferences files span the dates 1953 to 2004 and begin with general files arranged chronologically, followed by subject files arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each folder. These files contain both correspondence and publicity fliers for seminars, lectures and conferences that the Department held.

All of the following folders are restricted and can only be used with permission of the University Archivist. Faculty appointment files span the dates 1968 to 1998 and contain departmental records and correspondence regarding faculty members who were considered for appointment. These files are arranged alphabetically by surname and then chronologically within each folder. Course files span the dates 1973 to 2000 and begin with general files containing materials regarding proposed courses, course descriptions, course listings and syllabi. These are followed by folders for individual courses that contain syllabi, exams and student papers and are arranged by course number and then chronologically. Student work files contain student papers, primarily master's essays and senior theses, and are arranged alphabetically by the student's surname. Program review files span the dates 1985 to 1996 and contain records from program reviews undertaken by the Department and are arranged chronologically.

Dates

  • 1953 - 2004
  • Other: Majority of material found within 1990 - 1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored off-site and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

16.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Records of the Department of Religion fill sixteen and one-half boxes, spanning the years 1953 to 2004. The bulk of the records dates from the 1990s, with student work and courses during those years especially well-represented. The records are divided into eight subseries: Administrative Records; Correspondence; Visiting Professors; Lectures and Conferences; Faculty Appointments; Courses; Student Work; and Program Review.

Arrangement Note

These papers are, with few exceptions, arranged alphabetically within each category and then chronologically.

Method of Acquisition

The bulk of the records in this series were transferred to the University Archives by Margene Lehman, Department Administrative Assistant, on August 7, 2001, as Accession No. 01-126. Accession Nos. 01-182 (September 26, 2001) and 03-101 (July 7, 2003) were also incorporated into this series, as were materials from the University Archives General Files. Portions of Accession Nos. 02-79 (July 8, 2002) and 04-59 (April 19, 2004) were also incorporated into this series.

Related Materials

The Charles Braden Papers (Series 11/3/17/1).

The Edmund Perry Papers (Series 11/3/17/3).

Separated Materials

Two-thirds of a cubic foot of material was separated and processed as the Edmund Perry Papers, Series 11/3/17/3. Seven photographs were added to the University Archives Photographic Files. Two and one-half cubic feet of duplicate or extraneous material were discarded.

Processing Information

Lori J. Osborne; May 17, 2004. Reformatted by Rachel C. Teuer; August 5, 2004.

Title
Guide to the Records of the Department of Religion
Author
Lori J. Osborne
Date
05/05/2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Library Details

Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635