Records of The Interpretation Department

The series is arranged in eight subseries: Correspondence, General files, Doctoral Honors Seminar files, Fine and Performing Arts Sub-Committee files, Theatre and Interpretation Building files, Summer Symposia files, Graduate Recitals files, and Departmental Presentations files.

The Correspondence (1947 - 1979), occupying 1.3 boxes, is comprised entirely of letters to and from Department Chair Wallace A. Bacon. Bacon served as Chair from 1947 until his retirement in 1979. The Correspondence is incomplete: the years from 1955 through 1969 are not represented. Relevant material may be found in the Wallace A. Bacon Papers (Series 20/22).

The General files comprise materials concerning the departmental budget, the Evening Division and Summer Session, graduate enrollment, departmental performances, and the Student Senate. They include one folder of material concerning the Ralph Dennis Sonnet Contest for freshmen, which includes grade sheets for performances as well as memoranda (1967-70) concerning the contest, and one folder of material relating to Departmental Awards (1968-1970), including lists of yearly award winners. Budget materials include proposed budgets, correspondence, and some purchase orders for specific departmental events as well as general information concerning the yearly budgeting process.

The Doctoral Honors Seminar, sponsored by the Speech Communication Association, was held at Northwestern University in 1973; its theme was "The Phenomenon of Performance." Graduate departments were invited to nominate candidates for the seminar, who submitted position papers for review. The six folders of material concerning the seminar include correspondence, position papers, schedules, transcripts of sessions, and manuscripts of finished papers resulting from the seminar.

The Fine and Performing Arts Sub-Committee of the Faculty Planning Committee was charged with researching and reporting on the physical plant needs of the Theatre and Interpretation Departments. The eight folders of Sub-committee files (1963-67), include memoranda and correspondence.

The Theatre and Interpretation Building files concern the planning process for construction of the new building (1967-75).

The subseries on Summer Symposia of the department comprise chiefly correspondence (1957-74) and include some correspondence with prominent scholars and artists, such as John Updike and Robert Penn Warren, who were contacted about participation in the Symposia but declined to participate.

The subseries Graduate Recitals (1964-1979) includes correspondence with students and grade sheets, documents the recitals themselves and the activities of the individual performers.

Departmental Presentations files (1965-1976) include flyers and correspondence.