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English Department Records Finding Aid: Collection Overview

Title: English Department Records

Date(s): Unknown Dates, 1964-2006

Repository I.D.: US: MBEmm: ED-2017-1

Collection Call No.: ED-2017-1

Author/Collector/Creator:
Emmanuel College (Boston, Mass.)
Emmanuel College (Boston, Mass.). English Department.
Mason, Mary G.
Eisner, Janet, Sister, SND
Bernhard, Jerry Max.
Bloom, Steven F (Steven Fredric), 1951-
Stepanski, Lisa M.
Goodhue, Mary

Location: Emmanuel Archives – Cardinal Cushing Library 202

Extent: 1.67 Linear Feet (2 boxes, 21 folders, and 3 binders)

Language(s): Materials are in English.

Abstract: The collection contains records from the Emmanuel College English Department from 1964 to 2006.

Access Restrictions: 1) Records from this collection are closed for twenty-five (25) years from date of their creation unless the researcher has written permission from the creating office. 2) Copyright restrictions may apply. 3) Requests to cite information from records older than twenty-five (25) years or under copyright should be discussed with the College Archivist.

Preferred Citation[Item Title]. [Box Number, Folder Number]. English Department Records. Cardinal Cushing Library, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA.

Related Collection(s):  

Ethos: Emmanuel College Student Literary Magazine. Cardinal Cushing Library, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA.

Emmanuel College Student Newspapers. Cardinal Cushing Library, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA.

Provenance: This collection was transferred to the Emmanuel College Archives in June 2017 by the Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of English, Dr. Lisa Stepanski.

Processed By: This collection was processed by Kyle Pereira in April 2018, overseen by John P. Healey, Jr, Archives Librarian.

Biography/History: The Emmanuel College English Department was created by 1920 to increase awareness and appreciation of the written and spoken word and develop an enjoyment for literature. It served as a requirement, along with Latin, ModernLanguages, Philosophy and History, for the attainment of an undergraduate degree. By 1927 nuns were named as members of the teaching staff in the English Department and they included Sister Julie, SND and Sr. Catherine Dorothea, SND. Other instructors in the English Department included: Beatrice Mahoney, Mildred Hanon, Sister Mary Mercedes, SND and Sister Berchmans Louise Currie, SND. In the 1930s two events of significance occurred, first, in 1935, the Department required students to meet a minimum threshold to be granted a major in English. Then in 1939, the Department created a minor that was designed to complement and enhance a major field of study.

In the 1948, Sr.  Berchmans Louise, SND, in order to provide structure and guide the content that existed in the student newspaper, appointed seven (7) seniors as editors of the new student newspaper the Focus; that was designed to inform students of College and extracurricular activities. As the English Department entered the 1950s its faculty provided teaching support to the graduation requirement known as Western Culture. The purpose ofthis requirement, approved by the College in 1951, was designed to educate students on Judeo-Christian thought from the Roman Empire to contemporary society. By the 1960s, the English Department had among the greatest number of students as majors and reached the entire academic community with its courses and its intellectual social gatherings. Whether it is a speaker, or an honors thesis presentation, or a discussion on Cinema, the Department was known for its coffee and conversation. By this time the Department offered courses in such areas as world literature, Chaucer, Victorian writers, satire, short stories, poetry, literary criticism and American fiction.

In the 1970s and 1980s the foundations of the modern day English Department were evolving through the development of the Writing Center and teacher licensure. By 1977, at the suggestion of Mary G. Mason and Sr. Janet Eisner, SND and the endorsed of College administrators, the Department developed a Writing Center. Its aim was to use small group instruction for remedial grammar and provide additional compositional writing and was primarily directed to the freshman class. By 1982, the Department allowed for a concentration in a literary program and a communication that to develop an understanding of the nature and process of verbal and non-verbal communication in the context of a Liberal Arts education. The goal of the concentration was allow students to prepare for careers in public relations, publishing and advertising.  

It was also, by this point, that the English Department had created an educational program for teachers of the English Language. It was designed to train teachers, using analysis and research, how to use understand the historic period, author, genre and technique of the literature.  This track would lead to a certificate as an English teacher. By 1994, this program had received recognition from the College's Education Department and the Interstate Certification Compact. In 1993, the First Year Student Composition program began under the direction of Lisa M.  Stepanski and was aimed to improve the writing abilities of new students.

Since 2003, the Department now has offered a program in writing and literature program. This program was designed to prepare students to pursue a graduate degree in fine arts or for a career in publishing by blending literature and intensive writing. In 2011, the English Department became responsible for implanting the degree requirement known as First Year Writing that was designed to replace the First Year Student Composition Program by teaching students writing and research skills. In addition to providing academic support and guidance to students majoring and minoring in English, the faculty of the Department are also involved in advising students who have created their own individualized majors.

Department Chairs	Dates of Service
Unknown	1919-1927(?)
Sister Julie, SND	1927-1930(?)
Sr. Catherine Dorothea Fox, SND	1930-1935(?)
Sister Berchmans Louise Currie, SND	1935-1958 (?)
Sister Marie of the Trinity Barry, SND	1958-1960 (?)
Sister Anne Barbara Gill, SND	1960(?)-1966
Sister Anne Cyril Delaney, SND	1966-1972
Sister Anne Barbara Gill, SND	1972-1974
Mary G. Mason	1974-1977
Sister Janet Eisner, SND	1977-1980
Jerry M. Bernhard	1980-1984
Mary G. Mason	1984-1987(?)
Mary McCay	1987(?)-1988
Steven F. Bloom	1988-1999
Lisa M. Stepanski	1999-2009
Kelly McGuire	2009-2011
Matthew Elliott	2011-2014
David Palumbo	2014-2017
Matthew Elliott	2017-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scope and Content: The English Department Records at Emmanuel College includes annual reports, curriculum reports and comprehensive examinations and departmental assessments. There are also historical documents describing certain aspects of the literary society at the College and the history of the student newspaper. Miscellaneous documents are also included in the collection. 

Collection Arrangement: This collection is arranged in four (4) series that include: 1) Report of the Department of English, 2) Examinations and Curriculum and Department Curriculum Reports, 3) Historical Information of the Department of English and 4) Miscellaneous Documents.

Accrual: English Department records will be accessioned at regular intervals.