Inventory of the Kenny J. Williams Papers,
1971-1995
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Descriptive Summary
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Creator
Williams, Kenny Jackson, 1927-2003.
Title
Kenny J. Williams Papers, 1971-1995
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
3.0 Linear Feet
2, 000 Items
Abstract
Kenny Williams was a professor of English at Duke University.
Her collection includes memorabilia, correspondence, department memoranda and manuscripts.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the office of origin and the University Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University Archivist.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is required for use.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Kenny J. Williams Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Kenny J. Williams Papers were received by the University Archives as a
transfer in 2004.
Processing Information
Processed by Jessica Wood, November 2006
Encoded by Sherrie Bowser, November 2006
Accession A2004-14 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Born in Omaha, NE, Kenny Williams grew up in Chicago where her father served as a Baptist pastor. She received a B.A. from Benedict College in 1949, her first M.A. degree from De Paul University in 1950, and her second M.A. and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1959 and 1961, respectively. After teaching at Tennessee A and I State University, and at Northeastern Illinois State University, she joined the faculty of the Duke English Department in 1977, where she specialized in Midwestern and African-American literature. In 1991 she was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the advisory counsel of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Among her published works include They Also Spoke: An Essay on Negro Literature in America, 1787-1930, In the City of Men: Another Story of Chicago, Prairie Voices: A Literary History of Chicago from the Frontier to 13 and A Storyteller for a City: Sherwood Anderson's Chicago. At the time of her death in 2003, Williams had been writing on literature of the Civil War era for the Dictionary of Literary Biography series.
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Collection Overview
Contains greeting cards, brochures, correspondence, departmental memoranda, course materials, committee minutes, and manuscripts of Williams' article "The Masking of the Novelist" and her book In the City of Men: Another Story of Chicago. Also includes documents relating to the President's Council on Black Affairs, the Nixon Library controversy, and the Phi Beta Kappa selection committees. Minutes, private correspondence and reports of the English Department and the University should be restricted. Receipts, recommendation letters, grade disputes and ephemeral correspondence were discarded for processing. Correspondence was removed from envelopes and foldered.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- American literature 19th century Study and teaching (Higher).
- American literature--African American authors--History and criticism theory, etc.
- Duke University. Dept. of English--Faculty.
- National Endowment for the Humanities.
- Williams, Kenny Jackson, 1927-2003.
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Related Material
Department of English Records, 1926 – ongoing.
University Archives. Duke University.
Nixon Library Controversy Collection, 1981-2001.
University Archives. Duke University.
Committee Against the Nixon-Duke Library Records, 1981.
University Archives. Duke University.
Black History at Duke Reference Collection, 1948-2001 and undated
University Archives. Duke University.
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Detailed Description of Collection
Container List,
2 Boxes
Box 1
"The Masking of the Novelist"
Miscellaneous Cards, Memorabilia
Miscellaneous Cards, Memorabilia
In the City of Men, manuscript
Correspondence, Department Memoranda, Memorabilia, 1986
Correspondence, 1975-1983 (RESTRICTED)
Correspondence, 1983-1985
Schmid Elementary School Condolences, 1979
Box 2
American Literature to 1865
Afro-American Novel, 1853-1906
1890s - Literary Profile
169s.04 - Spring 1995
Department Documents, 1995
Department Documents, 1985-1986
Department Documents, 1985
Department Memoranda, Correspondence, 1981-1988
Friends of Art Museum Committee
Bevan (Provost) Memos
Minority Affairs and President's Council
Long-Range Planning Committee
Course Outlines - Miscellaneous
Presidential Council on Black Affairs
Advisory Committee on Afro-American Studies
Hiring Advisory Committee Memoranda
Curriculum Committee, 1986-1987
Afro-American Committee
President's Council
267 - Outlines and Problems
Nixon Library
Nixon Flap
University Planning Committee Report, 1980
177 - Rise of the American Novel
Letter to Chairman, 1977
Faculty Associates, Admissions
Department Documents, 1977-1978
Correspondence, 1977-1980
Department Documents, 1988-1991
Duke Retrenchment, Clippings, 1980
Admissions Decisions Committee
Academic Plan Draft, 1987
Directions for Progress - Report to the Board of Trustees, 1980
Phi Beta Kappa Committees and Bylaws
Spring Initiation Speaker, 1991
