Next Trip to Durham (?)

Maybe look at Box 8, '64-78

Next Trip to UNH (winter/spring 2016/17)

1. Need to take a look at the collection of papers from Joseph D. Batcheller. In particular, Box 1, 2, 5, 6, 13. May be others.
2. Carnicelli papers? Did he donate these to the English Department? Do they have anything?
3. Blewett, who became Dean of Arts and Sciences, was asst to president before dean...files here look interesting and some contain materials related to Writer's Conference.
4. This link will take you to the Liberal Arts Dean's Files, includes annual reports from Blewett.
5. When I go I should really take a good look at the Writer's Conference materials, here.
6. Need to take a look at Bingham collection, here. Includes unpublished manuscripts.
7. Might also need better photocopies of Bulletin for 1962-89.
8. Would like to take a look at the letters celebrating Clarence Scott, here.
9. What about original photographs of faculty members, from Scudder/Richards to Bingham/Towle? Need to get copies of Murray's evals, representative samples for certain types of courses. For example: 1986 Freshman Composition, Journalism/Newswriting Course, ENGL 501, Graduate Courses in Comp Theory
10. Carnicelli Annual Eval: Missing 72-73
11. Dean's Report, 1949-50, missing p. 19 (it appears that further information on English might be contained within the report).
12. Master's thesis: Martha Mcateer (Teaching Technical Writing)--referenced in Tom C's annual report, p. 1. 1976-77. Not listed in catalogue...
13. Ask archives to pull all dissertations from Education and English (?) -- Maybe talk to Mylinda about this before the visit...
14. The UNH Bulletins that you photocopied for me a ways back—you actually only photocopied the sections for English. I don’t have photocopies for the years 1961-62 or 1962-63.

Notes from UNH Visit (11/7/14)

Hapgood administration: a period of innovation in the teaching of writing and literature and just the major in general

Sally Lentz—also a pioneer in thinking about teaching Influence of writing on the teaching of literature

Signs of Research on Writing:

Newkirk, CURF Grant? (’83)

Thomas Williams’ file in Box 13—lots in here. Interesting. Might be worth a further look at some point.

Files of writers:

Thomas Williams
John Yount
Mark Smith
Ted Weesner

Notes on: English Graduate Faculty, Graduate Courses in Comp/Rhet, MA in Writing, Ph.D. option in Comp, Ph.D in Reading/Writing Instruction

Graduate Faculty (1967-68): Carnicelli, Underwood, Schultz, Hapgood, Miller, Daggett, Maynard, Richardson, Webster, Nicoloff, Bingham, Hunter.

Graduate Courses in Writing/Writing Pedagogy

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing

Students are introduced to the writing process, and experience the process themselves by writing and exploring methods of teaching writing. One three-hour meeting plus individual conferences each week. Required of EPDA fellows and open to other graduate students with permission of instructor. (first appearance: Graduate School Bulletin, 1973-74))

REVISED (1979/80):

Review of the current professional literature on composition; research projects in areas selected in consultation with instructor. Prereq: ENGL 810 or permission.


ENGL 710/810 Teaching Writing

An introduction to various methods of teaching writing. Combines a review of theories, methods, and texts with direct observation of teaching practice. (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue 1979/80)

REVISED (1982/83***):


An introduction to various methods of teaching writing. Combines a review of theories, methods, and texts with direct observation of teaching practice. (Degree candidates must enroll for 4 cr.)

***This year appears to be the first year that doctoral candidates are first required to take ENGL 810 as part of their program--see p. 67 of Graduate Catalogue.

ENGL 812: Historical and Theoretical Studies in Rhetoric

The rhetorical tradition in Western culture, with a special focus on three critical periods: the classical period (Aristotle, Cicero, Quintillian), the eighteenth century (Blair and Campbell), and the modern era (Burke, Booth, Perelman, Ong, Weaver). (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue 1985-87)

ENGL 823: Composition Theory

Recent advances in our understanding of the composing process; the social and cultural context of literacy learning. 4 cr. (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue, 1985-87)

ENGL 810: Teaching Writing

An introduction to various methods of teaching writing. Combines a review of theories, methods, and texts with direct observation of teaching practice. 2-6 cr (first time that 710 & 810 are separated: Graduate Catalogue, 1987-89)

ENGL 811: Writing for Teachers

Opportunity for teachers of composition to work intensively on their writing, to read as writers, and to discover the principles appropriate to the writing genre they are teaching. 4 cr. (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue, 1987-89)

ENGL 876: Teaching the Writing Process

Focus both on the writing and the participants and on the teaching of writing in grades K-12. Speical attention will be given to strategies for prewriting, revision, evaluation, and conducting writing conferences. 2-6 cr. (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue, 1987-89)

MA--Specialized Option in Writing

The Master of Arts in Writing is designed for students who intend to become professional writers. Seven working writers supervise the program. Students may elect to specialize in fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Each member of the writing faculty is accomplished in at least one of these fields.

The writers at UNH emphasize conference teaching. Each student meets frequently with writers specializing in the student's area of study. In addition, each student works closely with a writer-adviser throughout the program.

Workshop courses provide forums for fast, detailed criticism of each student's writing by instructors and fellow students. Each student takes at least two workshops in his or her specialty, and may elect to take an additional workshop in another area as well. Form-and theory courses and literature courses complete the program.

Upon completion of the required courses the student submits a portfolio of writing to the staff. The portfolio might consist of short stories, a novel, non-fiction articles, a non-fiction book, or a collection of poetry. The degree is awarded upon approval of the portfolio by a committee of writers.

--Graduate School Bulletin, 1974-75 (first time this option shows up)

(Who were the 7 writers? Murray, Williams, Yount, Smith, Weesner, Simic...?)

Option for Ph.D. in Comp

1983-85: The Ph.D. program offers professional training in the teaching of literature and language.
1985-87: The Ph.D. program offers professional training in literature, language, and the teaching of composition.

Ph.D. in Reading and Writing Instruction (Dept of Education)

Program Information: John Carney, Grant Cioffi, Donald Graves, Jane Hansen

The Department of Education offers the Ph.D. in reading and writing instruction. The primary focus of the program is the relationship between the processes of reading and writing with particular consideration of the underlying factors of language and cognition. There is a specific research emphasis on the interaction of reading and writing in instructional environments. The program prepares individuals to conduct research and teach at the college/university level or to provide leadership in literacy in public or private educational settings.

Students in the program will demonstrate competence in: 1) reading theory and practice; 2) writing theory and instruction; 3) the study of language and cognition; 4) methods of research. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students will take courses from the departments of education, English, and psychology. A central component of the program is a year-long seminar in reading and writing instruction. Students will be advanced to candidacy upon passing a qualifying examination after completing two-thirds of their program of study. Full-time students typically will complete two years of course work and a third year of doctoral research. (first appearance: Graduate Catalogue, 1985-87)

UNH Visit, 9/28/12

Freshmen English
B.4
UA 9/11/1

Interesting folder that I don't know what to do with: UA 9/11/1 B.4 F.7 English 1 - Finals, 1949-1966 (did they stop giving finals after that?)

Tim Donovan (?)

Most of this box contains artifacts from the 1960s--book orders, exams, some information about English A, library test, final exams, writing samples. Lots of interesting stuff from 1960s and a bit from late 1950s.

(finished this box)

Freshmen English
B.5
UA 9/11/1

UA 9/11/1 B.5 F.1: Fascinating folder in regard to Freshmen English and gives a sense that Don was getting exposure to a particular kind of pedagogy that was in place at UNH in 401 when he first arrived. This folder is priceless because it contains a crazy dictionary excercise, and then a Murray handout. Two completely different visions of the course... I think this shows Murray's early exposure. HE was the secretary and took meeting minutes..

Closely revisit UA 9/11/1 B.5 F.4

Observation: There were a lot of meetings and there was a set syllabus for everyone in the 1950s/60s...was this like the Amherst program, in a way, where they all meet each year and hash out the syllabus for the next year? How many sections are we talking about? How many students?

i.e. "The committee to plan next year's Freshmen English program will meet on Tuesday April 22nd at 2pm in MK 206. (April 16, 1958).

So, a transition in the late 1960/70s to more sections, graduate instruction, less faculty involvement, etc. This is the picture that's starting to emerge for me.

(This box is full of useful stuff documenting the period before the transition. I only got through part of it, though. F.4-F.9 I still need to read.)

UNH Visit, 8/10/12

Professor Bingham, a member of this faculty since 1936, has been Chairman of the Department of English since 1936, has been Chairman of the Department of English since 1945, and since that time has guided with unusual success the reconstruction of the department from its wartime "low" to a new peacetime peak in staff and program. Under his chairmanship a completely new Freshmen English course enrolling more than eleven hundred students in forty-five sections has been organized and offered. The department staff of eighteen was augmented by ten new excellently qualified men and women selected with great care and discernment from among a number of candidates.

Professor Towle has been a member of this faculty since 1931. He has been called by Edward Weeks, Editor of the Atlantic Monthly, one of the outstanding teachers of writing in the United States. As professor in change of advanced composition at the University since 1931 he was a teacher and advisor to many national prize winning student writers. His studnets have been winners in twelve out of thirteen annual contests in creative writing with the Universities of Maine and Vermont. In 1938 and 1945 his students won two out of three possible national awards in the annual Atlantic Monthly contests, and since 1931 students of his have placed in every Atlantic contest but two. In addition, they have placed in many other contests held for student writers. Professor Towle has been the director and the inspiration of the Writers' Conference at the University which has become one of hte most famous of such conferences held in the United States.

Box: CLA, Series UA 9/1/3, Box 1
Folder:CLA Annual Report 1946-47
Artifact: Annual Report of the College of LIberal Arts, 1946-47, p. 30-31

1944-45: 5-6
1945-46: 3-4
1946-47: 3-4, 29-30
1947-48: 4-7
1948-49: 4-5, 22,
1950-51: 4-5,
1951-52: 3-5, 38
1952-53: 4-5
1953-54: 5
1954-55: 3-5
1955-56: 2-4
1956-57: 5-7
1966-67: first page only

This morning I spent 3 or so hours going through a box of yearly evals from the Dean from the 1950s. I also started to wade into some annual reports on ENGL 1/2 and A from the 1950s. What am I learning?

There are resources on English at UNH in the 1950s. I need to begin to assemble this story. I am beginning to see that I could approach this project in terms of decades as I have a good deal of info from all of them. Tomorrow morning I'll be heading back to the archives to spend some more time in the 1950s.

Boxes left to go through:

Freshmen English B.4
Freshmen English B.5
Murray Teacher Evals
UNH Archives, College of Liberal Arts, UA 9/1/3, Box 1
Campus Journal (1979-1984)

Notes/Reflections:

UNH visit: July 2, 2012

1. Interview Goodman
2. Collect tapes from Mylinda (Murray interview)
3. Inquire with Carla on living English faculty and contact info
4. Think about what to do with Between Us, collect the student version of newsletter

That was my "to-do" list and I accomplished all but #3, which can be done by other means. This morning I'm going to go back over some of the materials I collected yesterday and try to write a sum-up blog entry on what I learned and am learning and how the project is evolving.

• Summer Composition Programs (1986-
• Staffing Issues (ENGL 401/501)--seem to be heating up around 1981 or so. How much of these other proposals I am seeing is related to trying to resolve some of these staffing issues?
• One thing that is increasingly interesting to me is the way that members of the department talk to themselves about the field of composition and the activity of teaching writing. There is a Staffing and Budgeting request from 1981 which contains an appendix which reads: "Until the 1960's the teaching of composition was traditionally performed by the literature faculty. Since then, composition teaching has become a discipline of its own, with its own research, scholarship, professional associations and publications, its own professional heritage and teaching methods." This is sort of amazing that they were talking this way as early as 1981.
• Elliot Fund I

It appears that a proposal was submitted in June 1982. This may have been a pre-cursor to the more detailed and elaborate (and, perhaps, more substantial and ambitious 1983 proposal)

• Elliot Fund 2

I need to try to understand how many Elliot Fund requests were submitting, for what. The 1983 proposal seems to be focused on this: "...to discover how effective writers read their drafts in process and to share that knowledge in such a way that it can be applied in the secondary and college classroom" (proposal, p. 2, Don to Carl, 2/24/83). This is a multi-year plan (1983/84, 84/85, 85/86) with hiring plans, etc. It is called "Reading for Writing: Improving Composition at UNH." Amount requested: $300,172. The language is the final proposal is nothing short of STRIKING. The proposal leads with a statement of the "application's specific aims, approach, significance and long-term objectives." The authors of the proposal write:

To pioneer a new kind of English Department that may become a model for the discipline. While the English Department has a nationally recognized composition program, it is a program that is largely separate from other programs in the department. This grant will allow us to achieve a major integration and invigoration of both the literature and composition strands within the department. 

• Elliott Fund 3: A proposal by some graduate students to try to get money for the Writer's Series, started in 1977 by English Department Graduate students.
• 
  

Next UNH Trip

1. Learn more about when the English department started offering courses in the teaching of writing (catalogues). 
2. 
   

UNH Trip (Engl Department--6/1)

Murray Contemporaries (1974)

Hapgood, Williams, Carnicelli, Weesner, Smith, Miller, Logan, Goffe, Richardson, Yount, Nicoloff, Dawson, Crow, Karl Diller,

Cindy Gannett diss committee: Don, Don, Tom, Karl Diller, Grant Cioffe

Other people to talk to: Alice Fogel, Dan Reagan, Donna Qualley, Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater

Publications:

Broadside—appears to be a publication of the English Department written by majors or students. Gives an interesting glimpse into the goings-on of the English Department 1972/73.

Between Us—same period, but aimed at English faculty

Boxes Done:

English Department

General File Departmental Archives

A-G

Applicants-Grants

(completed 7/1)

English Department

General File Departmental Archives

H-Pol

Hall Directors-Policy Research

English Department

General File Departmental Archives

Pos-W

Postcard Memo-WSBE

Syllabi

Summer 94 and earlier

Final Grade Rosters

Fall 03-Spring 2000

Confidential

Green Note on top: 1/2006 Items from “Archives” drawer

(did not start)

---

Notes from a day at the UNH archive…what do I have to say?

It was a strange day to wade through these five or so boxes, most of which were totally unorganized, unarchived, uncatalogued. It felt very raw…like you never knew what was going to be in the next folder. Someone had apparently attempted to organize the folders by alphabetical letter, but this didn’t work, really. My sense, now as I look back, is that whoever was archiving the stuff was a clerical person who could not really understand what was in the boxes. At one point I found a folder of tenure-review materials, very confidential stuff about who should be promoted to what on what grounds. Later I found annual reviews. And sprinkled throughout the boxes was Murray, like little shards of data or splinters in a body of some sort. I kept trying to explain to the women there that I really did need to just sit and go through the boxes, that only someone who was and is engaged in telling the story could know what might be useful or meaningful.

So what was useful or meaningful? Two very interesting items:

1.     Two Murray syllabi.

2.     Murray’s annual evaluation from, I think, his final year at UNH.

What else? I’d have to and will have to go back over everything I collected. One thing that was interesting was two newsletters from roughly the period 1972-1975 or so—one aimed at a faculty audience, from what I could gather, and one aimed at a student/faculty audience. During this time, their editors/writers put a good deal of time and energy into these newsletters—one of them even came out weekly. I got a sense, while reading them or skimming of them, of a vibrant place—writers visiting, discussions, lectures, etc. There was also a sense of a common project/purpose and what seemed like a surprising level of sophistification on the part of the students, who seemed to be aware of faculty issues and topics of discussion (i.e. promotion—which is something we pretty much never discuss with our students).

There was an attempt, near the end of Murray’s career, to get some kind of summer MA or graduate certificate in writing or teaching writing off the ground. I grabbed some correspondence of Murray talking about this with a dean. There is clear engagement on his part with scholars in the field.

There is an interesting series of documents from the early 1970s where it seems that UNH and Plymouth may have been collaborating on publishing something around the teaching of English. One thought I had about these materials is the feeling that Murray was, perhaps, a member of a department, at that time, that was really innovative and creative in thinking about the teaching of English to undergraduates. I don’t know whether this reflects a trend of that historical moment or is a reflection of the creativity and innovation of the department at UNH itself. It struck me as interesting.

I photocopied a series of syllabi from the mid to late-1980s. I have this quote from Gary Lindberg in my head about the UNH writing program reflecting Don’s work and it’s a nice set up quote. I wanted to see, for one thing, how his work figured into their teaching and I was surprised to see that many 401 faculty were using Don’s textbook or books to teach writing—two in particular, I think Writing to Learn and maybe Reading to Write. It surprised me how often Don’s textbook was on syllabi. I was also and am also interested in thinking of those syllabi as a form of evidence for the extent to which Don helped shape the culture of writing at UNH…This is something I’ll have to look at more carefully. There are moments when instructors are quoting him on their syllabi. Clearly, his shadow was long, even or perhaps especially at the end.

I got interested in this idea of a culture of writing at UNH and thought a good deal about the people who were involved in creating the culture besides Don (Les, Gary Lindberg, Tom N, Tom C. and others more obscure) and also in Don’s role in creating this culture. One of the stories that I would like to try to tell or understand better is the process by which Don went from hired-journalism instructor to guru. I look for instances where Don reached out to his colleagues or gave workshops/talks within English on teaching. I feel myself wanting to map that evolution from WRITER to WRITING TEACHER/GURU and to understand how, exactly, it happened. And also, to think about it through the lens of the institution—how the department welcomed and made a place for the kind of innovative, student-centered thinking that Don was advocating for.

It was also interesting to see the mundane details of memos that discussed, for example, how Becky Rule had been overlooked for an instructorship or other promotional materials when Don was giving his input on a faculty member’s progress towards tenure. I saw him, in these files, perhaps for the first time, as a member of a particular department and well-established by the early 1970s as a “senior” person who was involved in important departmental business.

It was a good day. I made MANY photocopies of documents that I think will be useful in some way or other. I am beginning to think of widening my list of interviewees or people I can or should talk to—other English faculty at the time, perhaps grad students or instructors from the early 1970s. Dan Reagan is one person I might speak to.

There is also this feeling of the value of writing at UNH—of it being a culture that is amenable to discussions of the teaching of the craft of writing. You have these novelists and these poets there doing their work. You have this feeling that this was a community or a culture of folks who were not ONLY engaged in the study of literature, although that obviously was a big part of what they did. I think that trying to articulate the culture of writing that existing during these early years and the role that creative writers, perhaps, played in it, would be important for providing context. I noted that Russell Banks taught ENGL 401 there at one point, obviously before things started going well for him.

I also find myself drawn to a kind of pre-professional “innocence” of the period. They’re not really talking about academic writing—they’re talking about writing. The craft of writing. The writing process. There is a huge commitment to getting students to think of themselves as writers, to come up with creative exercises to foster writing and to help students produce interesting, engaging non-fiction prose. I think it’s this commitment to the production of a kind of steely non-fiction prose—not quite journalism, not academic writing, for SURE, that interests me. That’s what I fell in love with at UNH…the shoptalk, being included in the shoptalk about writing and about writers. That’s all gone for me now, it seems. But I find myself longing for that kind of course. UNH seemed to be a place where a faculty member from writing could create a writing course where one might read creative non-fiction or essays or even novels and one could be a faculty member from literature where one would teach…well, I’m not sure. But there was a certain kind of essayistic writing that was valued in the program and that was advocated for. Certainly, ENGL 401 at that time did not seem to be geared towards academic writing or the preparation for academic writing in the way we think of it now. They were shooting for something far broader, far higher-up and very different. It’s not hard to see why faculty from other disciplines would say that ENGL 401 was not teaching anything that really resembled academic writing, but students, like me, might come away saying that ENGL 401 was a favorite course and, in some ways, a course which changed their lives. 

UNH Archive: Trip 3 (2/4/12)

1. Read through small brown box sent from Murray family friends--90% of it are his columns...but there are a few other little gems in there.

2. Murray Teaching Evals

Ongoing:

ENGL 521-522/621-622: News Writing

ENGL 703-704 Writing Non-Fiction

Fall 1975 ENGL 817: Seminar In Teaching Writing General Impression: Did not seem to go particularly well.

• Lousy discussion leader; Most of the discussions were not productive or that helpful to a writer/teacher;
• Even at this date, I have no very clear idea of where I stand (grades); I haven't been evaluated yet; Don't know, they're under a clock of sorts.
• This course never really seemed to get organized--it seemed to drift from on week to the next.
• It has been helpful. I feel I could not effectively teach writing.
• Small group conferences are part of the course; Conferences were held once a week in a small group format
• He knows the material, has an excellent background, is communicative, helpful.
• Not directive enough, at least for me.
• This was not a good course, but he's a good teacher.
• criticisms were constructive although often vague; solutions were suggested in general rather than specific terms
• (recommend to friend?): Yes. Absolutely, Unquestionably. Enthusiastically.
• Dominates discussions;
• This instructor is a believer in the student finding his own solutions, with his professional guidance where it is needed and in whatever way it is needed--but not in the giving of assignments or directives.
• This is the best seminar I have attended. I regard the teacher as exceptionally gifted and I feel it has been a privilege to work under his instruction.

Spring 1980 ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching of Writing (Dick Tappan!)

General Impression: This course went very well (perhaps because it was quite small? Or a different kind of student enrolled?)

• Sometimes I was not sure if he was being direct enough with me about my writing.
• Also, the process (underlined in original)of writing is an aspect of student work which I feel more interested in...
• Teacher was involved in the course and interested in helping students pursue goals which are meaningful to them.
• (what have you learned?): To see myself as having potential as a writer--to believe in my ability to write; the importance of a community of writers; what "voice" is; I've learned that I can (underlined in original) write; I have learned about conferencing, supporting, encouraging students...about voice, audience, and the writing process.
• only change--a bit more awareness of current research but never equal time to process and sharing of work
• No ivory tower resident, this man!
• meeting in small group in home environment (with or without cookies!)
• (MM: Few students are pointing to weaknesses, even when prompted to)
• This was the most enjoyable class I have had as a graduate student.

Spring 1983 ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing General Impression: This course went very well.

• His wife is a great cook.
• very supportive and willing to take time with each student
• (what did you learn?) That I would really rather teach writing than anything else; That by teaching writing I teach just about everything else; how poets and novelists write; I have learned to be more observant and respecting of my students, to be less controlling--to let them show me what they know and can do; I also have a greater confidence not only in my writing but in my instincts about writing; I have learned more about the process of writing than in all the years I've been here...it has given me more enthusiasm about my work than I've ever had; this course has changed entirely my perception of writing and my approach to the teaching of writing; much about student-centered teaching
• Don Murray really does give control of the learning process to the student and yet he maintains high standards
• Murray is a wonderful bear of a teacher--he manages to be authoritative, instructive, and sensitive--he cares about not only the harried student but about the emerging text. I'm certain I've never had a more effective writing teacher nor a more instructive or honest teaching teacher.
• The need for teachers to be patient with their students...and simultaneously -- to be very demanding and to impose deadlines--and to stick to them.
• I liked having the class at Don's house. It encouraged an atmosphere that really encouraged openness, discussion, and constructive criticism.
• Don is a rare and endangered species of teacher
• Weaknesses: haven't found them yet
• The class environment fosters a willingness to take risks;
• There are no easy formulas to fall back on-one must rely on oneself, draw from oneself. This is because this is the style of the instructor.
• The door is always open.

Spring 1985

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing General Impression: The course went very well.

What have you learned?

• How to collaborate. That I enjoy drawing. That I am lonely.
• I also learned a bit about teaching grade schoolers and others students outside my immediate area.
• Connections between a writing process and painting, drawing, film-making, creating problems, composing music, Chinese calligraphy, and scientific investigation.

What was effective/needs work?

• Off-Campus environment
• Free give-and-take of ideas among class members
• Complete lack of competitiveness
• There was just enough structure to provide a framework for direction (weekly papers and main project) and the rest was left up to individual students.

Instructor Strengths/Weaknesses:

• Maybe Murray's greatest strength, I think, is his ability to wish Godspeed to his students, to turn them loose, spur them to accomplishments they didn't know they could achieve.
• He believes (underline in original)--thats a strength;He participates in the writing; He makes me demand more of myself than I realized I could give.
• This is the eighth time (counting undergraduate and graduate level courses) I have filled out this form for Don Murray's classes. I think that says more about his teaching than any "evaluation" I can give. He is the best, and, for me, most productive (in my own work) teachers I have ever had.
• He is a writer who teaches, and teaches well. What more can be said? He is an inspiration.
• The instructor's teaching style was non-authoritarian and non-directive.
• There is no contradiction between what he advocates and what he does.
• Talks far too much, sometimes monopolizes whole class
• Minnie-Mae's cooking
• Don is a master and was masterly enough to join the group, subvert his authority and, to a large extent, let us get on with it. Perhaps we could have had some more focused discussions and thrashed about some of the main conflicts in creativity/writing pedagogy. But I'm not sure.
• Murray ought to be teaching a colloquium for all graduate students about how to get published. Informal student surveys say Murray, Schweickart and McBride are the only three in this department who are willing to share this information.

Fall 1986 ENGL 826: Rhetoric and Composition Theory General Impression: This course went pretty well.

What have you learned?

• since each participant worked on an individual writing project which he/she shared with the class...
• One of the most exciting experiences of my graduate work
• I've learned a great deal about research methodology (x 3,4,5)

What was effective/needs work?

• The writing community established in the seminar was unique and special

Instructor Strengths/Weaknesses:

• You can tell he's consciously trying to make each student feel important and feel as if they have something to say
• I believe Don has great potential and the university should seriously consider hiring him on full-time.
• shared his own work-in-progress
• he says repeatedly that he "learns" from students and I saw this repeatedly in practice
• His only weakness, I think, is to sometimes become too comfortable with himself and to allow himself to not be pushed into thinking about things from other people's perspectives. Don was straightforward about his prejudices (as far as views on reading and writing, what deserves to be read & written), but sometimes I think these prejudices kept him from being equally receptive to all of his students writing. But at the same time, when confronted with this, I think he was willing to give more.
• Don's strengths are too numerous to touch on them all here but here are a few: 1) He's able to provide an encouraging atmosphere to write in (both in and out of class), 2) he's rarely at a loss for words--and doesn't "beat around the bush," 3) More of than not, he's right! 4) He's always willing to share his own writing struggles with his classes. Some of his weaknesses might be: 1) he's rarely at a loss for words--and doesn't "beat around the bush," 2) More of than not, he's right! 3) He's always willing to share his own writing struggles with his classes.
• He allows students a lot of freedom. This can be both a strength and a weakness. It is a strength in that it enables them to fully explore what they are working on, but it is difficult for those who require more structure.
• The only "weakness" is perhaps the tendency to "get out of the way" of the writer too much--sometimes an intrusion is necessary...

Summer 1986 ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing (44 students filled out evaluations!) General Impression:

What have you learned?

What was effective/needs work?

Instructor Strengths/Weaknesses:

Summer 1987 ENGL 811: Narrative Form: Writing for Teachers (19 filled out evals)

General Impression: Class went very well.

What have you learned?

• I have learned to have confidence in myself as a writer...Very importantly, I realized that others felt as fragile as I about their writing.
• Every class made me feel like writing.
• From the perspective of a teacher, I have been given the opportunity to view life from my student's eyes. In their shoes for awhile a greater understanding of needs and appreciation for the individual talent emerges.
• about how to help students write a short story
• How to do narrative, structure a story

What was effective/needs work?

Instructor Strengths/Weaknesses:

• The strength of his teaching lies in his encouragement.

Spring 1981 ENGL 501: Intro to Prose Writing

Fall 1986 ENGL 401H: Freshmen English

General Impression: Class went well, students liked conferences more than class.

What have you learned?

• I have learned I can't continue to write papers the night before.
• I've learned that putting myself into my writing is more important than making sure my t's are crossed.
• This instructor showed me that the "writer" is not some elite being--it can be anyone.
• I learned that everything does not have to be perfect the first time around.
• I now want to write about my experiences and I am eager to do so. Now my papers are more affective and actually say something instead of just lying there.
• I have learned that what I learned in high school is useless if not detrimental to imaginative writing.
• I have learned how to write for enjoyment, rather than just assignment.
• I have also learned "argument"; how to write a good, strong argument; we were introduced to the form of argument; how to write an argument paper
• I have learned that I want to write.
• ...not to worry about failing because you learn by your mistakes.
• You can teach yourself by writing. Things that you did not think that you knew surface.

What was effective/needs work?

• I think the fact that there were no grades handed out until the final grade has been very helpful.
• We found one topic to write on for almost the entire semester.
• To improve it perhaps some reading material should be introduced. We also spent far too much time on one argument paper.
• The conferences are excellent (x 3,4,5); The conferences are effective but should be longer and the classes should be shorter
• The class is really good only for people who are very serious about writing.

Instructor Strengths/Weaknesses:

• his concern for every student, not only for his/her work, but whether their cold is getting worse or they are going insane.
• I found the conferences very helpful.
• Due to his personality, Murray creates a relaxed atmosphere. That's not to say we don't work, but I don't consider it work. I consider it learning.
• This wasn't just a writing class, it was a thinking class.
• He sought to let us go our own routes--never telling us exactly (underlined in original) what to do, but always allowing us to use our imaginations and our own opinions.
• He gives the student a sense of existence. To most teachers we are just numbers, but to him we are real people. He knows our names, and he is always available.
• He rambles on about himself (x 3,4,5)
• Strengths lie in conferences and one-on-one interaction (x 3,4,5); the conferences were much more helpful than the classes themselves.
• Use of his own writing demonstrated that writing is not something reserved for professionals, but is a process everyone can participate in.
• Murray is not a teacher, he is a writer. He tries, but not successfully. I honestly learned nothing about writing from him. Now, at the end of the semester, I write exactly the same as I did at the beginning. Too many war stories, instructions, and not enough writing practice.

Notes on Freshmen English at UNH (from Archive Trip 2)

Box: ENGL B.1 Office Files, 1956-66

Folder: Book Orders

Source: Letter dated 3 January 1968 (book order) to Campus Bookstore from J.T. Sullivan

English 401:

30 J. Joyce Dubliners

30 J. Conrad Victory

Freshmen English Planning Committee

Box: ENGL B.1 Office Files, 1956-66

Folder: English 1-2 1960-61

Source: Book order (no date, probably 1961)

English 1

125 Watt An American Rhetoric (Rinehart)

125 Bloomfield and Robbins Form and Idea (MadMillan)

UNH Archive: Trip 2 (1/13/12)

Boxes Reviewed/Completed:

UNH Archives: College of Liberal Arts (Series UA 9/1/3) Box 1

ENGL B.1 Office Files, 1956-1966

Boxes to Continue Working On:

ENGL B.2 Office Files

Don Murray

CLA, Annual Report, 1965-66

After two decades as head of the English Department, the largest in the University, Pro. Sylvester Bingham reached the retirement age for administrators and turned over direction of the department to the new chairman, Prof. John Richardson. (happened during 66/67 school year)

Several departments are working on plans for new Ph.D. programs. In addition to Sociology and German, already mentioned, these include History, Political Science, English and Geology. Of these, the preliminary work is most advanced for English and History, stressing colonial America.

CLA, Annual Report, 1966-67

MAT program started

Office of the department, which had been in Murkland Hall since its construction in 1927, were moved to the reconstructed Hamilton Smith Hall in mid-year. The (English) department secured Senate permission to waive the University requirement of English 401-402 for exceptionally competent students. It is planning to broaden its major program by allowing the counting of writing courses toward the major. Plans for a Ph.D. program, which had made slight progress for about five years, began to move ahead. Two members of the department, Mark Smith and John A Yount, published novels during the year. Yount, with a Rockefeller Foundation grant, and Theodore W. Weesner, with an advance from a publisher, both will be on leave in 1967-68 to devote full time to writing.

Catalogue Copy: Freshmen English

• 1946-47: 1-2. Freshmen English. The training of students to write correctly and with force and to read with appreciation and discernment the chief types of literature. The entire staff of the Department. 3 rec. 3 cr. (This is the first time this description appears.)
• 1947-48. Same.
• 1948-49: 1-2. Freshmen English The training of students to write correctly and with force and to read with appreciation and discernment the chief types of literature. The staff of the Department under the Chairmanship of Mr. Webster. 3 rec. 3 cr.
• 1949-50: Same.
• 1950-1959. Basically same with different chairs.
• 1959-60: English 1-2, Freshmen English. Training to write more correctly and with more force and to read with more appreciation and discernment the chief types of literature. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mr. Miller. 3 rec; 3 cr.
• 1960-61: Same.
• 1961/62: Same.
• 1962/63: Same.
• 1963/64: Same. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mr. Baier. 3 cr. No credit toward major.
• 1964/65: ENGL 401-402.
• 1965/66: Same.
• 1966/67: Same
• 1967/68: Same. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mr. Sullivan. 3 cr. No credit toward major.
• 1968/69: Same.
• 1969-70: Training to write more correctly and with more force and to read with more appreciation and discernment. (MM: note that "the chief types of literature" has been removed). The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mrs. Deane. 4cr.
• 1970-71: Same. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mrs. Deane. 4 cr.
• 1971-72: Same.
• 1972-73: Same. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mr. Murray. 4 cr.
• 1973-74: Same.
• 1974-75: Same. The staff of the department under the chairmanship of Mr. Carnicelli. 4 cr.
• 1975-76: Training to write more skillfully, and to read with more appreciation and discernment. 4 cr.
• 1976-77: Training to write more skillfully, and to read with more appreciation and discernment. Frequent individual conferences for every student. 4 cr. English 401, or exemption from it, is a prerequisite for all other English courses.
• 1977-2010. Same.

Up until 1968-69, Freshmen English was always presented in this way:

ENGL 401-402: Freshmen English Training to write more correctly and with more force and to read with more appreciation and discernment the chief types of literature. 3 cr.

Starting in 1969-70, the following began to appear:

ENGL 401: Freshmen English Training to write more correctly and with more force and to read with more appreciation and discernment the chief types of literature. 4 cr.

and

ENGL 402: Freshmen Seminars: Approaches to Literature Intensive study fo a specific literary topic, a theme, a genre, a major figure, or a specific period of English or American literature. 4 cr.

As of 1967: "In addition to the particular requirements for specific degrees established by the Colleges, the University requires that every candidate for a bachelor's degree must successfully complete English 401-402 and History 401, 402..." (Catalogue, 167-69)

As of 1969: "Six courses, one of which must be freshmen English unless specifically exempted by the English Department..."

Thus, it would appear that they went down to one class around 1968/69.

Directors of Freshmen English:

1956-63: Edmund G. Miller

1963-67: Lee S. Baier

1967-69 James T. Sullivan

1969-72: Nancy Deane

1972-74: Donald Murray

1974-: Tom Carnicelli

English Department Chairs

1946-66: Sylvester H. Bingham

1966-1973: John C. Richardson

1973-1975: Robert Hapgood

1975-78: Donald Murray

1978-1981: Jean E. Kennard

1981-1988: Carl Dawson

1988: Mike DePorte

Other Notable

• ENGL 501 appears 1966-67: ENGL 501: Expository Writing The discipline of non-fiction writing. Weekly papers and frequent conferences required. Prereq: ENGL. 401-402. 3 cr. Written permission of instructor required for registration. No credit toward a literature major.
• ENGL 301 first appears: 1964-65: ENGL 301: Improvement in Writing Required of all students whose attainments in the fundamentals of English are found to be unsatisfactory. 3 rec; no cr. NLG.
• Nancy H. Deane, instructor: Appears as faculty member of English starting 1967.
• S. Anthony Caldwell is listed as an instructor as of 1967.
• A new course is added (1968/69): ENGL 801: Advanced Composition for High School English Teachers A course designed to improve the teacher's skill in composition and to guide in methods of transmitting such skill to his high school students. 3 credits.

Early Writing Courses:

1953-54:

• ENGL 22: Writing for the Newspaper
• 23: Writing of Technical Reports
• 25-26: Advanced Composition: Practice with compositions of varying lengths. Class discussions with illustrative readings. Weekly conferences. Mr. Towle.
• 27: English Grammar
• 53-54: Writing as Art: The study and practice of forms of writing, together with an examination of the history of literary philosophy. Practice in mutual criticism through class workshop discussions and written comment. Freedom in selection and pursuance of writing interests. Individual conferences. Mr. Towle.
• As early as 1940, Towle was tacking 65-66: Writing as an Art: The study and practice of forms of writing through an examination of the history of literary criticism. Reading of famous critical essays and of many contemporary opinions, correlated with practice writing of various types. Each students is allowed to spend much of his time with the type he finds most congenial. Collateral readings with frequent class discussions and conferences. Mr. Towle (1940-41)
• 96. The Writing Workshop. Not limited to any special type of writing, the student's main contribution to the course, writing, shall be in a mode and length of his own choice. Two days a week are devoted to mutual "workshop" criticism of class work. Two days are utilized to make clear the virtues of all good writing, with illustrations used constantly. On the fifth day, a special topic. Individual conferences are arranged to run parallel to class meetings as an integral part of the course. Members of the course may become members of the Writers' Conference at reduced rates. Open to all interested in writing who have had a first year of college or its equivalent and who have not previously taken Writing Workshop. Mr. Towle. For Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate students. (Given only in the Summer Session.)

Carroll Towle:

25-26: Advanced Composition (from 45-46-)

65-66 (early version) & 53-54 (later): Writing as An Art (from at least 1940-

(these two were his bread and butter and he taught them pretty much every year--interesting to note the similarities with the way Murray basically set up his schedule)

96: The Writing Workshop, (ran, at least, from 1950-55)

But also,

English Literature in the Seventeenth Century

American Literature of the Twentieth Century

Modern American Poetry (1940-41)

Carroll Towle's Teaching Schedule during years Murray was an undergrad at UNH:

1946-47:

25, 26 Advanced Composition

53, 54 Writing as an Art

65, 66 English Literature in the Seventeenth Century

79, 80 American Literature of the Twentieth Century

1947-48:

25, 26 Advanced Composition

53, 54 Writing as an Art

65, 66 English Literature in the Seventeenth Century

79, 80 American Literature of the Twentieth Century

1948-49:

25, 26 Advanced Composition

53, 54 Writing as an Art

65, 66 English Literature in the Seventeenth Century

79, 80 American Literature of the Twentieth Century

Teaching Assignments from folder called English 1-2, 1960-61 reveals:

Fall:

English 1

MWF 10 MK 26

MWF 2 MK 208

(10 and 2 are, I think, times)

Spring:

English 2

MWF 10 MK 26

MWF 2 MK 208

----

Notes for Next Time:

1. There are a number of other possible projects here, or the start of them:

Technical Writing at UNH (course in 1940s/50s/60s)

ENGL 301

ENGL A/B

2. This was a terrific trip to the archive. I set out to just do two things:

a. Read through and organize the items in the little brown box of Murray stuff that they have.

b. Assemble some representative samples from Murray's teaching evaluations.

Instead, I accomplished the following

UNH Archive: Trip 1 (12/14/11)

Materials Discussed/Viewed Today:

• Box of Murray Boston Globe articles and other letters--definitely worth going through more carefully (from folks in VT)
• Box of Murray Teaching Evals (organized, not read, but skimmed)
• Box of UNH English miscellaneous

Murray's children, as of letter dated 11/13/2001:

Anne (computer graphics) and Karl Nestelberger (painter and artist)--Weymouth, MA

Hannah (social worker) and Michael Starobin (composer and orchestrator)--Mt. Kisco, NY

Impressions/Thoughts

While it was annoying to have most of the morning taken up with clerical/organizational work, so be it. I was able to organize the teaching evils into folders, which will make reading them, the next time I am here, much easier.

Impressions...I haven't read anything yet, but impressions: I have a very limited outline here of Don's teaching from 1975-1987. I need to find information from the years 1963-1975. I need to cross check with other sources to confirm his teaching schedule. I note that he taught mostly journalism courses--many, many sections of 621/622 and then an advanced nonfiction course 703/803. I note only one section of 501 and one 401 (honors) during this period. A few graduate courses in the teaching of writing. Perspectives I'd like to investigate more next time:

• Non-majors
• First-year students
• journalism students
• Graduate students

It's all here. I should be able to get a pretty good sense of the picture. I feel like there's two kinds of reading I'm trying to do:

• representative reading--reading a bit from each of the categories to get a sense of how he was received by the different kinds of students with whom he worked
• insights, revelations, profundities--the things, random things, that students say which bring him as a teacher to life.

Murray's Teaching Schedule at UNH, 1963-1987

1963-64:

ENGL 21-22: Elements of News Writing and Reporting. Mr. Murray. Pre-req.: Engl 1-2. 3 cr. No credit toward a literature major.

ENGL 52: Magazine Article Writing. Mr. Murray. Prereq: ENGL 1-2. 3 cr. No credit toward a literature major.

1964-65

Fall:

ENGL 706

ENGL 521

ENGL 401

Spring:

ENGL 402: Freshmen English

ENGL 772: Victorian Prose and Poetry

ENGL 784: The English Novel of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

1965-66

Fall:

ENGL 521: News Writing

ENGL 625: Advanced Composition

ENGL 706: Expository Writing. Required of students in the teacher preparation program and open to other students with the permission of the instructor. 3 cr.

Spring:

ENGL 402

ENGL 522

ENGL 628: Article Writing (M, 7-9pm at home)

1966-67

ENGL 521-522: News Writing A laboratory course in the techniques of journalism. The student is taught to report and write under strict limitations of time and space. Mr. Murray. Prereq: ENGL. 401-402. 3 cr. Written permission of instructor required for registration. No credit toward a literature major.

ENGL 703-704 Writing Non-Fiction The techniques of advanced expository writing will be discussed and practiced in weekly papers the first semester. An article of considerable length and serious content will be written and re-written during the second semester. Workshop discussions and individual conferences. Mr. Murray. Prereq: ENGL 501 or 521-522, or 525-26, or an equivalent. 3 cr. May be repeated for credit with the approval of the department chairman. Written permission of instructor required for registration. No credit toward a literature major.

1967-68

ENGL 521-522: News Writing

ENGL 703-704 Writing Non-Fiction

1968-69

ENGL 621 News Writing

ENGL 622 Independent Studies in Journalism Individual supervision in the skills acquired in ENGL 621. Mr. Murray. Prereq: ENGL 621. 3 cr. Written permission of the instructor required for registration.

1969-70

ENGL 621-622 Non-Fiction Writing A workshop cousre in the writing of non-fiction. Students interested in journalism will be able to practice writing under strict limitations of time and space in this cousre, which will prepare them for a career in journalism. Other students will be able to practice forms of non-fiction writing in which they are interested. Individual conferences. Mr. Murray. 4 credits. No prerequisite except permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with approval of the department chairman.

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing A workshop course for advanced students of writing. The course provides a second year of training for those interested in journalism, but it also provides an opportunity for students to practice other forms of non-fiction writing. Mr. Murray. 4 credits. No prerequisite except permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with approval of the department chairman.

1970-71

ENGL 621-622 Non-Fiction Writing (also taught by Morse--???)

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

1971-72

ENGL 621-622 Non-Fiction Writing

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

1972-73

ENGL 621-622 Non-Fiction Writing

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

1973-74

MIA. It does not say, explicitly, who taught what in the catalogue (first year that it does not do this). Faculty names no longer attached to courses.

ENGL 621-622 Non-Fiction Writing

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

1974-75

ENGL 621-622 Newswriting Workshop course for the student wishing to develop the reporting and writing skills of a professional newsman. Prerequisite: English 501 or its equivalent. May be repeated for credit with the approval of the department chairman. Written permission of the instructor required for registration. 4 cr.

ENGL 703-704: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing

Fall 1975

ENGL 817: Seminar In Teaching Writing

Spring 1976

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting w/Peg Aaronian

Fall 1976

ENGL 621: Newswriting

Spring 1977

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting

ENGL # Form and Theory of Nonfiction

Fall 1977

ENGL 703/803: Advanced Non Fiction Writing

Spring 1978

Nada

Fall 1978

ENGL 703/803: Advanced Non-Fiction or Magazine Writing

ENGL 621: Newswriting

Spring 1979

ENGL 704/804: Advanced Nonfiction

Fall 1979

ENGL 621: Newswriting

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting

ENGL 703/803: Advanced Non-Fiction or Magazine Writing

Spring 1980

ENGL 621: Newswriting

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching of Writing

Fall 1980

ENGL 621: Newswriting

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting

Spring 1981

ENGL 621: Newswriting

ENGL 501: Intro to Prose Writing

Fall 1981

ENGL 703/803: Advanced Nonfiction Writing

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting

Spring 1982

ENGL 621: Newswriting

ENGL 704/804: Advanced Nonfiction

Fall 1982

Nada

Spring 1983

ENGL 704/804: Advanced Nonfiction

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing

Fall 1983

ENGL 621: Newswriting (2 sections)

ENGL 703/803: Advanced Nonfiction

Spring 1984

Nada

Fall 1984

Nada

Spring 1985

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing

ENGL 621: Newswriting

Fall 1985

ENGL 795: Independent Study (1)

ENGL 622: Advanced Newswriting

ENGL 704/804: Advanced Nonfiction

Spring 1986

Nada

Summer 1986

ENGL 817: Seminar in Teaching Writing

Fall 1986

ENGL 401H: Freshmen English

ENGL 826: Rhetoric and Composition Theory

Spring 1987
Nada

Summer 1987

ENGL 811: Narrative Form: Writing for Teachers