Skip to main content

Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature records

 Collection
Identifier: UA 5782

Scope and Contents

Contains department meeting minutes collected from between 1973 and 1986 by faculty member George S. Tate. Also includes memorandums sent by Tate to Dean Richard H. Cracoft between 1983 and 1986, a nomination for the Ben E. Lewis Management Award, and notes, guidelines, student and faculty responses, and other materials used by Tate in the preparation of a self study report on the Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature.

Dates

  • 1973-1986

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.

Biographical / Historical

George S. Tate was born September 7, 1944, in Santa Monica, California. He grew up in Dayton, Ohio, Salt Lake City and Provo Utah. He graduated from Provo High School in 1962. He served as a full-time proselyting missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Germany from February 1964 to August 1966.

He graduated from Brigham Young University with his Bachelor of Arts in English and German in 1969 and his masters in comparative literature in 1970. He graduated with his PhD in medieval studies from Cornell University in 1974. While at Cornell University he taught English from 1973 to 1974. He worked as a faculty member at Brigham Young University from 1974 to the present. He served as chair of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature from 1981 to 1985, the associate dean of General Education & Honors from 1986 to 1990, and as dean of Undergraduate Education from 2000 to 2005.

At Brigham Young University he taught courses of Comparative Literature, Honors Literature and Scandinavian literature. He has published on multiple topics including Scandinavian literature and critique, Latter-day Saints doctrine and history, and literary development and evolution of the Classical works. He is a member of Medieval Academy of America and the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies, and has received multiple awards including the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award 2008-2009.

He married Julie Ann Walton on July 19, 1969, and had two children. Following Julie's death on July 11, 1987, George married Karen Elaine Harris Bradshaw on December 30, 1988.

Biographical / Historical

The Department of Classical, Biblical and Middle-Eastern Languages was established in 1972 at Brigham Young University in the College of Humanities, reorganizing the earlier Department of Classical and Asian Languages. The department provided instruction in classical civilization and Middle Eastern and Classical languages. The department offered BA degrees in Greek and Latin, and an MA in Latin. Department chairs included J. Reuben Clark III (1972-1975) and R. Douglas Phillips (1975-1976). In 1978, the department was separated into the Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature and Department of Linguistics and Special Languages.

Biographical / Historical

The Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature is an academic department in the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University. The department was formed in 1978 in a merger of the earlier Department of Humanities and Comparative Literature, and the Department of Classical, Biblical, and Middle Eastern Languages. The department provides instruction in interdisciplinary humanities, Classics, Greek, Latin, comparative literature, and Scandinavian studies.

Extent

1 box (0.5 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged in two series: 1. Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature meeting minutes, 1973-1986. 2. Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature papers on self study, 1985-1986.

Custodial History

Donated by George S. Tate in June 2012.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; George S. Tate; June 2012.

Appraisal

Admnistration (University Archives Collection Development Policy, V. b. v. 2. a, October 2015)

General

Former identifier: MSS 8079.

Processing Information

Processed; Joshua Barton; August 2012.

Processing Information

Processed; Karen Glenn; January 2023. Some material transferred to UA 1205.

Title
Register of Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature records
Status
In Progress
Author
Joshua Barton
Date
2012 August 17
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. University Archives Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo UT 84602 US