Collection: SC-0259
University Archives and Special Collections
Joseph P. Healey Library
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, Massachusetts 02125
library.archives@umb.edu
ANN E. BERTOFF PAPERS
1918-2014, bulk 1960-2000
Accession Number: 116-61, 117-006
Repository: University of Massachusetts Boston. University Archives and Special Collections
Creator: Ann E. Berthoff
Title: Ann E. Berthoff papers
Date [inclusive]: 1918-2014, bulk 1960-2000
Extent: 4 linear feet (three record cartons, one document case and two half document cases)
Language: English, French, Cambodian
Citation: Courtesy of the University Archives and Special Collections Department, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston: Ann E. Berthoff papers
Processing Information: Processed by Ashlie Duarte-Smith and Donna Russo in May 2017, Collection processed via arrangement between the University Archives and Special Collections and the History Department, as part of History 627, Archival Methods and Practices, under the supervision of Professor Marilyn Morgan. Finding aid reviewed by archivist Meghan Bailey in September 2017.
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open for research. Student records and other materials, access to which may violate privacy, have been redacted.
Copyright: Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
The papers of Ann E. Berthoff were donated to University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston on June 14, 2016 by Hephzibah Roskelly. Accession 117-006 was donated by Ann E. Berthoff on January 18, 2017.
ARRANGEMENT AND PROCESSING NOTES
The original collection was created by Ann E. Berthoff, then transferred in its entirety to Hephzibah Roskelly, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Professor of English Emerita with Berthoff’s permission. Most materials were ordered loosely according to topic. One box of materials arrived completely unordered. Archivists maintained the order in which the papers were received; this order reflects a hybrid of Roskelly’s re-arrangement of Berthoff’s original order. Much of the collection has been annotated and arranged and in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly while researching a book about Berthoff’s work. Archivists retained Berthoff’s folder titles when given; materials that arrived loose and unordered were arranged
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Collection: SC-0259
BERTHOFF
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and titled according to topic. Acidic folders have been replaced. Rusted paperclips have been removed and replaced with acid-free enclosures to mark intended groupings. Duplicates have been removed, and student names have been redacted.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Ann Rhys Evans was born in New York on February 13, 1924. She married Warner Berthoff on June 29, 1949. Together they had two children, Rachel Katherine Berthoff Douglas (b. 1952), and Frederic Warner Berthoff (b. 1955). Berthoff attended Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) from 1941 to 1943. She demonstrated an aptitude for writing and linguistics during this time. While attending BSC, she wrote for the college newspaper The Quad. Her mastery of composition led her to a focus on the nuances of language and the philosophical formation of meaning within all forms of communication, from the written word to dance. Berthoff left BSC to attend Cornell College where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1945. Thereafter, she earned a master’s degree from Radcliffe College in 1948.
Berthoff dedicated her life to writing and teaching others to learn from writing. Her theory and practice were heavily influenced by the seminal works of Ivor Armstrong Richards, a rhetorician, English literary critic, and educator of English; Susanne K. Langer, an educator and writer whose work progressed around the philosophical symbolism of art and language; and Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, who was exiled to Bolivia for his revolutionary thoughts on pedagogy. Like those figures, Berthoff devoted the bulk of her career teaching freshman English courses at various universities. At the onset of her career, she forewent the pursuit of a doctorate, opting instead to enter the classroom as soon as possible. She began in 1948, as an instructor of English at Bradford Junior College in Bradford, Massachusetts. She moved on to Bryn Mawr College (1951-1962) and taught at Swarthmore College and Haverford College simultaneously (1965-1967). She began lecturing in the English Department at University of Massachusetts Boston in 1969. The following year, she became an Associate Professor of English, a role she held until 1978 when she was promoted to Professor of English. She held that position until she retired from University of Massachusetts Boston in 1987.
As both an educator and writer, Berthoff played a vital role in the paradigm shift in composition theory that began in the 1980s. Frequently, her work explored the relationship between meaning and writing. Her early publications explored the works of 17th-century poet Andrew Marvell, focusing on the underlying philosophical thrust of his work. Inspired by Marvell, she actively explored the dialectical relationship that existed between the act of reading literature and writing about others’ works. She was especially interested in examining the full range of discourse within the writing process. Berthoff challenged the dominant model of English studies, which examined how texts affect readers, and had failed to account for the process by which writers created their texts in response to what they read. Her work stressed that active composition and engaging with texts could help students make meaningful discoveries about their learning process.
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Collection: SC-0259
BERTHOFF
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Berthoff was also largely influenced by 20th century poet I. A. Richards’ examination of writing as a process by which people could learn to make meaning. In her reflections about composition, she proposed that students could learn to write by using a dialectical method in which they observed their observations. Students, she noted in The Making of Meaning: Metaphors, Models, and Maxims for Writing Teachers, “learn to write by learning the uses of chaos . . . [by] rediscovering the power of language to generate the sources of meaning.” She encouraged her students to annotate texts as a means of interacting with the author’s ideas. She also stressed the need for students to maintain a dialectical notebook in which they could return to and critically reflect upon their earlier observations.
Berthoff’s belief that one must interact with text and continually review one’s own thoughts extended beyond the classroom and arguably shaped every aspect of her writing. Shortly after Berthoff retired, many scholars contributed to Audits of Meaning: A Festschrift in Honor of Ann E. Berthoff, which Louise Z. Smith edited. The tributary work, a collection of six poems and twenty-one essays explores issues in the philosophy and teaching of composition to which Berthoff dedicated her career. Her legacy may be seen in the current pedagogical trend towards active learning. Berthoff resides with her husband in Concord, Massachusetts.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This collection contains various paper materials relating to the career of Ann E. Berthoff as an instructor and philosopher of the English language while at the University of Massachusetts Boston and several other colleges. Very little material pertains to Berthoff’s personal life. Primarily, correspondence consists of exchanges with editors regarding various publications and intellectual exchanges with other authors and teachers. Also included in the collection are Berthoff’s records of her teachings, personal research materials that include work not her own, manuscripts of Berthoff’s published writing, and one unpublished manuscript. The bulk of the collection contains professional and personal research that Berthoff collected over the course of her lifetime related to her writing and teaching. These include newspaper and magazine clippings, printouts of published third-party work, copious handwritten notecards, classroom exercises, syllabi, student work and grades (student names have been redacted), lectures, correspondence, and course reviews. Subject matter includes reviews of student and colleague work, colleagues’ teaching syllabi, ventilation systems and air quality at the University of Massachusetts Boston, I.A. Richards, Susanne K. Langer, Paulo Freire, and various authors and their publications. Much of the collection has been annotated and arranged and in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly while researching a book about Berthoff’s work.
RELATED MATERIALS
The following citations provides further information relating to Ann E. Berthoff:
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Berthoff, Ann E. Forming, Thinking, Writing: The Composing Imagination. Rochelle Park, N.J.: Hayden Book, 1978.
Berthoff, Ann E. The Mysterious Barricades: Language and Its Limits. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
Berthoff, Ann E. Reclaiming the Imagination: Philosophical Perspectives for Writers and Teachers of Writing. Upper Montclair, N.J.: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1984.
Berthoff, Ann E. The Resolved Soul: A Study of Marvell's Major Poems. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1970.
Berthoff, Ann E., and James Stephens. Forming, Thinking, Writing. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, 1988.
SERIES OUTLINE
This collection is arranged in four series. The series arrangement of the records are as follows:
Series I. Correspondence, 1943-2010
Series II. Research Files, 1936-2006
Series III. Teachings, 1918-2012
Series IV. Writings, 1941-2014
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I. Correspondence, 1943-2010
This series contains personal and professional correspondence with colleagues, students, publishers, universities, and colleges. Subject matter includes published work, I.A. Richards, the University of Massachusetts Boston, lectures, education, and personal communications with friends and colleagues throughout her lifetime. Materials have been arranged and annotated in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly.
Series II. Research Files, 1936-2006
Contains material used for personal and professional research. Materials include newspaper and magazine clippings, printouts of published third-party work, and handwritten notecards. Subject matter include reviews of student and colleague work, colleagues’ teaching syllabi, ventilation systems and air quality, I.A. Richards, Susanne K. Langer, Paulo Freire, and various authors and their publications. Materials have been arranged and annotated in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly.
Series III. Teachings, 1918-2012
Contains notes and paperwork for and about her teaching career. Includes classroom exercises, syllabi, student work and grades [removed], lectures, correspondence, and course reviews. Materials have been arranged and annotated in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly.
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Series IV. Writings, 1941-2014
Contains examples of her writing and the writing of her colleagues with which she reviewed and commented on. Includes one unpublished manuscript, handwritten notes, festschrift, biographical and autobiographical notes, and written work produced during her own college education. Materials have been arranged and annotated in a secondary order by Hephzibah Roskelly.
CONTAINER LIST
Box: 1
Series I. Correspondence, 1973-2010
1. Correspondence, includes Sandra Schor, 1980-1989
2. Correspondence, correspondence, newspaper clippings, 2000-2010
3. Correspondence about "Forming, Thinking, Writing: The Composing Imagination," 1978-1988
4. Correspondence about Andrew Marvell, newspaper clippings, 1966-1985
5. Correspondence Paulo Friere; includes notes, newspaper clippings, 1984-1997
6. Correspondence about "Reclaiming the Imagination," 1982-1990
7. Correspondence about The Making of Meaning: Metaphors, Models and Maxims for Writing Teachers; includes notes, 1970-1990
8. Correspondence about The Sense of Learning and Making Meaning, 1990
9. Correspondence and notes on dialectical note taking, undated
10. Correspondence: miscellaneous, newspaper clippings, 1983-circa 2001
11. Correspondence: miscellaneous, newspaper clippings, 1943-circa 1979
12. Correspondence: personal, newspaper clippings, 1936-2013
13. Correspondence: personal, newspaper clippings, 1936-2013
14. Correspondence: professional, 1990-1999
15. Correspondence: professional, 1990-1999
16. Correspondence: responses to readers and friends, 1995-2004
17. Correspondence with editors, includes notes on articles, 1984-1994
18. Correspondence with and about I.A. Richards, newspaper clippings, 1972-2016
19. Correspondence with and about I.A. Richards, newspaper clippings, 1972-2016
20. Correspondence with publishers, 1988-1998
21. Correspondence with publishers, Oxford University Press, 1988-1989
Series II. Research Files, 1936-2006
1. English composition notebook with course notes and correspondence, 1936-1978
2. Freshman English News, 1979-1984
3. Freshman English News, and student papers, 1979-1984
4. I.A. Richards, circa 1985-1995
5. I.A. Richards note cards, circa 1980-2000
6. Josephine Miles, circa 1979
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BERTHOFF
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7. Research Files: includes notes, published articles, newspaper clippings, 1965-1993
8. "Literacy," clippings, 1978-1993
9. Marvell and Schubert: includes correspondence, 1972-1990
10. Red notebook: Advanced Composition, 1983-1986
11. Tan notebook, various classes on composition, 1977-1979
Box: 2
13. Notes and reports on ventilation, 1984
14. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
15. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
16. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
17. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
18. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
19. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
20. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
21. Note cards includes notes on authors, topics, lectures, allegory, Cassirer, Sylvia Plath, and I.A. Richards, circa 1980-2000
22. Notes for books, 1951-2006
23. Notes on a collection of talks "not a useful project," 1973-1985
24. Notes on a collection of talks "not a useful project," 1973-1985
25. Notes on a pedagogy of knowing, 1978
26. Notes on other authors includes I.A. Richards, Susan K. Langer, and Francis Bacon, undated
27. Paulo Freire, includes notes and newspaper clippings, 1972-1984
28. Thomas Wyatt, includes drafts, correspondence, clippings, 1962-1977
29. Wendell Harris, includes correspondence, 1983-1986
Series III. Teachings, 1918-2012
1. Bryn Mawr College, “Freshman English,” 1950-1961
2. Class notes, linguistics for language and literature, 1954-1983
3. Classroom exercises, 1970-1984
4. Classroom exercises, 1976-1990
5. College lectures includes Vassar, Rutgers, Upsala, Assumption, and Brooklyn, 1988-1994
6. New Yorker Magazine covers, 1982-1987
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7. Notes, course reviews, correspondence, articles from Vassar College, 1918, 1981-1993
8. Physiological Psychology course notes, circa 1990
9. Student papers, 1950-1982
10. Student work, circa 1998
11. Syllabi for UMass Boston English courses, 1974-1982
Box: 3
12. Writing and reading, 1988-1995
13. Workshops, student notes, and grades, 1982-1989
Series IV. Writings, 1941-1914 (1-18)
1. Ann E. Berthoff's writings on poets in the Sewanee Review: Includes I.A. Richards, SKL and Walker Percy, 1964-2012
2. Aspects of form, 1972-1991
3. Biographical and autobiographical notes, undated
4. Book reviews religion and literature, 1993
5. "Correspondences" 1-11, 1984-1988
6. Essays and reviews, 1966-2010
7. FDE Schleiermacher; includes notes, 1970-1985
8. Festschrift for Ann E. Berthoff, 1986-1989
9. "Learning About Learning," 1952-1993
10. Paulo Freire, SKL, Sapir, 1968-2013
11. Juvenalia [Berthoff’s student work and publications of QUAD], 1941-1943
12. Lectures, circa 1960-circa 1969
13. Manuscript, "How Philosophy Can Help Us" includes notes, 1988
14. Manuscript, "Metaphors and the Powers of language;" includes remarks, 2009
15. Manuscript, "Pierce, Swedenborg, and the Philosophy of Representation;" includes notes, 1981
16. Manuscript, "The New 4-H Club," includes notes, drafts, undated
17. Manuscript, "Toulmin;" includes notes and articles, 1969-1986
18. Manuscript, "Writing It Down, Writing It Out, Writing It Up" includes notes, 2006
19. Berthoff articles with notes, 1972-1983
20. Booklets on writing and CD-R titled April Williams, [1 of 3], 1974-2014
21. Berthoff writings and booklets, [2 of 3], 1974-2014
22. Teachers & Writers Collaborative Newsletter, volume 4, issue 3, and copy of Errors in Composition, [3 of 3], 1974-2014
23. Writings, articles and notes, 1981-2000
24. On Susan K. Langer, NEH Grant Application for Bunting Fellowship, 1989-2000
25. On Susan K. Langer includes: notes and published articles, 1983-1993
26. Papers about I.A. Richards, 1929-1999
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Box: 4
27. "People using her work": Tom Derrick, 1999-2003
28. "People writing about her," includes essays and misc. notes by Hepsie, 1980-2010
29. "People writing about her," includes reflections, and interviews, 2009-2014
30. "People writing about her," 1990-1992
31. Published articles of Ann E. Berthoff includes: microfilm, 1973-1988
32. Published essays of Ann E. Berthoff in Rhetoric as Hermeneutic and Journal of Basic Writing, 1991-1996
33. Published essays with notes, 1972-2013
34. "Rhetoric as Hermeneutic", 1991-1993
35. "Save for Hepsie," circa 1996
36. Unpublished talks, includes table of contents of sorts identifying what she had organized, circa 1980-circa 1999
37. Unpublished talks, includes table of contents of sorts identifying what she had organized, circa 1980-circa 1999
Box: 5
38. Various writings and collected articles, 1975-2000
39. Write ups on awards and career at UMass Boston, biographical data; includes curriculum vita, correspondence, 1948-2004
Box: 6
40. CD-R “Berthoff research, April Williams, 2014 March-May
41. Microfilm, Learning the Uses of Chaos, Berthoff, Ann E., 1979 May
