Fonds - William Herbert New fonds

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William Herbert New fonds

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  • Multiple media

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  • 1904 - 2018 (Creation)
    Creator
    New, William Herbert

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Physical description

34.72 m of textual records and other materials.

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Name of creator

(1938-)

Biographical history

William Herbert (Bill) New was born in Vancouver, 28 March 1938. He enrolled at the University of British Columbia in 1956. Over the next five years, he completed the Secondary Teacher Training program, earning his teaching certificate and specializing in Geography and English. After graduating with his B.Ed. degree (with the Maxwell Cameron Medal) in 1961, he won a scholarship to enter the M.A. program in English; there he began in earnest his studies of Canadian writing and the politics of region and literary form. In 1963, with the M.A. complete, he won the IODE international scholarship to pursue further education at the University of Leeds. Specializing in the literatures of the Commonwealth, he completed a dissertation on the modern Bildungsroman as a social paradigm, receiving his Ph.D. in 1966. In 1965 New joined the UBC English Department to establish a program in Commonwealth Literature. In 1966, he became assistant editor of Canadian Literature, working with George Woodcock and Donald Stephens. In 1977, New became editor of the journal, a position he held for 17 years. Frequently called upon as a manuscript reader and external examiner, he is recognized internationally for his innovative scholarship, critical writing, and development of reference materials, all of which has provided students of Canadian and Postcolonial culture with enhanced access to materials, and has transformed how these literatures are now studied and understood. By the year 2000 he had published several hundred articles and over 40 books, which range from several pedagogically effective and widely-used anthologies to six volumes of Dictionary of Literary Biography, from studies of Lowry and Laurence to studies of Mansfield and Munro, from an original rethinking of the history of literature in Canada to comparative studies of the social consequences of literary form, from analysis of the short story genre and of Canadian negotiations between landscape and power to books of poetry for both adults and children. Several of his books have been translated, and he has taught or lectured in the United States, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, China, Finland and Norway. New has received many honours and awards, including the Killam Research and Teaching Prize (1988, 1996), the Gabrielle Roy Award (1988), Jacob Biely Prize (1995), the Association of Canadian Studies Award of Merit (2000), the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C. Career Achievement Award (2001), and a VP Research Award in 2002. In 2002 New was named a University Killam Professor. He has also held a number of distinguished lectureships and was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1986. Prior to his retirement from UBC in 2003, New was active in University administration, serving as Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies at UBC (1975-1977), as acting head of the English Department, and on numerous university, national and international committees dealing with a variety of issues. He has also served on numerous award adjudication committees.

Custodial history

Scope and content

The fonds consists of records which document William New's publications, lectures, and other activities between 1947 and 2018. Most of the series are based on published works written or edited by New. The remaining records relate to other projects, prizes, awards, papers, conferences, correspondence, or professional interests. Collectively, these records reflect New's various roles as professor, public speaker, editor, author, and poet.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Fonds acquired from the creator in several accessions, the most recent in 2019.

Arrangement

Fonds was intellectually re-arranged in July 2017. Written and edited works were consolidated into one of five new series based on New’s groupings of his writing and material: criticism and history, children’s books, poetry, unpublished works, and editions and anthologies. Previously, each work was its own series.

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      Availability of other formats

      Selected photographs have been digitized and included in UBC Archives’ Historical Photograph Database (UBC 60.1).

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      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Researchers are strongly advised to check with the University Archives regarding permission to publish or otherwise use materials from this fonds.

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      Further accruals are expected.

      Alpha-numeric designations

      BCAUL control number: UBCARCH-900

      Physical description

      Includes: 220 photographs (prints and negatives, b&w and colour), 2 negative sheets, 42 computer diskettes, 1 audio cassette, and ephemera.

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