Kenneth Walter Cameron Papers
MC 00005
Special Collections Research Center
0.3 Linear feet
1 archival box
1938 - 1948, 1984, 1989 - 1994
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the
Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff.
Papers relating to Kenneth Walter Cameron's career teaching English at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University), as well as his participation in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) during World War II.
Educator, author and scholar of the American transcendental movement, Kenneth Walter Cameron (1908-2006) taught English at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University), 1938-1943, then at Temple University, and at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
1 archival box
Cameron, Kenneth Walter, 1908-
Restrictions to Access
This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Collection acquired in three stages
- November 9, 1983: 5 items
- April 16, 1984: 5 items
- March 9, 1989: 1 item
Acquisitions information
Given by Kenneth W. Cameron, Hartford, Conn., between 1983 and 1989.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Kenneth Walter Cameron Papers, MC 5, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Biographical Note
An educator, author and scholar of the American transcendental movement, Kenneth Walter Cameron (1908-2006) was born October 12, 1908 in Martins Ferry, Ohio, eldest son of Albert Ernest (1885-1938) and Zoe (1890-1957) Cameron. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from West Virginia University in 1930 and 1931, an S.T.B. from General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1935, and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1940. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1935. Cameron came to North Carolina as an instructor in English at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University) and taught from 1938 to 1943. After working briefly in a teaching position at Temple University, he settled permanently at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1946. At North Carolina State, Cameron taught a course in composition and a course entitled
The Bible as Literature. He was involved in teaching an English course in the Army Specialized Training Program (U.S.) (ASTP) during World War II. Cameron authored and edited numerous articles and books on Emerson, Thoreau, and their contemporaries. He served as editor for both
American Transcendental Quarterly and
Emerson Society Quarterly. Kenneth Cameron died February 8, 2006.
Scope and Content Note
The Kenneth Walter Cameron Papers relates to Cameron's career as a professor of English at
North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University), as well as his work as a scholar of the American transcendental movement. This collection contains the text of his radio address on Memorable Teachers, personal and professional correspondence with students and colleagues, a letter transmitting Dr. Cameron's publication
West Virginia University Sixty Years Ago - Memories of Louis Watson Chappell, and a letter notifying Cameron that he had received the Award for Distinguished Achievement in Emerson Studies. Also included are excerpts from Dr. Cameron's publication
Emerson the Essayist, and a copy of
Pen and Ink (Volume I, 1942), a literary publication written by students in Cameron's freshman composition class. Examples of student term papers, course handouts and grade books (1938 - 1943) round out the collection.
Organization of Collection
This collection is divided into three series:
- MC 00005 Series 1. Personal Papers, 1938 - 1993
- MC 00005 Series 2. Teaching Files, 1943 - 1948
- MC 00005 Series 3. Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) Material, 1993 - 1994
.
Related Material
- North Carolina State University. Dept. of English Records, 1924 - 1998 (UA 120.012)
-
Kenneth Walter Cameron Papers, 1727 - 1987, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University
-
Kenneth Walter Cameron Papers, 1753 - 1947, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
-
Kenneth Walter Cameron Collection of Material Relating Primarily to Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1811-1985, Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Massachusetts
Army Specialized Training Program (U.S.)
Cameron, Kenneth Walter, 1908-
North Carolina State College. Dept. of English.
College teachers--North Carolina--History
Personal Papers
MC 00005 Series 1
1938 - 1993
9 items
Scope and Contents note
This series contains correspondence about Cameron's publications and
Pen and Ink, a literary publication produced by students. It also contains items relating to his publications about
Ralph Waldo Emerson and other publications.
Letter from Cameron transmitting text of radio address
Memorable Teachers, which contains an anecdote about
Charles M. Heck, Professor of Physics at NCSU
1
1
March 20, 1989
Text of radio address
Memorable Teachers
1
1
Letter from Cameron transmitting his publication
West Virginia University, Sixty Years Ago - Memories of Louis Watson Chappell,
1
1
November 31, 1993
General note
Chappell
was a folklorist of Appalachia and the Albemarle, born in North Carolina, and spent some of his later years in Raleigh.
Letter from
The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society to Cameron notifying him of his receiving the Award for Distinguished Achievement in Emerson studies
1
1
October 2, 1993
Announcements and excerpts of Cameron's publication
Emerson the Essayist (an outline of his philosophical development through 1836)
1
1
[1945]
Copy of excerpt from
Contemporary Authors, v.
24, listing Cameron's publications; also, Dr. Cameron's resume.
1
1
Letter from Cameron to the archivist transmitting
Pen and Ink, a student literary publication from
1942
1
2
November 7, 1983
Pen and Ink, a collection of student essays and poems, v.
1. Inscribed by Cameron inside the front cover: "the papers in this gathering were written by freshman students at N.C. State University between 1938 and 1942. They were all students of Prof. Kenneth W. Cameron."
1
2
1942
Announcement and information on the publication of
Pen and Ink, updated. News clippings on two
Letters to the Editor about
Pen and Ink updated that were published in the
Technician
1
2
Teaching Files
MC 00005 Series 2
1938 - 1948
7 items
Scope and Contents note
This series contains a few student papers, including one written by a British student during World War II. It also contains a copy of Cameron's grade books with student names but not the grades, 1938 - 1943, as well as copies of his student handouts, including course information, etc., 1939, 1940 and undated.
Marriage in the Ancient World, English 102
1
3
May, 1943
Druids, by
W. T. Kirk, English 103
1
3
May, 1943
General note
Dr. Cameron's note:
British student sent to U.S. during Nazi bombing of Britain.
Astrology, by
Julian Lawrence Robinson, English 103
1
3
June 12, 1943
Liberal Eudcation for the American Doctor, by
Giraud V. Foster
1
3
December 18, 1948
Letter from Cameron to
Maurice Toler, including an anecdote about one of his students from his Freshman English course
1
4
November 5, 1993
Copy of Cameron's grade books which include students' names but not the grades
1
4
1938 - 1943
Copy of Cameron's course handouts, including course information, etc., and [no date]
1
4
1939, 1940
Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) Material
MC 00005 Series 3
1993 - 1994
6 items
Scope and Contents note
This series contains correspondence sent by Cameron to former Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) students. as well as writings about his experiences teaching English courses to the ASTP students during World War II.
Letter from Cameron to
Maurice Toler transmitting a letter he wrote to former ASTP students
1
5
September 20, 1993
General note
In the transmittal letter, Cameron talks about some family history papers which were compiled by his ASTP students.
Letter to former ASTP students read at a reunion of former ASTP students in Raleigh, on
October 2, 1993;
1
5
September 21, 1993
General note
Dr. Cameron reminisces about his experiences teaching English courses to the ASTP students during World War II.
Letter from
Maurice Toler to Cameron discussing ideas for gathering material about the ASTP program and its students; also about his efforts to locate the family history papers which Cameron deposited at the "State Library or other agency in Raleigh"
1
5
October 27, 1993
Letter from Cameron discussing the effort to gather material about the ASTP program and students; he also discusses a thank-you note he received from a former student who, with Cameron's encouragement, passed freshman English after failing it two previous times
1
5
November 5, 1993
Letter from Cameron transmitting a copy of a letter from a former ASTP student who was not able to attend the
October 1993 reunion
1
5
March 17, 1994
Letter from
Vincent W. Kafka to Cameron reminiscing about his experiences in the ASTP program and in particular taking Cameron's English course
1
5
December 9, 1993