MC 00218 Guide to the Lawrence Sheldon Rudner Papers, 1967 - 1998

Creator

Rudner, Lawrence Sheldon, 1947-1995

Quantity

5.5 Linear feet

General Physical Description note

11 archival storage boxes

Location note

off-site

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff .

Language

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

The Lawrence Sheldon Rudner Papers were a gift of Lauren Rudner, February 9, 1995; John Kessel, 1998; Lars Osberg, November 8, 2002; and Ruth B. Hutchinson, May 6, 2003.

Acquisitions Information

The Lawrence Sheldon Rudner Papers were a gift of Lauren Rudner, February 9, 1995; John Kessel, 1998; Lars Osberg, November 8, 2002; and Ruth B. Hutchinson, May 6, 2003.

Processing

Processed by: Caroline Weaver; machine-readable finding aid created by: Stephanie A. Horowitz

Scope and Content Note

The Lawrence Sheldon Rudner Papers mainly comprise documentation of Rudner's career as a writer and as a professor at North Carolina State University. It includes manuscripts of his novels, short stories, speeches, and non-fiction articles; reviews of his books; research files on the Holocaust and other topics; information on courses Rudner taught at North Carolina State and elsewhere; applications for grants; and correspondence. A small portion of the collection - comprising photographs, newspaper articles, correspondence, and biographical information - documents Rudner's personal life.

Biographical Note

Lawrence Sheldon Rudner was born in Detroit, Michigan, on January 7, 1947. He attended Mumford High School in Detroit. During the 1960s, Rudner studied at the London School of Economics, receiving a diploma in philosophy in 1967. He also attended Michigan State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in history and social science in 1968; a master's degree in history in 1971; a master's degree in communications and journalism in 1972; and a doctorate in English and American Studies in 1977. During the Vietnam War, Rudner was a member of the anti-war organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

From 1975-1976, Rudner taught English courses at Western Michigan University and from 1976-1978, at Lakeland College in Wisconsin. Rudner began teaching in the English department at North Carolina State University as an assistant professor in 1978. He became an associate professor in 1985 and a full professor in 1992. Rudner taught courses at North Carolina State in journalism, American literature, world literature, and occasionally creative writing. The focus of his academic career, however, was the Holocaust, about which he researched, taught, and wrote. He created a course in the English department at North Carolina State entitled " Literature of the Holocaust" (later, "The Holocaust in Literature"), which continued to be taught after his death. In 1988, Rudner published his first novel, "The Magic We Do Here", which won the 1988 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction. According to Rudner, this novel was an attempt to fight the passing of memory about the Holocaust. Rudner also published several short stories and non-fiction articles relating to the Holocaust. His second and final novel, "Memory's Tailor", was published posthumously in 1998 after being edited by colleague John Kessel and editor Susan Ketchin.

During the 1980s, Rudner spent many of his summers in Poland and Czechoslovakia as an American Studies Fellowship lecturer. He was awarded a Senior Fulbright Fellowship for 1986-1987 and spent that time at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland teaching courses on American literature and a seminar on Isaac Bashevis Singer. Also during the 1980s, Rudner and colleague Sandy Kessler taught a humanities course entitled "Survival and Growth Under Adverse Conditions" to long-term inmates of Raleigh's Central Prison.

In 1969, Rudner married his wife Lauren, with whom he had two children, Joshua and Elizabeth. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1994, stopped teaching after the spring semester of that year, and died on May 5, 1995 at the age of 48.

Controlled Terms

1. American literature--Jewish authors
2. Articles
3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in literature
4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Fiction
5. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland
6. Judaism in literature
7. Lecture notes
8. Letters (correspondence)
9. Literature, Modern
10. Literature--Study and teaching
11. North Carolina State University. Dept. of English.
12. Photographs
13. Poland
14. Speeches

Access to Collection

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, fax, or our web form.

Mail

Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111

Telephone

(919) 515-2273

Fax

(919) 513-1787

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Lawrence Sheldon Rudner Papers, Special Collections Department, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Access to Collection

North Carolina State University does not own copyright to this collection. Individuals obtaining materials from the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Department are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.