Oral history of John Barth

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John Barth, American author, was born in Cambridge, Maryland, May 27, 1930. Barth studied at the Johns Hopkins University and received his B.A. in 1951, his M.A. in 1952. Barth was an associate professor of English, Penn State University, 1953-1965 and professor of English, SUNY, Buffalo, 1965-1973. In 1973, he returned to Hopkins where he was appointed professor of English and creative writing. John Barth is now Professor Emeritus at the University.John Barth is the author of several novels including The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), Giles Goat-Boy (1966), Chimera (1972), Sabbatical: A Romance (1982), The Friday Book (1984), The Tidewater Tales (1987), and The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1991). In 1972, Barth was the recipient of the National Book Award in fiction for Chimera. In this interview, Barth discusses his years as a student at Johns Hopkins in the 1940s-50s and his return to Hopkins as a faculty member. He describes changes that led to the development of the Writing Seminars and reflects on serving as a mentor to Hopkins undergraduate and graduate students. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Franklin Knight

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Franklin Knight, born in Jamaica in 1942, is a professor of Atlantic History in the Department of History at Johns Hopkins, having started teaching in 1973. He was the first African-American professor to be tenured at the university and has received numerous awards and honors for his academic achievements. Professor Knight has published multiple books and articles, as well as directed the History of African Americans at the Johns Hopkins Institutions project. In this oral history, Knight discusses the history of the History Department and the university during his tenure at Hopkins, as well as his own experiences with Latin American scholarship and teaching. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Elise Hancock

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Elise Hancock became the editor of the Johns Hopkins Magazine in 1973. During her editorship, the Magazine switched to a bimonthly schedule and was twice named "one of the top ten Alumni Magazines in North America" by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. In this oral history, Hancock discusses the Johns Hopkins Magazine, the gender balance of making Hopkins co-ed in the 1970s, and the history of the university. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Richard Macksey

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Richard Macksey was born in 1931. He received his B.A from Johns Hopkins in 1953 and earned his Ph.D. from the University in 1957. Macksey went on to work for the university as a professor teaching critical theory, comparative literature and film studies. He also served as the co-founder and director of the Johns Hopkins University Humanities Center. Macksey is also known for his extensive private library, which is home to more than 70,000 books and manuscripts. In this interview, Macksey recounts Hopkins' early history and those who were instrumental in shaping it. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

Oral history of Neil Grauer

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Neil Grauer, born in 1947, is a journalist and editorial cartoonist who grew up in Great Neck, New York. Grauer received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1969 and a masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1970. Grauer was a reporter and cartoonist for the Baltimore News- American from 1970 until 1980, after which he served as the public affairs officer in the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General's Office. In 1984, he published Wits and Sages which profiles twelve contemporary newspaper columnists. In 1988 his Drugs and the Law appeared as part of the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs. In this oral history, Grauer discusses his student days at Hopkins in the 1960s, including the political unrest of the time, his activities with the student body, and his work cartooning for the News-Letter. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series. Due to a technical error with one of the audio cassettes, Grauer's oral history is only partially transcribed, with approximately one-fifth of the content missing from the transcript. The audio file contains the full recording.