Stewart Sanderson Papers
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Stewart Sanderson Papers
Classmark: LAVC/STA/1
Creator(s): Sanderson, Stewart (1924-)
Date(s): 1956-1983
Size and medium: 6 boxes with 51 files of ms., typed and photocopied papers, and 1 A4 desk diary.; 2.05 linear metres.
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/409826
Collection group(s): Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
Description
This series consists largely of correspondence and research papers created and collected by Stewart Sanderson during his appointment as Director of the Institute of Dialect and Folk Life Studies (IDFLS).
Biography or history
Stewart Sanderson was born in Malawi in 1924. Educated in Edinburgh, he went on to serve in the Royal Navy, and then to study at the University of Edinburgh. It was at this university that Professor John Orr, Chair of French Language, won widespread support for the formation of a Research School of Scottish Studies. An inter-faculty committee was established to direct the School, and in 1950 Sanderson was appointed secretary to this committee and to the School. He also became the School's archivist, and Assistant Editor of 'Scottish Studies' (the journal of the School of Scottish Studies). Sanderson was appointed Senior Research Fellow at Edinburgh in 1957.
In 1960 Sanderson was appointed Lecturer in Folk Life Studies in the department of English Language and Medieval English Literature at the University of Leeds (the first such lectureship in Folk Life Studies in any British university). At the same time he was appointed Director of the Leeds Folk Life Survey. Both posts were created as a result of the success of Harold Orton and A. Norman Jeffares' proposals for the establishment of a Folklore Studies programme at Leeds, and evidently Sanderson was the unusually gifted and suitable man they had in mind for these positions at the time the proposals were submitted. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1965; and a year earlier in 1964 had become Director of the newly-established Institute of Dialect and Folk Life Studies (IDFLS). During this time, as well as dealing with the administration of the Institute and contributing to its teaching and research activities, he was involved in the Survey of English Dialects (SED) publication programme.
In 1968 he was appointed to the Linguistic Atlas of England (LAE) Editorial Committee. He was involved in managing the editing and preparation of the LAE during Orton's visits overseas, and following Orton's death, oversaw its completion and publication in 1978.
Sanderson's influence in the School of English led to his appointment as Chairman of the School in 1980. He retired to Scotland with the closure of the IDFLS in 1983.
System of arrangement
The series has been arranged in the following subseries:
- Correspondence
- Fieldwork and Research
- Lectures and Talks
- Institute Administration
Access and usage
Reproduction
Access
Some parts of this collection are in copyright. Photocopies or digital images of the material in copyright can be supplied for private study purposes only. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder’s permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.
Some parts of this collection have not been listed in detail and the content may be protected under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation. Please consult the relevant part of the catalogue for specific details. Where a detailed record does not exist, please contact Special Collections. Upon receipt of your request, a member of the team will discuss your requirements with you and review relevant material accordingly
The catalogue titles or descriptions in this collection may contain terminology and phrases that would now be considered unacceptable. Where present these original terms continue to be included to preserve historical accuracy and provide social and historical context.
Material in this collection is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can only be supplied by the Library for research or private study within the terms of copyright legislation. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.
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