Studies in Honor of Ruth Lee Kennedy

manosca157 Ruth Lee Kennedy Papers, 1900-1988 (bulk 1930-1988) Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Melvin Carlson, Jr.. Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Deborah A. Richards. 2006-09-21 Finding aid written in English Smith College Archives Ruth Lee Kennedy Papers, 1900-1988 (bulk 1930-1988) Finding Aid RG 42 Melvin Carlson, Jr. 2005

Collection Overview Kennedy, Ruth Lee, 1895- Ruth Lee Kennedy Papers1900-1988 1930-1988 RG 42 4 boxes (3 linear ft.) English Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

The papers of Ruth Lee Kennedy contain papers related to her career at Smith College and the University of Arizona as Professor of Spanish Literature and her distinguished career as a scholar of Spanish literature's Golden Age (17th century), especially the works of Tirso de Molina. Biographical Note

Ruth Lee Kennedy was born on October 15, 1895 in Centerville, Texas, the daughter of Oliver William Kennedy and Carrie Lee McWaters Kennedy. Professor Kennedy did her undergraduate and masters level education at the University of Texas in Austin (B.A., 1916; M.A., 1917) in Spanish language and literature. She did further graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley (1924-1925) before completing her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1931.

Professor Kennedy began her teaching career as a teacher of Spanish in the San Benito, Texas (1917-1918) and Temple, Texas (1918-1919) high schools. She served as an instructor in the Oklahoma College for Women (1918-1919), at Sam Houston State Teacher's College (1920-1921), at the University of Puerto Rico (1921-1922), at Southwest Texas State Teacher's College (1922-1926) and at San Antonio Junior College (1926-1930). Professor Kennedy was appointed to the Spanish Department at Smith College in 1930 and taught there until her retirement in 1961. She was made full professor in 1944, served as chair of the department and as head of the Smith Junior Year in Spain (1956-1958) during her tenure at Smith College. Also during those years she also taught at various colleges and universities in the United States and lectured both here in the United States and in Spain, England and Germany. She was the first American woman to lecture at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1951 that allowed her to further her studies in Spanish literature, as well as fellowships from the American Association of University Women and the Jusserant traveling fellowship of the University of Pennsylvania.

After her retirement from Smith College in 1961, Professor Kennedy moved to Tucson, Arizona and assumed a professorship at the University of Arizona from which she retired in 1970. In 1979 Professor Kennedy was admitted to the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Espanola, the American branch of the Real Academia Espanola. Among her other honors was the Festschrift published in 1977, Studies in Honor of Ruth Lee Kennedy edited by Vern G. Williamsen and A. F. Michael Atlee (Chapel Hill, N.C. and Madrid). In retirement, Professor Kennedy continued to do research and publish.

In her lifetime Professor Kennedy was generally regarded as the world's foremost scholar of the 17th century Spanish dramatist Tirso de Molina, who was the topic of one of her books, Studies in Tirso (1974), and of numerous articles. In addition to her book study of Tirso, Professor Kennedy also published the book The Dramatic Art of Moreto (1932); she published nearly 50 articles in her long career. She was a mentor to numerous younger scholars, a fact evident in the collected correspondence of these papers.

In retirement in Tucson, Professor Kennedy enjoyed gardening and was often cited for her gardens in Tucson publications. She died on February 4, 1988 at age 92 in Tucson. Her ashes were buried in the family plots in Houston, Texas.

The Ruth Lee Kennedy Fellowship at the University of Arizona and at Rice University is given to students of the Golden Age literature. At the University of Texas at Austin Professor Kennedy established two fellowships in honor of her parents: the Carrie Lee Kennedy Fellowship (for graduate students or undergraduate students of exceptionally outstanding ability who are studying Golden Age of Spanish Literature) and the Oliver William Kennedy Fellowship (for a graduate student or a faculty member for travel to Spain or other European countries to do research in the Golden Age of Spanish Literature). The Ruth Lee Kennedy/Fulbright travel grant is co-sponsored by the International Institute in Spain and the Commission of Cultural, Educative and Scientific Interchange between Spain and the United States is granted to Spanish women, lawyers or doctors who wish to carry out investigation projects or extended studies in a university in the United States.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Ruth Lee Kennedy papers contain biographical materials, some items from her youth and early years as a teacher of Spanish literature and language and portraits and photographs of Kennedy and her family. There are extensive files of correspondence received by Professor Kennedy related to her professional activities among Spanish literature scholars in the United States and Europe as well as from other academicians. There are a few letters of Professor Kennedy's. Correspondents include, but are not limited to: Maria Araujo-Fernandez, Jamie Asensio, J. B. Avalle-Arce, Hannah E. Bergman, Alice H. Bushee, John Brooks, Courtney Bruerton, James A. Castaneda, Jill Ker Conway, J. P. Wickersham Crawford, William J. Entwistle, William L. Fichter, Robert A. Folchi, Otis H. Green, Guillermo Guastavino, John Hull, Lloyd Kasten, L. Klaiber, Irving A. Leonard, George E. McSpadden, G. Marañón, Thomas C. Mendenhall, Sylvanus Griswold Morley, Joaquina Navarro, Emilio Navarro Sanz, Tomas Navarro Tomas, Jack H. Parker, Manuel Penedo Rey, Agapito Rey, Miguel Romera Navarro, Nina Scott, Lesley B. Simpson, Gerald Wade, Bruce W. Wardropper, Margaret Wilson and Maria Eugenia Zornoga de Marques. The correspondence is arranged by date.

The papers also include lecture and research notes. Professor Kennedy's notes are usually written in pencil in very small handwritten letters on small pieces of paper and assembled in small bundles-the back of an envelope, half sheets of letter sized paper or other small sheets. Often the content of a given group of papers is unclear; an anonymous individual has very helpfully identified many of the bundles of papers with precise notes as to the content of a particular bundle. The lecture and research notes are arranged in very broad subject topics that in no way limit the contents of the file.

The papers are arranged in the following series: I. General Biographical II. Photographs III. Correspondence IV. Publications

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The records are open for research according to the regulations of the Smith College Archives without any additional restrictions.

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the documents must be requested from the Smith College Archives. Smith College owns copyright to any published material relating to college events and activities. Provenance and copyright ownership of other materials is unknown and researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Ruth Lee Kennedy Papers, Box #, Smith College Archives.

History of the Collection

The Ruth Lee Kennedy papers were created and/or assembled by Professor Kennedy, Professor of Spanish Literature at Smith College (1931-1961) and at the University of Arizona (1961-1970) and were donated to the College Archives.

Additional Information Series I: General 1 1 Biographical materials 1 2 Curriculum vita, lists of RLK's publications, etc. 1 3 Guggenheim application 1951 1 4 Transcripts and certificates 1920s 1 5 Addresses, etc. 1 6 University of Pennsylvania items 1930s-1970s 1 6a Smith College appointment papers 1931-1959 1 7 University of Arizona appointment papers 1961-1968 1 8 General miscellaneous 1930s-1980s 1 9 Valedictory address (high school), by RLK 1912 1 10 Poetry, by Steve 1920s 1 11 The Alamo (yearbook) - San Antonio Junior College 1928 1 12 Writings, by E. C. Kennedy (RLK's brother) 1970-1980s 1 13 Marta Antonio Estades Saez - Certificates 1940-1952 1 14 Passports and international certificates of vaccinations 1936-1966 1 15 European library cards, etc. 1937-1958 1 16 Award certificates, identifications, etc. 1940s-1980s 1 17 Grade book - San Benito High School, Texas 1917-1918 Series II: Photographs 1 1 Photographs of RLK Late 1900s-early 1910s (?) 1 2 Portrait of RLK 1918 or 1919 1 3 Portrait of RLK 1925 1 4 Portrait of RLK 1932 or 1933 1 5 Portrait of RLK 1936 1 6 Portrait of RLK 1951 1 7 Portraits of RLK n.d. 1 8 Photographs of Carrie Lee McWaters Kennedy and RLK 1 9 Photographs of RLK 1 10 Portrait of Ernest C. Kennedy and of RLK and her family 1 11 RLK at Smith College 1 12 San Jacinto Museum (Texas) 1 13 Photographs of friends 1 14 Photographs - Smith College in Spain 1 15 Photographs - Europe 1 16 Portraits - Unidentified individuals 1 17 Christmas greetings received (photographs) from various individuals Photographs of RLK in formal dress (Kennedy Photo Service, Houston, Texas) Series III: Correspondence 1 1 Correspondence to and from RLK's mother n.d. 1 2 Kennedy Chronicle - RLK's Christmas letters 1955-1988 1 3 Correspondence 1930-1937 1 4 Correspondence 1938-1939 1 5 Correspondence 1940-1941 1 6 Correspondence 1942-1944 1 7 Correspondence 1945 1 8 Correspondence 1946-1947 1 9 Correspondence 1948 1 10 Correspondence 1949 1 11 Correspondence 1950 1 12 Correspondence 1951 1 13 Correspondence 1952 1 14 Correspondence 1953-1955 1 15 Correspondence 1956-1958 1 16 Correspondence 1959 2 17 Correspondence 1960-1961 2 18 Correspondence 1962-1964 2 19 Correspondence 1965-1966 2 20 Correspondence 1967 2 21 Correspondence 1968-1969 2 22 Correspondence 1970-1971 2 23 Correspondence 1972 2 24 Correspondence 1973 2 25 Correspondence 1974 2 26 Correspondence 1975 2 27 Correspondence 1976 2 28 Correspondence 1977 2 29 Correspondence 1978 2 30 Correspondence 1979-1980 2 31 Correspondence 1981-1982 2 32 Correspondence 1983-1988 2 33 Correspondence - On Tirso manuscript 1972 2 34-35 Correspondence n.d. 2 36 Retirement, University of Arizona - Program, speeches, letters of appreciation received 1970 2 37 Retirement, University of Arizona - Guest signature book 1970 Series IV: Publications 2 1 Attacks on Lope and His Theatre in 1617-1621 2 2 Certain Phases of the Sumptuary Decrees of 1623 and their Relation to Tirso's Theatre 1942 2 3 The Close Friendship of Gabriel Tellez and Perez de Montalvan: its Possible Significance for the "Segunda parte of Tirso -- and Addenda 1972-1975, (1975-1976) 2 4 "El condenado por desconfiado": 1st Ambient and its Date of Composition 1974 2 5 "El condenado por desconfiado": Various Reasons for Questioning its Authenticity in Tirso's Theatre 1976 2 6 "El condenado por desconfiado": Yet Further Reasons for Questioning its Authenticity in Tirso's Theatre 1976 2 7 Concerning Seven Manuscripts Linked with Moreto's Name 1935 2 8 Contemporary Satire Against Ruiz de Alarcon as Lover 1945 2 9 The Date, Significance and Organic Unity of Mira's Dyptich on Ruy de Avalos and Don Alvaro de Luna 2 10 The Date of El "Amor medico" and "Escarmientos para el cuerdo" : Tirso's supposed trip to Portugal in 1619 2 11 Did Tirso Send to Press a Primera parte of Madrid (1626) which Contained El condenado por desconfiado 2 12 Escarraman and Glimpses of the Spanish Court in 1637-38 1941 2 13 "La estrella de Sevilla", Reinterpreted 2 14 Estudios sobre Tirso, 1 1983 3 15 La gala del nadar-date and authorship 3 16 Has Tirso Satirized the Conde-Duque de Olivares in Nineucio of Tanto es lo de mas como lo de menos? 1980 3 17 Literary and Political Satire in Tirso's "La fingida Arcadia" 1964 3 18 The Madrid of 1617-25: Certain Aspects of Social, Moral, and Educational Reform 3 19 Las mangas cortas in Lope's Theatre (1611-1616): Their Importance as a Tentative Norm for Chronology 1962 3 20 Moretiana: A Source for El caballero 1939 3 21 El mundo literario de Madrid, en una comedia de Tirso 1979-1980 3 22 Notes on Two Interrelated Plays of Tirso: El amor y el amistad and Ventura te de Dios, hijo 1960 3 23 On the Draft of Five Plays by Tirso de Molina 1942 3 24 Pantaleon de Ribera, "Sirene," Castillo y Solorzano, and the Academia de Madrid in Early 1625 3 25 La perspectiva politica de Tirso en "Privar contra su gusto", de 1621, y la de sus comedias politicas posteriors 1981 3 26 Philip IV's Advocacy of San Blas on February 3, 1623: Its Reflection in the Blas-Menga "Romancero" and the Works of Gabriel Tellez 1976-1977, (1978) 3 27 "La prudencia en la jujer" y el ambiente quella produjo 1949 3 28 A Reappraisal of Tirso's Relations to Lope and his Theatre 1965-1966 3 29 La renegada de Valladolid 1937 3 30 Sin honra no hay valentina 1939-1940 3 31 Sobre la relacion de Tirso con Cervantes 1979 3 32 The Sources of La fuerza del natural 1936 3 33 Studies for the Chronology of Tirso's Theatre 1943 3 34 The Theme of "Stratonice" in the Drama of the Spanish Peninsula 1940 3 35 Tirso's Desde Toledo a Madrid: its Date and Place of Composition 1971 3 36 Tirso's "El mayor desengano": Its Date of Composition, Its Ambient, and Its Interpretation 1976 3 37 Tirso's No hay peor sordo: Its Date and Place of Composition 3 38 Tirso's "La republica al reves" Its Debt to Mira's "La rueda de la fortuna": Its Date of Composition, and Its Importance 1973 3 39 Tirso's "La venturea con el nombre": Its Source and Date of Composition 1969 3 40 Tirso's La vida y muerte de Herodes: Its Date, Its Importance, and Its Debt to Mira's Theatre 3 41 Tirso's Satire of Ruiz de Alarcon 1964 3 42 Varia: Moreto's Span of Dramatic Activity 3 43 RLK's book reviews on other writers 3 44 Book reviews on RLK's publications Series V: Lecture and Research Notes, including related teaching activities 3 1 Smith College Junior Year in Spain and other Spanish language and literature activities at Smith College 1950s-1960 3 2 University of Arizona Ph.D. requirements in Spanish 1960s 3 3 Grade books - University of Arizona 1961-1970 3 4 Course introduction 3 5 Introductory notes, course assignments, test questions 3 6 Introductory materials on Spanish literature - Research notes, lectures and bibliographies 3 7 Spanish literature through the 15th century - Lecture notes and course outline 3 8 Smith College - Spanish language and literature - Miscellaneous 3 9 Drama of the Golden Age of Spanish literature - lecture notes for professionals and a slide presentation (no slides) 3 10 Lecture notes - Various topics 3 11 Notes to "Majiganga" 3 12 Cervantes - Don Quixote - research and lecture notes 3 13 Cervantes - general research notes and lectures 3 14 Course notes and exams for University of Arizona Spanish 399 - Drama of the "Siglo del Oro" - Lope de Vega 3 15 Research notes on Lope de Vega - life and works 3 16 Research and lecture notes on Tirso de Molina - life and works 3 17 Research notes for and drafts of RLK's article - "La prudencia en la jujer" y el ambiente quella produjo 1940s 3 18-19 Research notes - various topics 3 20 Miscellaneous items