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was fired after protesting against the board's weakening of academic freedom, and Smith was drawn into the controversy when he wrote a paper for the
Students Association, "The Controversy at the University of Texas, 1939–1945." Though Smith did not formally leave the University of Texas until 1947,
282:
Smith accepted a position as professor of
English at the University of Minnesota in 1947, where he joined the American Studies program. During this time, Smith would continue to engage with questions of academic freedom, writing an essay, "Legislatures, Communists and State Universities," that
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In 1937, Smith enrolled again at
Harvard to complete a doctorate. He received his PhD in 1940 and returned to teaching at SMU, where he developed a new program, "History of American Civilization." He lasted only a year in Dallas before deciding to leave for a faculty position at the
314:. Published in 1950, the book gave its name to the Myth and Symbol School, and became a foundational text for the interdisciplinary field of American Studies. The book's topic was the collective perception of the 19th-century
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in 1969. A decade after he moved to
Berkeley, Smith immersed himself in a series of political actions, including the Free Speech movement and the anti-Vietnam war protests. He retired from Berkeley in 1974.
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Smith joined the
University of Texas a professor of both American history and English. He was reportedly happy with his work, his colleagues and his students. In 1944, however, university president
379:- Prize established in 1929 by the American Historical Association for the best book in history related to the United States. Smith was the 12th author to receive this biennial award.
798:
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1974 Guggenheim
Fellowship - Awarded to individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.]
253:, Smith's friend and colleague, offered to give Smith his comparative literature courses, and so to appease Beaty, Selecman moved Smith the Comparative Literature department.
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Smith, who did not yet have a PhD, returned to
Southern Methodist University in 1927 and began teaching in the English Department. He was also appointed as editor of the
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Smith was born in Dallas, Texas to a father, an accountant who was a native of
Kentucky, and a mother who was a native of Alabama. In 1922, he enrolled in
584:
171:(September 29, 1906 – June 6, 1986) was a scholar of American culture and literature. He is recognized as one of the founders of the academic discipline
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207:. In 1926, Smith received his Bachelor's degree at SMU, then enrolled at Harvard University, where he earned the Master of Fine Arts degree.
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At the same time, his editorial work almost proved to be the end of his promising academic career: in 1932, Smith wrote the preface to
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during its difficult years in the 1930s, is largely credited with the publication's survival. He would remember his experience on the
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Smith married Elinor Lucas in 1956. They had three children: Harriet Elinor Smith, Janet Carol Smith, and Mayne Smith.
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reported that an uncle encouraged Smith to read at an early age, and that the boy developed an interest in the works of
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241:'s short story "Miss Zilphia Gant" and published it through the Book Club of Texas. One of Smith's colleagues,
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Smith died at the age of 79 on June 6, 1986, following an automobile accident on May 30, 1986, near
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Gossett, Thomas F. "Smith, Henry Nash (1906–1986)." Handbook of Texas Online. December 1, 1995.
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argued against firing faculty members who had become members of the communist party.
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fire Smith. Though encouraged by the president to resign, Smith refused to do so.
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The Smith family left
Minneapolis in 1953, when Henry accepted a position at the
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American literature, culture, and ideology: essays in memory of Henry Nash Smith
458:
Richard
Bridgman, "In Memoriam: The American Studies of Henry Nash Smith", in:
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he departed Austin in 1945 for a temporary teaching position at Harvard.
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as "a sort of super-graduate seminar, an Institute of Higher Studies."
392:, 1950 (reprint Vintage Books, 1957; Harvard University Press, 1970,
158:, 1950 (reprint Vintage Books, 1957; Harvard University Press, 1970)
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Mark Twain's Fable of Progress: Political and Economic Ideas in
641:"John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | About the Fellowship"
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and other items of popular culture. He was associated with
599:"Henry Nash Smith Dies at 79; Berkeley Mark Twain Scholar"
462:, Spring 1987, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Spring 1987), pp. 259-268.
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Southern Methodist University: Founding and Early Years
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scholar, and the curator of the Mark Twain Papers. The
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Gossett, Thomas F. "Smith, Henry Nash (1906-1986)."
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245:, was scandalized and demanded that SMU president
390:Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth
312:Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth
156:Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth
799:Presidents of the Modern Language Association
794:Members of the American Philosophical Society
699:, Beverly Rose Voloshin (ed), P. Lang, 1990,
8:
425:Popular Culture and Industrialism, 1865-1890
739:University of California, Berkeley faculty
18:
774:20th-century American non-fiction writers
537:
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659:American Academy of Arts & Sciences
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410:Mark Twain: The Development of a Writer
583:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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764:University of Texas at Austin faculty
754:Southern Methodist University faculty
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365:American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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749:Southern Methodist University alumni
710:Guide to the Henry Nash Smith Papers
495:Thomas, Mary Martha Hosford (1974).
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501:Southern Methodist University Press
520:Texas State Historical Association
293:University of California, Berkeley
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789:People from Berkeley, California
421:, Rutgers University Press, 1964
310:Smith's most well-known work is
759:University of Minnesota faculty
356:American Philosophical Society
203:(SMU), where he studied under
1:
318:. Smith used sources such as
265:University of Texas at Austin
259:University of Texas at Austin
216:Southern Methodist University
201:Southern Methodist University
138:University of Texas at Austin
134:Southern Methodist University
97:Southern Methodist University
404:Mark Twain of the Enterprise
363:1961 elected member of the
354:1981 elected member of the
297:Modern Language Association
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769:American literary critics
744:Harvard University alumni
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195:Early life and education
16:American literary critic
431:Democracy and the Novel
334:Personal life and death
278:University of Minnesota
142:University of Minnesota
779:Bancroft Prize winners
205:John Hathaway McGinnis
175:. He was also a noted
412:, Belknap Press, 1962
377:John H. Dunning prize
714:The Bancroft Library
621:search.amphilsoc.org
617:"APS Member History"
460:The American Scholar
418:A Connecticut Yankee
480:. December 1, 1995.
189:Robert L. Stevenson
88:Academic background
784:People from Dallas
655:"Henry Nash Smith"
516:"Southwest Review"
102:Harvard University
39:September 29, 1906
705:978-0-8204-0850-7
478:Handbook of Texas
398:978-0-674-93955-4
349:Awards and honors
328:John William Ward
181:Handbook of Texas
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239:William Faulkner
223:Southwest Review
191:and Mark Twain.
173:American studies
169:Henry Nash Smith
125:American Studies
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566:on 2011-07-20
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130:Institutions
71:Elinor Lucas
61:Elko, Nevada
55:(1986-06-06)
53:June 6, 1986
734:1986 deaths
729:1906 births
691:Virgin Land
683:Virgin Land
320:dime novels
305:Virgin Land
723:Categories
664:2022-06-14
626:2022-06-14
570:2010-01-20
525:2024-05-06
499:. Dallas:
438:References
251:Lon Tinkle
177:Mark Twain
114:Discipline
104:(MFA, PhD)
35:1906-09-29
681:etext of
93:Education
579:cite web
324:Leo Marx
76:Children
117:English
703:
433:, 1978
427:, 1967
406:, 1957
396:
232:Review
228:Review
68:Spouse
564:(PDF)
557:(PDF)
384:Works
375:1950
369:1951
99:(BA)
701:ISBN
585:link
394:ISBN
326:and
50:Died
29:Born
712:at
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577:{{
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.