Guide to the Arthur Adkins Papers 1948-1996


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Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary (10)
• Information on Use
• Access (1)
• Citation (2)
• Biographical Note (25)
• Scope Note (30)
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings (11)
• INVENTORY (29)
• Series I: Correspondence
• Series II: Subject Files
• Series III: Academic (27)
  • Subseries 1: Oxford
  • Subseries 2: University of Chicago (6)
  • Subseries 3: Other (21)
• Series IV: Research
• Series V: Writings (1)
• Series VI: Restricted (1)

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

Series VI, Restricted, includes departmental files and student material that fall under a 30 or 80 year restriction.

The remainder of the collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Adkins, Arthur. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Arthur Adkins was born in 1929. He was raised and educated in Great Britain. He received his B.A, M.A. and D.Phil. from Oxford in 1952, 1955, and 1957 respectively. After receiving his D.Phil., he held positions at the British universities of Glasgow, London, Oxford, and Reading. He was offered a position as a Senior Visiting Fellow in the Cornell University Society for the Humanities in Ithaca, New York for the academic year 1967-1968 but he turned it down in order to focus on departmental restructuring then occurring at the University of Reading. He was offered the position once again for the academic year 1969-1970, at which time he accepted.

Adkins joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1974. In 1977, he was named the Edward Olson Professor, a prestigious appointment allotted to a distinguished Professor in Classical Languages & Literatures. He served as Chairman of Classical Languages & Literatures from 1975 to 1980. In 1975, Adkins and University of Chicago professor James Redfield conceived the Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World (CAMW). The program, instituted in May 1979, granted advanced degrees and coordinated the work of scholars studying languages, history, and archaeology. It was one of the first PhD programs in the country to offer an interdisciplinary approach to the ancient world. He served as Chair of the committee for a number of years following and participated in a series of efforts to restructure and refine the committee’s curriculum, requirements, and general organization and purpose. The CAMW has since be restructured and has evolved into what is now known as the Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World (PAMW).

In his own academic research and writing, Adkins was particularly influential in the field of Ancient Greek values and ethics. His work focused on issues of competitive and cooperative virtues in early Greek literature and society. He began studying these topics during his time at Oxford. A series of four binders (included in this collection) filled with notes taken as an undergraduate later served as reference material for his 1985 book, Poetic Craft and the Early Greek Elegists. Materials within the Arthur Adkins Papers collection indicate that he was very well-respected by both colleagues and students. At the University of Chicago, he was revered for his conscientious concern for and attentive attitude towards his students.

He published four books: Merit and Responsibility: A Study in Greek Values (1960), From the Many to the One: A Study of Personality and Views of Human Nature in the Context of Ancient Greek Society, Values and Beliefs (1970), Moral Values and Political Behavior in Ancient Greece (1972) and Poetic Craft and the Early Greek Elegists (1985). He also co-edited University of Chicago Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1 (1986).

Arthur Adkins and his wife Elizabeth had two children, Matthew and Deborah. Professor Arthur Adkins died of cancer on February 13, 1996.

Scope Note

The Arthur Adkins papers document Adkins’ academic career from 1950-1996. The papers document his career as a student at Oxford University, a faculty member in the Classics department at the University of Chicago, and his research and writings on Ancient Greece. It also includes particularly extensive material on his participation in establishing the Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World (CAMW) at the University of Chicago. The collection contains correspondence, reprints, manuscripts, notebooks, administrative files, and course syllabi, notes and exams.

The collection has been processed and divided into six series: I. Correspondence, II. Subject Files, III. Academics, IV Research, V. Writings, VI. Restricted. The series divisions reflect the general original order of the collection but are reoriented to emphasize particularly prominent aspects of Adkins’s academic career.

Series 1, Correspondence, contains academic correspondence exchanged between Adkins and academic institutions concerning potential faculty positions and recommendations. There are also exchanges regarding Adkins’ participation in conferences and symposia and requesting his presence as a guest lecturer. Finally, there are correspondence between Adkins and his students concerning theses, dissertations, and coursework.

Series 2, Subject Files, contains an assortment of materials such as a lengthy proposal, including project description and proposed budget, for an NEH grant to support the Thesaurus Lingue Graecae. There is also a sizeable memo explaining easy computer use for and within the Humanities departments. Included in this series are a collection of index cards with undated notes on a variety of Greek topics.

Series 3, Academic, is divided into three subseries. These are 1. Oxford, 2. University of Chicago, 3. Other. Subseries 1 includes Adkins’s notes as a student at Oxford. Many of these contain background research for his book Poetic Craft and the Early Greek Elegists, published in 1985. Subseries 2 includes curriculum and program plans along with committee and faculty meetings having to do with the CAMW. In this subseries there are also teaching materials including course outlines, syllabi, exams, notes, and resources for Classics and Western Civilizations courses. A number of the papers in this subseries deal with administrative issues. Subseries 3 contains documents pertaining to Adkins academic work at institutions aside from Oxford and the University of Chicago and including Cornell University and the University of Reading. These include plans for a course on Classics and Technology, reprints of literature to be taught, course outlines, and administrative requirements.

Series 4, Reasearch, contains research consisting primarily of document reprints, Xeroxed articles, and notes. There are also bibliographic listings for a number of prominent classical writers such as Aristoteles, Plato, and Homer.

Series 5, Writings, contains Adkins’ manuscripts with notes and edits written onto them. There are also a number of final copies of published essays. Included is some research and notes pertaining to specific pieces of writing.

Series 6, Restricted, consists of restricted materials having to do with administrative and student materials.

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Subject Headings

• Adkins, A. W. H. (Arthur W. H.)
• Redfield, James W.
• University of Oxford
• University of Chicago. Dept. of Classics
• University of Chicago, Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World
• Classics

INVENTORY