The School of Letters was a summer institute and degree-granting (M.A. and Ph.D. minor) program at Indiana University, Bloomington. The school moved from

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

in 1951 following the withdrawal of funding of the School of English by the Rockefeller Foundation. I.U. President Herman B. Wells obtained funding from the university and located the school under the administration of Dean John W. Ashton of the College of Arts and Sciences. The school opened under the direction of Prof. Richard B. Hudson and then transitioned to Prof. Newton P. 'Stalky' Stallknecht until his retirement and the school's dissolution in 1972.

Founding

When Indiana University moved the school from Kenyon to Bloomington they maintained

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

, Lionel Trilling, Philip Rahv, Austin Warren, and

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, ...

as senior fellows, all well-known literary scholars. The Kenyon School of English was founded by three senior fellows, John Crowe Ransom,

F. O. Matthiessen Francis Otto Matthiessen (February 19, 1902 – April 1, 1950) was an educator, scholar and literary critic influential in the fields of American literature and American studies. His best known work, ''American Renaissance: Art and Expression in ...

and Lionel Trilling and was held during a summer session at Kenyon College from 1948 until 1950. The first session of the School of Letters in Bloomington ran from June 21 to August 1, 1951.

Mission statement

The school's impact

Students at the School of Letters included James M. Cox '51 (later would become a faculty member at Indiana University and the School), Martha Banta '62, Bruce Jackson '62, Paul Lauter '55, and Geoffrey H. Hartman '51. The School existed during a period of major change within the field of literary studies from the dominance of New Criticism until the rise of

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critiques ...

. During each session of the School high profile academics, poets, and critics were brought to Bloomington to teach seminars and deliver weekly forum lectures. These instructors included

Northrop Frye Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Frye gained international fame with his first book, '' Fearful Symm ...

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first ...

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

, Robert Lowell,

Leslie Fiedler Leslie Aaron Fiedler (March 8, 1917 – January 29, 2003) was an American literary critic, known for his interest in mythography and his championing of genre fiction. His work incorporates the application of psychological theories to American lit ...

, and

R. P. Blackmur Richard Palmer Blackmur (January 21, 1904 – February 2, 1965) was an American literary critic and poet. Life Blackmur was born and grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. He attended Cambridge High and Latin School, but was expelled in 1918. A ...

.Dobson, James E. "The Indiana University School of Letters and the Mid-Century Transformation of Literary Studies" https://blogs.libraries.iub.edu/iubarchives/2014/06/16/dobson/

References

{{Kenyon College Humanities Indiana University 1951 establishments in Indiana Educational institutions established in 1951 Educational institutions disestablished in 1972 Kenyon College