Howard Stoner Course Materials Collection, 1994-2017

Summary Information

Abstract

The Howard Stoner Course Materials collection contains syllabi, hand-outs, and other teaching materials collected by Howard Stoner, a New York City-based advertising executive who audited over 70 courses at Columbia and Barnard between 1994 and 2017.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in seven series.

• Series I: Art History, 1994-2005
• Series II: Architecture, 1994-2006
• Series III: Music, 2009-2011
• Series IV: Religion, 2000-2008
• Series V: History, 1994-2016, bulk 2006-2016
• Series VI: Classics, English, and Comparative Literature, 2005-2017
• Series VII: Cassettes

Description

Scope and Contents

The Howard Stoner Course Materials collection contains syllabi, reading lists, bibliographies, lecture hand-outs, slide lists, reading guides, and instructions for assignments. The collection concentrates on the Art History department, where Stoner enrolled in lectures and seminars from 1994 through 2005, but the materials from the last ten years of the collection cover lecture courses from a range of disciplines in the humanities. Each series is organized alphabetically by course title.

• Series I: Art History, 1994-2005

  This series consists of syllabi, bibliographies of recommended readings, hand-outs from lectures and museum visits, slide lists, and instructions for written assignments and exams. In a few instances, Stoner also collected syllabi from years other than the one he when he had enrolled. The courses represented in the series primarily consist of undergraduate lectures but also includes graduate lectures and graduate seminars. The curriculum concentrates but does not exclusively focus on classical art and European painting until 1900.

• Series II: Architecture, 1994-2006

  This series consists of syllabi, reading lists, hand-outs from lectures and walking tours, slide lists, and instructions for written assignments and exams. Most courses represented in the series were taught under the auspices of the Art History department, though a few lectures from the Architecture department appear as well. The curriculum focuses on European architecture from the medieval period until 1900 and American architecture, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Materials from an Introduction to Architecture course taken in Fall 2001 include lecture notes from September 12th, 2001, when the professor revised the syllabus to add a lecture on "The Skyscraper" in response to the World Trade Center attacks.

• Series III: Music, 2009-2011

  This series consists of syllabi, listening guides, lecture hand-outs, and instructions for written assignments and exams from undergraduate survey lectures in music history. Lecture hand-outs include excerpts from libretti annotated by the professor.

• Series IV: Religion, 2000-2008

  This series consists of syllabi, bibliographies of recommended readings, class outlines and lecture handouts, and instructions for written assignments and exams from undergraduate surveys of Western religions.

• Series V: History, 1994-2016, bulk 2006-2016

  This series consists of syllabi, lecture hand-outs, and instructions for written assignments and exams from a diverse set of lectures in the History department. Included in the series is a syllabus and detailed set of field trip instructions for Kenneth Jackson's popular History of the City of New York lecture, though Stoner ultimately dropped the course.

• Series VI: Classics, English, and Comparative Literature, 2005-2017

  This series consists of syllabi, reading guides, class outlines, lecture hand-outs, and instructions for exams and essays for lecture courses on the British and European novel, Classical literature and Shakespeare. A majority of the courses covered by the series were taught in the English department, but courses from Classics, Comparative Literature, and Russian appear as well.

• Series VII: Cassettes

  This series consists of tapes of walking tours from Donald Reynolds' New York City architecture lecture course, taught in summer 1994.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

The RBML cannot provide access to original time-based media material which has not been first been reformatted for preservation. Researchers are welcome to examine archival time-based media items and decide whether they wish to place an order for Audio/Video reformatting. If copyright and/or condition restrictions apply, it may not be possible to digitize a requested item. Please note that A/V reformatting is handled by an outside vendor and typically takes 6-8 weeks.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Howard Stoner Course Materials collection, 1994-2017; Box and Folder (if known); University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Selected Related Material at Columbia

Lecture Notes Collection (UA#0034)

Accruals

No additions are expected.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Nancy Reed, Gift, December 2017.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Victoria Wiet (GSAS). Finding aid written by Victoria Wiet and Jocelyn Wilk in August 2018.

Revision Description

2018-08-16 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical Note

Howard Stoner was an executive at N.W. Ayer and Son, one of the leading American advertising agencies in the 20th century. An account manager for most of his tenure at Ayer, by the time of his retirement he was Senior Vice President at the firm. He graduated with a degree in English from Princeton University in 1954 and an MBA from Columbia in1960. In addition to being active in Princeton's alumni networks, Stoner also avidly attended the performing and fine arts throughout New York City. He began auditing classes at Columbia in 1994, increased his course load following his retirement in 1997, and continued his education at Columbia until spring 2017. He passed away in July 2017.